Normal and shear strains of the left ventricle in healthy human subjects measured by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography.

Background: Animal studies have shown that shear deformation of myocardial sheets in transmural planes of left ventricular (LV) wall is an important mechanism for systolic wall thickening, and normal and shear strains of the LV free wall differ from those of the interventricular septum (IVS). We sought to test whether these also hold for human hearts.

Methods: Thirty healthy volunteers (male 23 and female 7, aged 34 ± 6 years) from Outpatient Department of the University of Tokyo Hospital were included.

Multiple coronary artery fistulae with biventricular hypertrophy.

Here, we report a case of multiple coronary artery fistulae with biventricular hypertrophy. The initial diagnosis of multiple coronary artery fistulae, draining into the left as well as the right ventricle, was made by standard transthoracic 2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. Later, multiple coronary fistulae communicating with the left ventricle through persistent sinusoids were diagnosed by coronary angiography.

Volumetric and functional assessment of ventricles in pulmonary hypertension on 3-dimensional echocardiography.

Background: Non-invasive assessment of volume and function on the right ventricle (RV) for pulmonary hypertension (PH) is limited.

Methods And Results: Patients with PH (n=23) underwent 3-dimensional (D) echocardiography (3DECHO), with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to confirm its precision, and right heart catheterization. On linear regression analysis the RV end-systolic volume index (ESVI) was positively correlated with pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP; R=0.

Value of live 3D transoesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of mitral valve lesions.

We experienced a case in which live 3D transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was found much more valuable than 2D TEE in assessing mitral lesions in circumferential direction and making surgical plans for mitral valve prolapse.

A one-year study of the antiatherosclerotic effect of the angiotensin-II receptor blocker losartan in hypertensive patients. A comparison with angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitors.

Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) have been emerging as drugs to treat atherosclerosis. The effectiveness of the ARB losartan at reducing atherosclerosis was compared with that of ACE inhibitors in hypertensive patients. A total of 50 patients with hypertension were divided into 3 groups: a control group receiving neither an ARB nor an ACE inhibitor (n = 14), a losartan group (n = 22) receiving 50 mg/day of losartan, and an ACE inhibitor group (n = 14) receiving either 5 mg/day of enalapril or 5 mg/day of imidapril.

A larger aortic annulus causes aortic regurgitation and a smaller aortic annulus causes aortic stenosis in bicuspid aortic valve.

A bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) often causes aortic stenosis (AS) or regurgitation (AR). In 54 patients with a BAV (48 +/- 16 years), transthoracic and transesophageal echo were performed to measure aortic annulus diameter (AAD), to evaluate the severity of aortic valve disease (AVD) and to calculate the area eccentricity index (AEI) of a BAV defined as a ratio of the larger aortic cusp area to a smaller aortic cusp area. By multiple linear regression analysis, the severity of AR correlated significantly with the AAD (r = 0.

Close physical contact of the heart with diaphragm causes pseudo-asynergy of left ventricular inferior wall in normal subjects.

Paradoxical outward movement of left ventricular (LV) inferior wall in systole is occasionally recognized in normal subjects and clinically important in terms of the differential diagnosis between physiological pseudo-asynergy and pathological asynergy. In this study, the potential mechanisms by which pseudo-asynergy of LV inferior wall (PLI) is observed in normal subjects were investigated. PLI was defined as the outward movement of LV inferior wall observed during more than 50% of systole.

Common carotid intima-media thickness is correlated with myocardial flow reserve in patients with coronary artery disease: a useful non-invasive indicator of coronary atherosclerosis.

Background: The common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is correlated with the angiographically determined coronary artery stenosis. However, their correlation is weak, which limits the clinical application of the IMT as a predictor of coronary artery stenosis. The IMT reflects diffuse early-phase atherosclerosis, whereas the angiographically determined coronary artery stenosis is a late-phase phenomenon.

Carvedilol therapy improved left ventricular function in a patient with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

An asymptomatic 35 year-old man was referred to our hospital because of abnormal ECG findings. The ECG showed complete right bundle branch block and left anterior hemiblock. Echocardiography revealed a moderately enlarged right ventricle (RV) and an apical aneurysm.

Sodium calcium exchanger plays a key role in alteration of cardiac function in response to pressure overload.

The Na+-Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) on the plasma membrane is thought to be the main calcium extrusion system from the cytosol to the extracellular space in many mammalian excitable cells, including cardiac myocytes. However, the pathophysiological role of NCX in the heart is still unclear because of the lack of known specific inhibitors of NCX. To determine the role of NCX in cardiac contraction and the development of cardiac hypertrophy, we imposed pressure overload on the heart of heterozygous NCX knockout (KO) mice by constricting transverse aorta, and examined cardiac function and morphology 3 wk after operation.

Effects of rapid saline infusion on orthostatic intolerance and autonomic tone after 20 days bed rest.

To test whether acute volume expansion can normalize orthostatic intolerance and autonomic tone after prolonged bed rest (BR), 23 men were subjected to 20 days BR. Left ventricular (LV) echocardiography was performed during the lower body negative pressure (LBNP) test before and after BR with and without preceding rapid infusion of saline (1,500 ml/30 min). Saline infusion restored heart rate, LV dimension, and stroke volume during LBNP, increased cardiac output (from 4.

Effusive constrictive pericarditis due to rheumatoid arthritis revealed by pericardiocentesis with simultaneous pressure recording--a case report.

A 59-year-old man had a history of rheumatoid arthritis. He presented with incurable pericardial effusion. He was repeatedly treated with pericardiocentesis with only transient attenuation of his symptoms because the underlying pericardial constriction had been overlooked.

Effects of Dobutamine Infusion on Mitral Regurgitation.

Both intensity of mitral regurgitant murmur and color-coded Doppler regurgitant signal area have been reported to correlate with the degree of regurgitation. To evaluate the relationship between the intensity of regurgitant murmur and severity of mitral regurgitation, phonocardiography, echocardiography, and Doppler ultrasound were performed in 18 patients with mitral regurgitation before and during dobutamine infusion. Mitral regurgitation was due to mitral valve prolapse with ruptured chordae tendineae in 8 patients, rheumatic change in 5 patients, and dilated cardiomyopathy in 5 patients.