Marfan syndrome: Evolving organ manifestations-A 10-year follow-up study.

The age-dependent penetrance of organ manifestations in Marfan syndrome (MFS) is not known. The aims of this follow-up study were to explore how clinical features change over a 10-year period in the same Norwegian MFS cohort. In 2003-2004, we investigated 105 adults for all manifestations in the 1996 Ghent nosology.

The use of imaging in new transcatheter interventions: an EACVI review paper.

Transcatheter therapies for the treatment of valve heart diseases have expanded dramatically over the last years. The new developments and improvements in devices and techniques, along with the increasing expertise of operators, have turned the catheter-based approaches for valvular disease into an established treatment option. Various imaging techniques are used during these procedures, but echocardiography plays an essential role during patient selection, intra-procedural monitoring, and post-procedure follow-up.

Three-dimensional ultrasound in cardiological diagnostics.

Background: Diagnostic ultrasonography plays an important part in cardiology. New technological advances such as three-dimensional representation of the heart now make an important supplement to today's standard echocardiography.

Material And Method: An overview based on PubMed literature studies and the authors' own experience is provided of the opportunities three-dimensional echocardiography offers for present and future diagnosis of heart disease.

Identification of viable myocardium in acute anterior infarction using duration of systolic lengthening by tissue Doppler strain: a preliminary study.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether strain Doppler echocardiography before reperfusion therapy could quantify ischemic dysfunction and predict viable myocardium in acute myocardial infarction as determined by magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods: Twenty-six patients (mean age, 60 ± 12 years; seven women) with acute myocardial infarctions who underwent acute percutaneous coronary intervention were examined using strain Doppler echocardiography immediately before the procedure. Percutaneous coronary intervention was performed 296 ± 122 min after the onset of pain.

The Scandinavian multicenter hemodynamic evaluation of the SJM Regent aortic valve.

Background: 112 patients who received small and medium sized St. Jude Regent heart valves (19-25 mm) at 7 Scandinavian centers were studied between January 2003 and February 2005 to obtain non-invasive data regarding the hemodynamic performance at rest and during Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) testing one year after surgery.

Material And Methods: 46 woman and 66 men, aged 61.

Detection of left ventricular dysfunction by global longitudinal systolic strain in patients with chronic aortic regurgitation.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether global longitudinal strain measured by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography could detect incipient myocardial dysfunction in patients with chronic aortic regurgitation (AR). Disclosing left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is of decisive importance for optimal timing of surgery but challenging because of the altered loading conditions.

Methods: Forty-seven patients referred for aortic valve replacement because of chronic AR were studied, along with 31 healthy controls.

Ventricular function in patients with transposition of the great arteries operated with arterial switch.

The study aim was to investigate ventricular function at long-term follow-up in patients operated with arterial switch for transposition of the great arteries (TGAs). Although midterm results for anatomic correction of TGA are promising, there are reported minor alterations in left ventricular (LV) function possibly indicating myocardial dysfunction. Twenty-two patients with TGAs 12.

Prevalence data on all Ghent features in a cross-sectional study of 87 adults with proven Marfan syndrome.

The prevalence of each single feature in the Ghent criteria in patients with Marfan syndrome (MFS) is not known. To elucidate this, a cross-sectional study of 105 adults with presumed MFS was carried out. All patients were examined by the same group of investigators with standardized and complete assessment of all features in the Ghent criteria.

Intracoronary shunt prevents ischemia in off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of intracoronary shunt during off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery.

Methods: Fifty-six patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass using the left internal mammary artery to bypass the left anterior descending coronary artery were randomly assigned to have the bypass performed with intracoronary shunt or by occlusive snaring. Ischemia during grafting was monitored by tissue Doppler.

Left ventricular function in patients with transposition of the great arteries operated with atrial switch.

In patients operated with atrial switch for transposition of the great arteries (TGA), the left ventricle (LV) supports the pulmonary circulation and is thus pressure unloaded. Evaluation of LV function in this setting is of importance, as LV functional abnormalities have been documented and might contribute to development of symptoms. The ventricular contraction pattern in 14 Senning-operated TGA patients and 14 healthy controls was studied using tissue Doppler and magnetic resonance imaging.

