Strain Analysis of Left Ventricular Function in the Association of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Systemic Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heart disease of genetic origin in the world population, with a prevalence of at least 1/500. The association with systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) is not uncommon, as it affects approximately 25% of the world population. Most studies aim at the differential diagnosis between these diseases, but little is known about the magnitude of this association.

Epidemiological and clinical profile of infective endocarditis at a Brazilian tertiary care center: an eight-year prospective study.

Introduction: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a systemic infectious disease requiring a multidisciplinary team for treatment. This study presents the epidemiological and clinical data of 73 cases of IE in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Methods: This observational prospective cohort study of endocarditis patients during an eight-year study period described 73 episodes of IE in 70 patients (three had IE twice).

Left ventricular structural and functional changes evaluated by echocardiography and two-dimensional strain in patients with sickle cell disease.

Introduction: Patients with sickle cell disease have increased left ventricular size, which is not usually accompanied by changes in systolic function indexes. We assessed echocardiographic abnormalities present in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and compared echocardiographic parameters to other sickle cell diseases (OSCD).

Material And Methods: A blind cross-sectional study with 60 patients with SCA and 16 patients with OSCD who underwent transthoracic echocardiography was performed.

Correlation between Diastolic Function and Endothelial Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction may be involved in the pathophysiology of cardiac abnormalities in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). A correlation between endothelial dysfunction and diastolic dysfunction in patients with type 1 DM has been demonstrated, but this relationship has not been well investigated in type 2 DM.

Objective: Compare groups of patients with type 2 DM and hypertension with and without diastolic dysfunction using endothelial function indexes, and to assess whether correlations exist between the diastolic function and the endothelial function indexes.

Vascular or chronological age: which is the better marker to estimate the cardiovascular risk in patients with type 1 diabetes?

Aims: To evaluate whether using vascular age (VA) instead of chronological age (CA) in the Framingham score would enhance the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk estimation in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study comprising 58 T1D patients and 38 control subjects matched by age, gender and body mass index. To estimate the VA, we used carotid intima-media thickness normality estimation tables that took into account age, gender and ethnic group.

Influence of a family history of type 2 diabetes, demographic and clinical data on carotid intima-media thickness in patients with type 1 diabetes: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery is a surrogate end point of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Identifying the factors associated with a higher IMT may contribute to the identification of subjects with higher CVD risk. Our objective was to compare the common carotid IMT of type 1 diabetes patients to healthy control subjects.

Is myocardial performance index an independent echocardiographic marker of death in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy?

Background: Myocardial performance index (MPI) was reported as a parameter of ventricular systolic and diastolic function, as well as a useful tool to predict the outcome in patients with ventricular dysfunction.

Hypothesis: To compare MPI with classical echocardiographic parameters as an independent marker of death in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM).

Methods: Fifty-five children (13 deaths) underwent 104 echocardiograms from January 1996 to May 2005.

Outcome factors of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in children - a long-term follow-up review.

Background: Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in children has a high rate of mortality. Cardiac transplantation is the treatment of choice in those who fail to respond to therapeutics. Several studies have been carried out to determine unfavourable prognoses, and to provide an early indication for cardiac transplantation.

[Myocardial viability in a single-vessel disease: the role of a dobutamine stress echocardiography].

Objective: To investigate a group of patients that have a significant lesion in a single-vessel and to demonstrate whether or not the sensitivity and specificity of a dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) was valuable in the evaluation of myocardial viability for these patients.

Methods: Twenty patients who had undergone percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) were studied. This group was evaluated 2 to 7 days (3.

[The role of L-carnitine in nutritional status and echocardiographic parameters in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in children].

Objectives: Malnutrition is an independent predictor of death in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. An analysis was performed of the impact of L-carnitine supplementation on the nutritional status and echocardiogram parameters of children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Methods: This was an open label cohort of 11 patients who received L-carnitine (100 mg/kg/day) plus the conventional medical treatment, compared with 40 controls, matched for gender and age.

How can the echocardiogram be useful for predicting death in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy?

Objective: To determine the echocardiographic predicting factors of death in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Methods: A retrospective study of 148 children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosed between September 1979 and March 2003 was carried out. The inclusion criteria were as follows: heart failure and a reduction in contractility on the echocardiogram in the absence of congenital or secondary heart disease.

[The impact of malnutrition on idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in children].

Objective: To analyze the prognostic value of malnutrition in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 165 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, diagnosed from September 1979 to March 2003. It analyzed the following variables: gender, age, previous viral illness in the preceding 3 months, functional class according to the New York Heart Association (NYHA), evaluation of nutritional status (normal vs.

[Prognostic value of chest roentgenograms in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy].

Objective: To analyze the prognostic value of cardiomegaly, pulmonary congestion and cardiothoracic ratio as indicators of death and survival in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective review of 152 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosed between September 1979 and March 2003. In the first 72 months, 722 exams were performed (100 in the first 15 days).