The basic heart anatomy and physiology from the cardiologist's perspective: Toward a better understanding of left ventricular mechanics, systolic, and diastolic function.

A comprehensive understanding of the cardiac structure-function relationship is essential for proper clinical cardiac imaging. This review summarizes the basic heart anatomy and physiology from the perspective of a heart imager focused on myocardial mechanics. The main issues analyzed are the left ventricular (LV) architecture, the LV myocardial deformation through the cardiac cycle, the LV diastolic function basic parameters and the basic parameters of the LV deformation used in clinical practice for the LV function assessment.

Major Aortic Reconstruction with the Replacement of Supra-Aortic Branches: Successful Surgical Treatment of Takayasu Arteritis Initially Presented as Congestive Heart Failure.

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a rare, large vessel vasculitis that affects aorta, its major branches, and occasionally pulmonary arteries. Patients with TA can present with constitutional features and/or various symptoms and signs caused by morphological changes in the blood vessels affected by the inflammatory process. Corticosteroids (CS) and immunosuppressives (IS) are the first line treatment for active TA.

Association of tuberculosis and tricuspid valve endocarditis in AIDS patient with Ebstein heart anomaly.

A case of tricuspid valve endocarditis in an AIDS patient, an intravenous drug user, initially empirically unsuccessfully treated as a Staphylococcus aureus infection, and thereafter turned to be, most likely, of Mycobacterium tuberculosis etiology is presented.

The relationship between causative microorganisms and cardiac lesions caused by infective endocarditis: New perspectives from the contemporary cohort of patients.

Background: The etiology of infective endocarditis (IE) is changing. More aggressive forms with multiple IE cardiac lesions have become more frequent. This study sought to explore the relationship between contemporary causative microorganisms and IE cardiac lesions and to analyze the impact of multiple lesions on treatment choice.

Gauging the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy: The important interplay between predictor variables and definition of a favorable outcome.

Aims: Selection of patients who are viable candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), prediction of the response to CRT as well as an optimal definition of a favorable response, all require further exploration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the interplay between the prediction of the response to CRT and the definition of a favorable outcome.

Methods: Seventy patients who received CRT were included.

[Characteristics, outcome and predictors of one year mortality rate in patients with acute heart failure].

Background/aim: Acute heart failure (AHF) is one of the most common diseases in emergency medicine, associated with poor prognosis and high in-hospital and long-term mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate characteristics, outcomes and one year mortality of patients with AHF in the local population.

Methods: This prospective study consisted of 64 consecutive unselected patients treated in the Coronary Care Unit of the Emergency Centre (Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade) and were followed for one year after the discharge.

[Are de novo acute heart failure and acutely worsened chronic heart failure two subgroups of the same syndrome?].

Introduction: Acute heart failure (AHF) is one of the most common diseases in emergency medicine, associated with poor prognosis and high in-hospital and long-term mortality.

Objective: To investigate clinical presentation of patients with de novo AHF and acute worsening of chronic heart failure (CHF) and to identify differences in blood levels of biomarkers and echocardiography findings.

Methods: This prospective study comprised 64 consecutive patients being grouped according to the onset of the disease into patients with the de novo AHF (45.