Measurement of effective aortic valve area using three-dimensional echocardiography in children undergoing aortic balloon valvuloplasty for aortic stenosis.

Aims: Pressure gradient is used for timing of balloon aortic valvuloplasty for aortic stenosis (AS) in children, but does not correlate well with outcome and is limited if ventricular function is poor. In adults, effective orifice area (EOA) is used to assess AS severity, but EOA by continuity equation or 2D echo is unreliable in children. Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) may reliably assess EOA but has not been studied in children.

Relation between left ventricular regional radial function and radial wall motion abnormalities using two-dimensional speckle tracking in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Left ventricular (LV) regional radial function and its relation to radial wall motion abnormalities have not been investigated in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). Radial strain was measured using 2-dimensional speckle tracking to evaluate regional radial function and wall motion in 6 LV segments in 24 children (0 to 18 years old) with IDC and 16 healthy controls. Patients and controls were similar in age.

Evaluation of mechanical dyssynchrony in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and associated clinical outcomes.

We studied mechanical dyssynchrony and its association with clinical status in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). The SD of QRS to peak systolic velocity interval by tissue Doppler was measured in 12 left ventricular segments, as a dyssynchrony index (DI), in each child with IDC during a 12-month period. Results were compared with a control cohort.