Tissue Doppler echocardiography reveals insufficient contractile reserve recruitment during effort in subjects with mitral valve prolapse and those with thick mitral valve.

Objective: To assess by tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE), the tissue velocities, both at rest and after exercise stress testing, in subjects with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and those with thick mitral valve (TMV).

Methods: Twenty individuals with typical MVP, 30 with TMV, and 30 healthy controls were enrolled. TDE was performed at the basal-inferior wall and the parameters evaluated were the S, Em, and Am velocities, as well as the Em/Am ratio.

Comparison of myocardial contrast echocardiography with SPECT in the evaluation of coronary artery disease in asymptomatic patients with LBBB.

Objective: The non-invasive assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) is troublesome. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic accuracy of myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) with adenosine to detect CAD in asymptomatic patients with LBBB, and we compared it with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with adenosine.

Methods: Forty-seven patients with LBBB, and no previously documented CAD, initially underwent SPECT imaging and 1-3 days later MCE.