Is an abnormal vascular response after renal sympathetic denervation predictive of permanent damage? An unusual case of late renal artery stenosis after energy delivery.

Purpose: To describe the effect of renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) on renal arteries immediately after the procedure and at follow-up.

Case Report: A 52-year-old woman with severe resistant hypertension underwent RDN. A transient spasm occurred in the left renal artery immediately after radiofrequency energy delivery, with subsequent complete resolution without any additional therapy.

Utility of strain echocardiography at rest and after stress testing in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.

The introduction of speckle tracking imaging (STI) allowed the quantification of the regional myocardial function in the right ventricular (RV) free wall using deformation parameters. We sought to evaluate the potential utility of STI at rest and after stress to predict arrhythmogenic RV dysplasia (ARVD). We studied 19 patients with ARVD (diagnosed according to the task force criteria) and 19 healthy age- and gender-matched subjects.

Comprehensive assessment of biventricular function and aortic stiffness in athletes with different forms of training by three-dimensional echocardiography and strain imaging.

Aims: Previous studies have shown distinct models of cardiac adaptations to the training in master athletes and different effects of endurance and strength-training on cardiovascular function. We attempted to assess left-ventricular (LV) function, aortic (Ao) function, and right-ventricular (RV) function in athletes with different forms of training by using three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography, tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and speckle-tracking imaging (STI).

Methods And Results: We examined 35 male marathon runners (endurance-trained athletes, ETA), 35 powerlifting athletes (strength-trained athletes, STA), 35 martial arts athletes (mixed-trained athletes, MTA), and 35 sedentary untrained healthy men (controls, CTR).

Assessment of right ventricular function by three-dimensional echocardiography and myocardial strain imaging in adult atrial septal defect before and after percutaneous closure.

Real-time three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography allows us to measure right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic volume irrespective of its shape. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and speckle tracking imaging (STI) are new tools to assess myocardial function. We sought to evaluate RV function by 3D echocardiography and myocardial strain imaging in adult patients with atrial septal defect (ASD) before and 6 months after transcatheter closure in order to assess the utility of these new indexes in comparison with standard two-dimensional (2D) and Doppler parameters.

Left ventricular torsion abnormalities in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: an early sign of subclinical dysfunction.

Background: Previous echocardiographic studies using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and speckle tracking imaging (STI) have demonstrated that obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients may develop subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Our purpose was to evaluate the impact of OSAS on LV torsion dynamics and aortic stiffness by using TDI and STI echocardiography.

Methods: Forty-two patients with OSAS and no comorbidities were studied.

Additive value of right ventricular dyssynchrony indexes in predicting the success of cardiac resynchronization therapy: a speckle-tracking imaging study.

Background: The purpose of our study was to analyze the evolution of left and right ventricular (LV, RV) parameters before and after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) using speckle-tracking imaging (STI).

Methods And Results: Eighty-one patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (New York Heart Association functional class III or IV), left bundle branch block (QRS ≥120 ms), and LV ejection fraction ≤35% were studied with STI echocardiography before and after CRT. LV longitudinal (LV-SD12-l), radial (LV-SD6-r), and circumferential (LV-SD6-c) intraventricular dyssynchrony and LV twist (LV-t) were determined.

Assessment of ascending aorta distensibility after successful coarctation repair by strain Doppler echocardiography.

Background: Increased arterial stiffness may participate in the genesis of hypertension and increase of left ventricular (LV) mass after surgical correction of coarctation of the aorta. The purpose of the current study was to assess the aortic elastic properties using Doppler tissue imaging and strain rate imaging in patients after coarctoplasty.

Methods: Echocardiography with Doppler tissue/strain rate imaging capabilities was performed in 26 adult normotensive patients who had successful repair of coarctation of the aorta in infancy and in 24 control subjects.

Assessment of severity in aortic stenosis-incremental value of endocardial function parameters compared with standard indexes.

Several studies have reported that patients (pts) with severe aortic stenosis and similar pressure gradients or even similar aortic valve areas may have quite different symptomatic status and clinical outcomes suggesting that other factors might have a significant impact on the pathophysiology of this disease. Our purpose was to assess the severity of subendocardial wall dysfunction in symptomatic and asymptomatic pts with aortic stenosis using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), strain rate imaging (SRI) and cyclic variation of integrated backscatter (IB). We studied 68 pts with aortic valvar stenosis and 46 subjects with no signs of heart disease.

Strain rate dobutamine echocardiography for prediction of recovery after revascularization in patients with ischemic left ventricular dysfunction.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to assess the accuracy of quantitative segmental analysis by strain rate imaging (SRI) technique during dobutamine test for detecting myocardial recovery after revascularization in patients with chronic ischemic regional left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and compare results with those of 2-dimensional echocardiography (2D) and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) as well as rest-4 hours-24 hours redistribution thallium SPECT (Tl SPECT).

Methods And Results: Forty-one patients with chronic ischemic regional LV dysfunction (EF 29 +/- 8%) underwent dobutamine 2D/TDI/SRI and Tl SPECT before and after myocardial revascularization. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the recovery of regional LV function were 73%, 81%, and 77% for dobutamine 2D; 77%, 82%, and 80% for dobutamine TDI; 86%, 88%, and 85% for dobutamine SRI; and 94%, 76%, and 84% for Tl tomography.

Aortic wall mechanics in the Marfan syndrome assessed by transesophageal tissue Doppler echocardiography.

The aim of this study was to investigate the value of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) using transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in assessing the elastic properties of the thoracic aorta in patients with Marfan's syndrome. Aortic distensibility, stiffness index, and pulse-wave velocity were calculated using M-mode data in a TEE short-axis view in 31 patients with Marfan's syndrome and 22 normal controls. Acceleration time, maximum wall expansion velocity (Vmax), and wall strain were determined from TDI tracings.