Added Value of 3- Versus 2-Dimensional Echocardiography Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction to Predict Arrhythmic Risk in Patients With Left Ventricular Dysfunction.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the potential clinical impact of using 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) to measure left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients considered for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation and to assess the predictive value of 3DE LVEF for arrhythmic events.

Background: ICD therapy is currently recommended to prevent sudden cardiac death in patients with symptomatic heart failure and LVEF ≤35%, and in asymptomatic patients with ischemic heart disease and LVEF ≤30%. Two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) is currently used to calculate LVEF.

Mitral valve anatomy and function: new insights from three-dimensional echocardiography.

Integrating volumetric rendering with motion in real-time, three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography is the most suitable imaging technique for assessing heart valves. Today, the rapidly advancing 3D technology allows us to perform a virtual 'dissection' of the heart intra vitam and to discover unprecedented, realistic views of cardiac valves in just a few minutes. The mitral valve is the cardiac structure easiest to visualize by transthoracic or transoesophageal approach.

Serum levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine and apelin as potential markers of vascular endothelial dysfunction in early rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Impaired endothelial function represents the early stage of atherosclerosis, which is typically associated with systemic inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). As modulators of endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression, asymmetric-dimethylarginine (ADMA) and apelin might be measured in the blood of RA patients to detect early atherosclerotic changes. We conducted a prospective, case-control study to investigate serum ADMA and apelin profiles of patients with early-stage RA (ERA) before and after disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy.

Serum osteoprotegerin and carotid intima-media thickness in acute/chronic coronary artery diseases.

Aims: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) plays a key role in atherosclerosis progression and plaque destabilization. We investigated the relationship between intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery (CCA-IMT; an early marker of atherosclerosis) and OPG levels in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and chronic coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: We studied 133 consecutive patients, mean age 65 ± 9 years, referred to our department for coronary angiography.