Collection of cardiac masses. Up-to-date echocardiography and cardiac MRI tools.

Heart masses, including tumors (primary and secondary) and pseudotumor (cysts and thrombus), are rare entities, but of increasing interest in cardiac imaging areas. The clinical manifestations are related to the intracardiac effect of mass, embolization, and systemic symptoms in the case of tumors; however, some of them are detected incidentally. Nowadays, imaging techniques and the advancement of their tools perform the morphological, functional, and tissue characterization of the masses, and additionally know the anatomical relationships, which are crucial factors for the treatment and surgical planning.

Recommendations for the Use of Echocardiography in the Evaluation of Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Report from the American Society of Echocardiography.

Acute rheumatic fever and its chronic sequela, rheumatic heart disease (RHD), pose major health problems globally, and remain the most common cardiovascular disease in children and young people worldwide. Echocardiography is the most important diagnostic tool in recognizing this preventable and treatable disease and plays an invaluable role in detecting the presence of subclinical disease needing prompt therapy or follow-up assessment. This document provides recommendations for the comprehensive use of echocardiography in the diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of RHD.

Bioprosthesis in aortic valve replacement: long-term inflammatory response and functionality.

Background: The evaluation of long-term inflammatory response and function in postoperative patients with aortic valve replacement (AVR) deserves special analysis because it is important to try to prevent reoperation and improve durability and functionality of the prostheses. It is our objective METHODS: In this study, we included a cohort of patients with aortic valve damage treated by AVR with mechanical prosthesis, bio prosthesis and we included a control group.

Results: We found that IL-4 and osteopontin levels were higher in patients with mechanical vs biological prostheses (p=0.

Histopathological maladaptive changes in the explanted human mitral leaflets correlate with changes in echocardiographic leaflet morphology and the severity of ischaemic mitral regurgitation.

Aims: Several changes of the mitral valve (MV) morphology have been previously documented in ischaemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) upon macro and microscopic examination. This study aimed to correlate echocardiographic MV thickening with IMR severity and to delineate the histopathological basis of valve thickening from the explanted leaflets.

Methods And Results: Two hundred and fifty patients were included in the echo-group; of these, 48 patients (19.

A Case of Transient Mitral Regurgitation: Not Everything Is Always What It Seems.

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a common form of valvular heart disease that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. MR can be broadly classified into 2 different categories: primary and secondary MR. Primary MR usually is caused by leaflet abnormalities, whereas secondary MR is a chronic disease secondary to geometric distortion of both the annulus and subvalvular apparatus because of left ventricular remodeling.

Correlation Between Cardiac Computed Tomography and Histopathology for Evaluating Patients with Aortic Valve Disease.

Background: The use of cardiac computed tomography (cardiac CT) and the quantification of the Agatston score for the evaluation of calcium of the aortic valve (AVC) has increased in different clinical contexts for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between cardiac CT and histopathology for the quantification of AVC.

Methods: Ninety patients diagnosed with severe aortic valve dysfunction, of any etiology and regardless of the predominant type of injury, were included.

Infected thrombus in a Fontan circulation.

The Fontan operation was introduced in 1968 as a palliative treatment for patients with univentricular heart physiology. Natural history and outcomes are poor. By 10 years after Fontan operation, most patients will develop any complication such as tachyarrhythmias, any spectrum of Fontan-associated liver disease, protein-losing enteropathy, heart failure, thrombosis, and infective endocarditis among others.

Echocardiographic diagnosis and follow-up for ALCAPA syndrome treated with the Takeuchi procedure.

We present the case of an 18-year-old man with aborted sudden cardiac death. His initial echocardiogram suggested an anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery. Diagnosis was confirmed with coronary angiography.

Right ventricular free wall strain predicts functional capacity in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot.

To investigate the role of right ventricular free wall strain (RVFWSL) to predict low functional capacity in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF). We prospectively enrolled 33 patients with rTOF with moderate to severe PR who underwent rest and peak exercise echocardiography on a semisupine cycloergometer. Conventional function and strain imaging parameters of both ventricles were measured.

Differentiating spontaneous echo contrast, sludge, and thrombus in the left atrial appendage: Can ultrasound enhancing agents help?

The accurate identification of thrombus in the left atrial appendage with transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) before cardioversion is essential. Most of these patients have some grade of spontaneous echo contrast (SEC). Severe SEC is often called "sludge," and its prognosis and treatment are still controversial.

