Left atrial ejection force in healthy newborn infants.

Background: Atrial ejection force (AEF) expresses the force exerted by the left atrium to the mass of blood passing through the mitral valve during atrial systole. It provides a diagnostic and predictive parameter for evaluating left ventricular diastolic abnormalities and a physiologic assessment of atrial systolic function.

Methods: We obtained normal values of AEF in a group of 47 newborn infants with normal heart function and structure, using Doppler echocardiographic parameters of transmitral filling flow.

A quantitative microscopic analysis of the myocardial interstitial tissue space and myocardial fiber diameter in rats with vitamin E and selenium deficiency.

Vitamin E (E) and selenium (Se) are important antioxidant nutrients, preventing membrane damage by lipid hydroperoxides. In a previous study on E + Se deficient rats it was shown that plasma levels of lipoproteins increase dramatically. In continuation of this study a quantitative microscopic study was undertaken to determine the behavior of myocardial interstitial tissue space (ITS) in E + Se deficient rats as compared to control rats.

Right ventricular obstruction in various types of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is most probably a genetically transmitted disease with different clinical and hemodynamic features. In hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) the obstruction is predominantly in the left ventricular outflow tract (IHSS). In a minority of cases the obstruction is strictly located in midventricle (midventricular obstruction, MO).

The effects of two strains of influenza virus on cardiac development in the chick embryo.

To investigate the teratogenic effects of influenza virus on cardiac development two strains of influenza virus (Ty/Calif/5142/66 and Ty/Calif/64/M. Meleagrium) were injected into the yolk sac of fertile white Leghorn eggs during stage 23. Eggs injected with normal saline served as controls.