Two-Dimensional Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Heart Transplant Patients: Two-Year Follow-Up of Right and Left Ventricular Function.

Background: Evolution of left and right ventricular (LV and RV) function after heart transplantation (HT) has not been well described. Our objective was to evaluate the evolution of echocardiographic parameters of both ventricles along the first 2 years after HT.

Methods: We followed 31 HT recipients with serial echocardiograms for up to 2 years.

Epidemiology of heart failure in Spain over the last 20 years.

Heart failure is a major health care problem in Spain, although its precise impact is unknown due to the lack of data from appropriately designed studies. In contrast with the 2% prevalence of heart failure elsewhere in Europe and in the United States, studies in Spain report figures of 5%, probably because of methodological limitations. Heart failure consumes enormous quantities of health care resources; it is the first cause of hospitalization in persons aged 65 years or older and represents 3% of all hospital admissions and 2.