Noninvasive evaluation of coronary reperfusion by CT angiography in patients with STEMI.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether 64-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) can differentiate coronary reperfusion with Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow grade 3 from TIMI flow grade ≤ 2 after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Background: Multidetector computed tomography has become a popular modality for noninvasive coronary artery imaging. Recently, 64-slice MDCT has been applied to evaluate coronary arteries in acute coronary artery disease.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy in a patient with Graves' disease.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare life-threatening cardiomyopathy of unknown etiology that occurs during the peripartum period in previously healthy women. Autoimmune and viral factors have been suggested to be involved in PPCM. Here we describe a patient with Graves' disease, which is one of the organ-specific autoimmune diseases, who developed acute heart failure due to PPCM at 2 weeks after her first delivery.

Increased Tei index suggests absence of adequate coronary reperfusion in patients with first anteroseptal acute myocardial infarction.

Background: The estimation of coronary reperfusion in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is important. The left ventricular (LV) Tei index is a noninvasive and sensitive parameter expressing overall LV function. We hypothesized that patients without good coronary reperfusion have worse LV function with a higher or worse Tei index compared to those with good reperfusion.

Correlation between distal left anterior descending artery flow velocity by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography and corrected TIMI frame count before mechanical reperfusion in patients with anterior acute myocardial infarction.

Background: This study was designed to determine the utility of transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) in evaluating angiographic Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) frame count as a quantitative index of coronary reperfusion in patients with anterior acute myocardial infarction (AMI) before mechanical reperfusion.

Methods And Results: Color and pulsed TTDE was performed to evaluate distal left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) reperfusion in 56 consecutive patients with a first anterior AMI before coronary intervention, and these findings were compared with the corrected TIMI frame count (cTFC) by subsequent angiography. Twenty-four of the 56 patients had LAD reperfusion (TIMI 2 or 3) by angiography.

Noninvasive evaluation of coronary reperfusion by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography in patients with anterior acute myocardial infarction before coronary intervention.

Background: Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) enables evaluation of distal left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) flow. The purpose of this study was to test whether TTDE can differentiate coronary reperfusion with Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) grade 3 from TIMI grade < or =2 in patients with anterior acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods And Results: In 46 consecutive patients with a first anterior AMI in the acute phase before emergent coronary intervention, the presence of antegrade distal LAD flow and its diastolic peak velocity were evaluated by color and pulsed TTDE and compared with TIMI grades by subsequent coronary angiography performed 29+/-12 minutes later.

Pseudonormalized Doppler total ejection isovolume (Tei) index in patients with right ventricular acute myocardial infarction.

The Doppler total ejection isovolume (Tei) index is useful for estimating global cardiac function. However, the relation between the right ventricular (RV) Tei index and RV infarction has not been investigated. The relation between the RV Tei index and severity of RV infarction was evaluated in 25 patients with inferior wall acute myocardial infarction (13 with and 12 without RV infarction).