Position Statement on the Use of Myocardial Strain in Cardiology Routines by the Brazilian Society of Cardiology's Department Of Cardiovascular Imaging - 2023.

Central Illustration : Position Statement on the Use of Myocardial Strain in Cardiology Routines by the Brazilian Society of Cardiology's Department Of Cardiovascular Imaging - 2023 Proposal for including strain in the integrated diastolic function assessment algorithm, adapted from Nagueh et al.67 Am: mitral A-wave duration; Ap: reverse pulmonary A-wave duration; DD: diastolic dysfunction; LA: left atrium; LASr: LA strain reserve; LVGLS: left ventricular global longitudinal strain; TI: tricuspid insufficiency. Confirm concentric remodeling with LVGLS.

Software for Post-Processing Analysis of Strain Curves: The D-Station.

Background: The use of speckle-tracking echocardiography for evaluation of cardiac function has great applicability in different scenarios. The broad use of this method requires tools that allow the extraction of relevant data from strain curves and inclusion of these data in traditionally used parameters.

Objectives: The present study aimed to present and validate a free software, called D-station, for analysis of strain curves.

Correlation to NT-ProBNP and remodeling after cardiac surgery.

Background: Few data are available on diastolic function in patients with aortic stenosis (AOS) with indication of surgical treatment. A potential correlation between biomarkers and diastolic function has not been established.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate diastolic function in patients with AOS waiting for aortic valve replacement (AVR) echocardiographically, and to verify its correlation with serum brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP).

Role of echocardiography in the ventricular assessment of the transplanted heart versus heart rejection.

Background: Heart transplantation is an alternative for individuals with end-stage heart disease. However, episodes of heart rejection (HR) are frequent and increase morbidity and mortality, requiring the use of an accurate non-invasive exam for their diagnosis, since endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is not a complication-free procedure.

Objective: To compare the parameters obtained by use of Doppler echocardiography in a group of transplanted patients with HR (TX1) and another group of transplanted patients without rejection (TX0), having as reference a control group (CG) and observing the behavior of the left ventricular systo-diastolic function expressed as the myocardial performance index (MPI) METHODS: Transthoracic echocardiographies were performed from January 2006 to January 2008 to prospectively assess 47 patients divided into three groups: CG (36.

Lactococcus garvieae endocarditis: first case report in Latin America.

Lactococcus garvieae, an emerging zoonotic pathogen, is responsible for mastitis in rodents and sepsis in fish. Although deemed opportunistic and hardly ever causing infections in humans, its incidence is probably underestimated due to the difficulty in diagnosis. There are very few reports of osteomyelitis, liver abscess, and peritonitis, and only nine cases of endocarditis described in worldwide literature.

[Echocardiographic assessment of cardiac resynchronization therapy: two-year follow-up period].

Background: The cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an effective option for patients with advanced heart failure (HF). Clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic criteria have been studied in an attempt to find the patients that will benefit from the CRT, considering that the echocardiogram is the method that is used both in the selection and in the assessment of such therapy.

Objective: The objective of this work is to analyze the use of echocardiogram to assess the CRT, in a ten-day follow-up period and after two years of evolution.

Echocardiography in cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy has been an effective option in patients with advanced heart failure. However, 20 to 30% of the patients do not benefit from this therapy. Clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic criteria have been studied in an attempt to select patients who will benefit from a cardiac resynchronization therapy, and the echocardiogram is important both in the selection and in the evaluation and optimization of the therapy.

Home blood pressure monitoring in blood pressure control among haemodialysis patients: an open randomized clinical trial.

Background: It is not known if the adjustment of antihypertensive therapy based on home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) can improve blood pressure (BP) control among haemodialysis patients.

Methods: This is an open randomized clinical trial. Hypertensive patients on haemodialysis were randomized to have the antihypertensive therapy adjusted based on predialysis BP measurements or HBPM.

Left atrial appendage aneurysm: echocardiographic diagnostic.

The left atrial appendage aneurysm is a rare condition that frequently manifests itself by heart arrhythmias or thromboembolism. We report the case of a patient with left atrial appendage aneurysm, diagnosed by echocardiography and submitted to surgical resection.

Eustachian valve endocarditis.

Eustachian valve endocarditis is a rare condition that affects mostly injectable drug users and patients using pacemakers or central venous catheter. We describe the case of a patient who underwent myocardial revascularization with extracorporeal circulation and who presented Eustachian valve endocarditis in the postoperative period, diagnosed by echocardiogram. The blood culture identified Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Percutaneous mitral valvuloplastry in a pregnant woman guided only by the transesophageal echocardiography.

Mitral valve stenosis is the most common valve lesion in pregnancy. In spite of an optimized clinical treatment and a favorable valve anatomy according to Wilkins and Block score, in symptomatic patients, percutaneous intervention is shown to be of great importance. In these patients, avoiding x-ray exposure as much as possible is recommended so as to protect the fetus from the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation.

Aortic valve rupture due to blunt chest trauma.

We report a patient admitted to our hospital with aortic valve rupture due to blunt chest trauma. The aortic rupture was accurately identified by the transesophageal echocardiogram, allowing a better surgical approach.

[Texture of mitral bioprosthesis, ventricular function and formation of thrombus. Analysis through transesophageal echocardiography and use of bioscore].

Objective: Facing the hypothesis of participation of mechanical stress as a cause of mitral bioprosthesis dysfunction, we decided to assess the relation of preservation of the texture of the mitral bioprosthesis leaflets with left ventricular function, in addition to the casual formation of thrombus in left atrium in patients with left ventricular dysfunction from the implant of mitral bioprosthesis.

Methods: Forty 40 patients with mitral bioprosthesis through multiplane transesophageal echocardiogram were studied and divided in two groups: with left ventricular dysfunction (FE=0.40+/-0.