Experimental study of the so called left ventricular isovolumic relaxation phase.

Introduction And Objectives: Left ventricular filling begins in the ventricular isovolumic relaxation phase. According to the Torrent-Guasp myocardial band theory, this phase results from the contraction of the final portion of the myocardial band: the ascending segment of the apical loop. The objectives were to study the myocardial mechanisms influencing transmitral flow during early diastole and to determine whether the rapid ventricular filling phase involves contraction or relaxation.

The helical ventricular myocardial band of Torrent-Guasp: potential implications in congenital heart defects.

The new concepts of cardiac anatomy and physiology, based on the observations made by Francisco Torrent-Guasp's discovery of the helical ventricular myocardial band, can be useful in the context of the surgical strategies currently used to manage patients with congenital heart defects. The potential impact of the Torrent-Guasp's Heart on congenital heart defects have been analyzed in the following settings: ventriculo-arterial discordance (transposition of the great arteries), double (atrio-ventricular and ventriculo-arterial) discordance (congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries), Ebstein's anomaly, pulmonary valve regurgitation after repair of tetralogy of Fallot, Ross operation, and complex intra-ventricular malformations. The functional interaction of right and left ventricles occurs not only through their arrangements in series but also thanks to the structural spiral features.

The sequence of regional ventricular motion.

Objective: The chronology of electrical events that mechanically activate the myocardium has been described as initiating at the level of the septum, spreading to the apex, then to the bodies of both ventricles and eventually to the base of the heart (apex-to base activation). It has recently been suggested that the myocardium is a single muscular band that conforms a double-loop helicoid. Contraction of the myocardium would follow the trajectory of the muscular fibers that originate at the pulmonary artery towards the body of the left ventricle and to the aorta (base-to apex contraction).

The helical ventricular myocardial band: global, three-dimensional, functional architecture of the ventricular myocardium.

We are currently witnessing the advent of new diagnostic tools and therapies for heart diseases, but, without serious scientific consensus on fundamental questions about normal and diseased heart structure and function. During the last decade, three successive, international, multidisciplinary symposia were organized in order to setup fundamental research principles, which would allow us to make a significant step forward in understanding heart structure and function. Helical ventricular myocardial band of Torrent-Guasp is the revolutionary new concept in understanding global, three-dimensional, functional architecture of the ventricular myocardium.