Nailfold capillaroscopy reveals early peripheral microcirculation abnormalities in children affected by heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

Background: nailfold capillaroscopy (NCF) is a non-invasive imaging technique to seek peripheral microcirculation abnormalities in children and adults. Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder caused by mutations capable of increasing blood levels of low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C), thus triggering early atherosclerosis. The study aims at evaluating peripheral microcirculation in children with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) by means of NFC in comparison with healthy peers and at searching for possible correlations between these abnormalities and patients' lipid panel.

Assessment of Biventricular Function by Three-Dimensional Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Adolescents and Young Adults with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection: A Pilot Study.

Background: The purpose of the study was to assess biventricular parameters of wall deformation with three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3DSTE) in adolescents and young adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on antiretroviral therapy in order to detect a possible subclinical myocardial dysfunction.

Methods: Twenty-one patients aged 12-39 years with HIV, 21 normal controls of the same age and sex, and 21 patients with idiopathic nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) were studied with 3DSTE. All HIV patients were stable in terms of HIV infection, with no history of heart disease or other chronic systemic disease except HIV infection, and were on highly active antiretroviral therapy with good immunological control.

Bi-Atrial Function before and after Percutaneous Closure of Atrial Septum in Patients with and without Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: A 2-D and 3-D Speckle Tracking Echocardiographic Study.

Our aim was to analyze atrial function with 2-D (2-D-STE) and 3-D (3-D-STE) speckle tracking echocardiography in patients with atrial septal devices and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). One hundred sixteen patients and a subgroup of 22 patients who developed PAF after device insertion were studied. Left atrial and right atrial peak longitudinal strain and standard deviations of time to peak strain (TPS) were calculated using 2-D-STE.