Right ventricular mechanics and QRS duration in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot: implications of infundibular disease.

Background: Patients after repair of tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) frequently have right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and prolonged QRS duration (QRSd) and thus could be candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy. We aimed to assess the relationship between QRSd and the timing of RV wall motion, including the RV outflow tract (RVOT), in these patients.

Methods And Results: Sixty-seven repaired ToF patients (median age, 34 years; interquartile range, 24 to 43 years) and 35 age-matched control subjects were studied by echocardiography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (n=55 of 67 ToF patients).

Epicardial ultrasonography: a potential method for intraoperative quality assessment of coronary bypass anastomoses?

Background: Intraoperative quality assessment in coronary artery bypass surgery confirms graft patency and enables revision of failing grafts. The aim of this study was to evaluate graft quality intraoperatively by epicardial ultrasonography and to compare this technique with transit time flow measurements and intraoperative angiography, and to evaluate the ability of these methods to predict long-term patency as described by follow-up angiography.

Methods: Thirty-nine patients with mean age of 66 years (SD 9.

Search for correlations between FBN1 genotype and complete Ghent phenotype in 44 unrelated Norwegian patients with Marfan syndrome.

In monogenic disorders, correlation between genotype and phenotype is a premise for predicting prognosis in affected patients. Predictive genetic testing may enable prophylaxis and promote clinical follow-up. Although Marfan syndrome (MFS) is known as a monogenic disorder, according to the present diagnostic criteria a mutation in the gene FBN1 is not sufficient for the diagnosis, which also depends on the presence of a number of clinical, radiological, and other findings.

Contraction pattern of the systemic right ventricle shift from longitudinal to circumferential shortening and absent global ventricular torsion.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to characterize the contraction pattern of the systemic right ventricle (RV).

Background: Reduced longitudinal function of the systemic RV compared with the normal RV has been interpreted as ventricular dysfunction. However, longitudinal shortening represents only one aspect of myocardial deformation, and changes in contraction in other dimensions have not previously been described.

Grading of myocardial dysfunction by tissue Doppler echocardiography: a comparison between velocity, displacement, and strain imaging in acute ischemia.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare the ability of the tissue Doppler echocardiographic imaging (TDI) modalities velocity, strain, and displacement to quantify systolic myocardial function.

Background: Several TDI modalities may be used to quantify regional myocardial function, but it is not clear how the different modalities should be applied.

Methods: In 10 anesthetized dogs we measured left ventricular pressure, longitudinal myocardial velocity, strain, and displacement by TDI at baseline and during left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) stenosis and occlusion.

Detection of ischemia and new insight into left ventricular physiology by strain Doppler and tissue velocity imaging: assessment during coronary bypass operation of the beating heart.

Background And Objectives: Detection of myocardial ischemia in humans by strain Doppler and tissue velocity imaging was validated in a novel, experimentally designed study model during coronary bypass operation of the beating heart.

Methods: Assessment of ischemia was made with an opened chest and pericardium inherent in the operative procedure. Longitudinal strain and tissue velocity of interventricular septal regions were measured by transesophageal echocardiography during occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD).

Improvement of coronary artery fistula surgery by intraoperative imaging.

Complete surgical closure of coronary artery fistulas may be difficult because of complex anatomy and often multiple sites of origin. This study therefore assessed whether intraoperative fistula imaging would contribute to and improve the final surgical result. Seven adult patients underwent operation for coronary arteriovenous fistula during a 10-year period.

[Clinical use of new echocardiographic techniques].

New applications and further development of current methods have contributed to the increasing importance of ultrasound diagnostics in cardiology. Quantitative assessment of regional myocardial function has been made possible by tissue Doppler, which is of particular importance in coronary artery disease. Visualisation and functional assessment of the left ventricle can be improved by contrast echocardiography when conventional imaging is unsatisfactory.