Exercise stress echocardiography: Where are we now?

Exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) is a widely used diagnostic test in cardiology departments. ESE is mainly used to study patients with coronary artery disease; however, it has increasingly been used in other clinical scenarios including valve pathology, congenital heart disease, hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies, athlete evaluations, diastolic function evaluation, and pulmonary circulation study. In our laboratories, we use an established methodology in which cardiac function is evaluated while exercising on a treadmill.

Children's Understanding of Informed Assents in Research Studies.

Unlabelled: The assent procedure reflects an effort to enable the minor to understand, to the degree they are capable of, what their participation in the decision making process would involve.

Aims: To evaluate the minors' ability to understand the information provided to them when obtaining assent and to evaluate the opinion of the parents regarding the importance of asking the child's assent.

Methods: The sample included a total of 52 minors aged between 10 and 17 years who underwent exercise echocardiogram.

Stress-induced intraventricular gradients in symptomatic athletes during upright exercise continuous wave Doppler echocardiography.

The development of significant intraventricular gradients (IVGs) during exercise has been described anecdotally in athletes. However, the prevalence and clinical effect of this observation are unclear. In addition, the most appropriate exercise technique (upright vs semisupine) for eliciting IVGs also remains unknown.

Efficacy of beta-blocker therapy in symptomatic athletes with exercise-induced intra-ventricular gradients.

Background: Upright exercise stress echocardiography (SE) induces significant intraventricular gradient (IVG) and systolic anterior motion (SAM) in a large proportion of symptomatic athletes, who may therefore benefit from a negative inotropic therapy.The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of chronic oral β blocker therapy on the occurrence of exercise-induced IVG and mitral valve SAM, in symptomatic athletes.

Methods: We enrolled 35 symptomatic athletes (age = 23 ± 11 years) with IVG (>30 mmHg) during SE off therapy.

Impact of colorectal cancer on patient and family: implications for care.

The quality of life of a colorectal cancer patient and his family is deeply modified when faced with this diagnosis as a result of physical and psychological changes induced by it. The aim of this study was to identify and assess the impact of colorectal cancer patients and their families. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study and the sample consisted of 153 patients and 96 informal caregivers.