Publications by authors named "G Heyndrickx"

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can decrease the risk of heart failure (HF) events in relatively asymptomatic patients with a reduced ejection fraction (EF) and wide QRS complex. However, individual response to this type of therapy varies widely. Often based on either EF increase or end-systolic volume (ESV) decrease as criterion, a subgroup of super-responders has been described.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ejection fraction (EF) is defined by the ratio of end-systolic volume (ESV) and end-diastolic volume (EDV). The resulting fraction is a dimensionless number whose interpretation is ambiguous and most likely misleading. Despite this limitation, EF is widely accepted as a clinical marker of cardiac function.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pulse pressure (PP) is defined as the difference between systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The metric PP is not unique, as numerous combinations of SBP and DBP yield the same value for PP. Therefore, we introduced the PP companion (PPC) which is calculated using the Pythagorean theorem.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ejection fraction (EF) is considered to provide clinically useful information. Despite its enormous popularity, with more than 75,000 citations in PubMed, only few studies have traced the origin(s) of its foundation. This fact is surprising, as there are perhaps more papers published that criticize EF, than the number of publications that actually provide a solid (mathematical) basis for its alleged applicability.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Sequential determinations of left ventricular (LV) volume constitute a cornerstone in the mechanical performance evaluation of any heart transplant (HTX) patient. A comprehensive analysis of volumetric data offers unique insight into adaptation and pathophysiology.

Case Summary: With a focus on eight sequential biplane angiocardiographic LV end-systolic volume (ESV) determinations, we evaluate the clinical course of a male patient following HTX (female donor) at the age of 61 years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF