Measurement of left atrial appendage size by transesophageal echocardiography.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is the most common imaging method for evaluating left atrial morphology. Recent advances in 64-slice multidetector computed tomography (64-MDCT) allow accurate measurement of left atrial appendage (LAA) volume. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of LAA sizing by TEE in comparison with 64-MDCT in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Right pulmonary agenesis in an elderly woman complicated by transient ischemic attack.

There are few case reports regarding patients with right lung agenesis living to old age because of both severe mediastinal and cardiac displacements. We report a 61-year-old woman with right pulmonary agenesis complicated by a transient ischemic attack that was evaluated by a three-dimensional reconstruction of helical computed tomography and an echocardiography. This patient was able to survive until old age because she had no critical anomalies in other organs including the heart.

Analysis of heart rate variability as an index of noncardiac surgical stress.

Measurement of heart rate variability (HRV) is useful in assessing the function of the autonomic nervous system and in staging of clinical diseases. The purpose of this study is to assess a feasibility of HRV for evaluating surgical stress during the noncardiac perioperative period. Standard deviation of normal-to-normal RR intervals (SDNN) and HRV triangular index derived from 24-h Holter ECC were measured in 24 patients undergoing digestive surgery.

Inhibitory effects of soy isoflavones on cardiovascular collagen accumulation in rats.

Oxidative stress is a major cause of cardiovascular tissue fibrosis. We evaluated the effects of daily doses of soy isoflavones, genistein and daidzein on cardiovascular tissue fibrosis in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) diabetic rats and Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) non-diabetic rats as a severe or mild oxidative stress model, respectively. Glucose and lipid metabolisms did not improve with genistein or daidzein treatment.

Contribution of reactive oxygen species to the pathogenesis of left ventricular failure in Dahl salt-sensitive hypertensive rats: effects of angiotensin II blockade.

Objective: We investigated the contribution of reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase-dependent reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation to the pathogenesis of diastolic heart failure (DHF) in Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) hypertensive rats, with the aim of testing our hypothesis that the cardioprotective effects of angiotensin II (Ang II) blockade are provided by the suppression of this pathway.

Methods: DS rats were maintained on high (H: 8.0% NaCl) or low (L: 0.

The effects of olprinone, a phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor, on systemic and cerebral circulation.

Olprinone, a phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 inhibitor, is used to treat heart failure due to its positive inotropic and vasodilative effects. Selective inhibition of the PDE 3 isozyme increases intracellular adenosine 3;5;-cyclic monophosphate and enhances Ca(2+) influx into cardiac muscle cells. The most significant advantage of PDE 3 inhibitors is their ability not only to enhance myocardial contraction, but to reduce, through vasodilatory action, the stress to which the heart is subjected.

Spatial distribution of right ventricular perfusion abnormalities following acute right coronary artery occlusion: a study by myocardial contrast echocardiography and blue dye staining.

Objective: Although echocardiography is used for diagnosing right ventricular (RV) infarction produced by right coronary artery (RCA) occlusion, there has been no data on the spatial distribution of RV perfusion abnormalities following acute RCA occlusion. We examined this distribution by myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) and blue dye staining in canine models.

Methods: The RCA was occluded in 10 open-chest dogs.

Association of uncoupling protein-2 expression with increased reactive oxygen species in residual myocardium of the enlarged left ventricle after myocardial infarction.

Left ventricular (LV) dilatation following myocardial infarction (MI) is a major determinant of the patient's prognosis, and myocardial energy metabolism may play a key role in LV remodeling. We aimed to investigate the relative timing of LV dilatation to LV function, myocardial energy regulation by uncoupling protein (UCP)-2, and cellular damage in the noninfarct zone. Myocardial infarction was produced in Sprague-Dawley rats by ligation of the coronary artery.

The cerebrovascular dilatation effects of olprinone, a phosphodiesterase III inhibitor, in comparison with acetazolamide--a pilot study.

To examine the effects of olprinone, a phosphodiesterase III inhibitor, on cerebral blood flow (CBF), we compared the effects of olprinone on CBF to that of acetazolamide. Using technetium-99m-ethyl cysteinate dimer (99mTc-ECD) brain SPECT, we measured regional CBF (rCBF) at 33 sites, including 16 right and left pairs of non-infarct cerebral cortexes, in seven stroke patients (66.0+/-3.

A comparison of video and digital data in the assessment of myocardial perfusion abnormalities by myocardial contrast echocardiography.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to compare the digital and video data of myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) to assess altered myocardial blood flow produced by graded coronary stenoses.

Methods: Three grades of left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery stenosis and occlusion were created in eight open-chest canine models. MCE was performed with BR1 infusion by harmonic power Doppler with ECG gated intermittent triggered imaging at pulsing intervals ranging from 1:1 to 1:10.

Potential pitfalls of visualization of myocardial perfusion by myocardial contrast echocardiography with harmonic gray scale B-mode and power Doppler imaging.

Objective: The present study compared the regional variation of myocardial signal intensity in visualizing myocardial perfusion by myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) between harmonic gray scale and power Doppler imaging.

Methods: MCE was performed in 12 patients by electrocardiographic (ECG)-gated intermittent triggered MCE with harmonic gray scale and power Doppler imaging following slow intravenous injection of 0.5 ml contrast agent (Optison).

Latent abnormal fatty acid metabolism in apparently normal perfusion during stress in patients with restenosis after coronary angioplasty: assessment by exercise stress thallium-201 and iodine-123-labeled 15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-R,S-methylpentadecanoic acid-dual myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography.

Restenosis is a major problem in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty. Reduced uptake of iodine-123-labeled 15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-R,S-methylpentadecanoic acid (I-BMIPP-123) relatively to thallium-201 (Tl-201) has been attributed to the metabolic damage in the myocardium in patients with coronary artery disease. Therefore, we performed exercise stress Tl-201 and I-BMIPP-123 dual myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to detect coronary restenosis in 48 patients (35 men and 13 women, mean age 66 +/- 8 years), followed by coronary angiography at follow-up.

Leukocyte-targeted myocardial contrast echocardiography can assess the degree of acute allograft rejection in a rat cardiac transplantation model.

Background: Repetitive endomyocardial biopsies are necessary to monitor the effects of immunosuppressants after cardiac transplantation. Contrast ultrasound with microbubble targeting of leukocytes detects acute leukocyte infiltration. We examined whether leukocyte-targeted myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) could provide for the quantitative assessment of acute cardiac rejection.

Left atrial thrombosis in achalasia--a case report.

An 81-year-old woman came to the clinic with aphasia and gait disturbance. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed left atrial (LA) thrombus at the posterobasal site, which was compressed by a large mass with high echo intensity. A chest computed tomography scan revealed dilatation of the esophagus, compressing the LA from the posterior side.

Interaction with leukocytes: phospholipid-stabilized versus albumin-shell microbubbles.

Purpose: To confirm that BR14 microbubbles (MBs) can be phagocytosed by activated leukocytes, to determine their stability after phagocytosis, and to evaluate how such characteristics influence the fate of neutrophils containing MBs after insonation.

Materials And Methods: BR14 and human albumin MBs (2 x 10(7)/mL) were incubated with activated human neutrophils (2 x 10(6)/mL) to allow phagocytosis. Deflation rate of the phagocytosed MBs after pulsed insonation (one burst per second for 5 seconds) at 1.

Usefulness of brain natriuretic peptide as a marker for separating cardiac and noncardiac causes of syncope.

We retrospectively evaluated the feasibility of measuring brain natriuretic peptide to identify cardiac syncope in 148 consecutive patients with syncope. Sixty-one patients with cardiac syncope were identified. A cut-off value of 40 pg/ml was used to determine the cardiac causes of syncope; the sensitivity and specificity for identification of cardiac syncope were 82% and 92%, respectively.

Contrast transesophageal echocardiography in diagnosing congenital enlargement of the right atrium--a case report.

Congenital malformation of the right atrium or the coronary sinus is rare, and cases are classified into 1 of the following 4 categories: (1) congenital enlargement of right atrium, (2) single diverticulum, (3) multiple diverticula of the right atrium, and (4) diverticulum of the coronary sinus. This report presents a 63-year-old man with cardiomegaly and no chest symptoms. A chest radiograph revealed an enlarged cardiac silhouette with a prominent right heart border.

Improvement of cerebral blood flow by olprinone, a phosphodiesterase-3 inhibitor, in mild heart failure.

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is reduced in heart failure (HF). For the treatment of acute HF, a phosphodiesterase-3 inhibitor, olprinone (OL), yields an increase in myocardial contractility and a decrease in arterial afterload. During a 15-min intravenous infusion of OL (0.