Mitral Valve Malignant Primary Tumor as a Surgical Emergency: Case Report.

Malignant primary tumors of the heart are among the most unusual forms of cancer. Cardiac malignancy accounts for about 20% of all primary cardiac tumors, with most arising from the atria and less frequently the ventricles; very unusual locations include the great vessels and the cardiac valves. A rare case is presented of a young female that arrived at the authors' emergency room in pulmonary edema and circulatory collapse secondary to a true tumor of the mitral leaflets that caused severe mitral valve stenosis.

Coexisting bicuspid aortic and pulmonary valves diagnosed by 3D transthoracic echocardiography.

Coexisting bicuspid aortic and pulmonary valves is an extremely rare condition, and there have been few published cases. Diagnosis of bicuspid aortic valve is straightforward with 2D echocardiography; however, analysis of the morphology of the pulmonary valve is challenging. In this study, we report on a case of a 32-year-old man with bicuspid aortic and pulmonary valves diagnosed by 2D and 3D transthoracic echocardiography.

Immunologic Responses in Biological and Mechanical Valve Prostheses: Inflammation and Functionality Are Not Always Related.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the inflammatory response in patients with aortic and/or mitral prostheses, and to correlate the level of inflammatory markers with prosthesis functionality.

Methods: A total of 48 patients with biological or mechanical prostheses was included in the study, in which levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-1, -4, and -6, interferon-gamma (IFNγ), osteopontin (OPN), intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM), vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM), endothelin-1 and C-reactive protein were analyzed. Functionality of the prosthesis was evaluated using transthoracic echocardiography at three years after surgery.

Echocardiographic and Histologic Correlations in Patients with Severe Aortic Stenosis: Influence of Overweight and Obesity.

Background: Severe aortic stenosis (AS), leads to pathological left ventricular remodeling that may worsen with concomitant overweight and obesity (OW/O).

Methods: We aimed to prospectively analyze the impact of OW/O on ventricular remodeling in severe AS, by evaluating the percentage of intraendomyocardial fibrosis (PIEF) and the percentage of infiltrating intraendocardial lipid vacuoles (PIELV) and its relationship to global longitudinal strain (GLS) in patients with OW/O.

Results: 44 patients with severe AS were included, 13 non-obese (29%) and 31 OW/O (71%), all of them with left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 55%.

[Left ventricular longitudinal systolic strain in children with history of Kawasaki disease].

Objective: Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis that affects young children. Coronary artery aneurisms, ectasia and stenosis are its main complications and may lead to ischemic heart disease or sudden death. Echocardiography evaluation it's mandatory in all patients with history of KD.

Excessive Weight and Obesity Are Associated to Intra-Ventricular Asynchrony: Pilot Study.

Background: Excessive weight and obesity (EwO) are independent factors in the development of heart failure; they lead to a state of myocardiopathy via inflammatory and hormonal mechanisms. If excessively accumulated, epicardial fat favors a proinflammatory state. Ventricular asynchrony is a marker of heart failure progression and has been poorly studied in EwO.

[Aortic valve calcification evaluated by echocardiography associated with baseline conduction abnormalities as a predictor for pacemaker placement after aortic valve replacement].

Introduction: Aortic valve replacement in patients with severe aortic stenosis may be complicated by complete atrioventricular block (CAVB), requiring a permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation. Predicting this complication could help to plan the surgical.

Objective: Determine whether electrocardiography and echocardiography are useful methods for predicting the need for PPM.

Evaluation of myocardial mechanics with three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in heart transplant recipients: comparison with two-dimensional speckle tracking and relationship with clinical variables.

Aims: Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) is limited by its inability to track tissue motion in three dimensions. This is particularly relevant in heart transplant recipients, in whom marked translational motion of the transplanted heart is present. We aimed to compare 3-dimensional (3D)- and 2D-STE-derived strain parameters, and to identify clinical features associated with myocardial mechanics in transplant recipients.

Function and mechanics of the left ventricle: from tissue Doppler imaging to three dimensional speckle tracking.

One of the most common indications in echocardiography is the evaluation of left ventricular function. The traditional measurement of ejection fraction is based upon tracing the left ventricular borders and calculating left ventricular volumes using geometric assumptions. Now, with the introduction of three-dimensional echocardiography, the evaluation of left ventricular function is easier to carry out and with superior accuracy and reproducibility.