Left coronary artery ostial stenosis from Takayasu's arteritis diagnosed using transthoracic color flow and pulsed Doppler echocardiography.

Coronary artery stenosis is seen in 10-45% of patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TA) and coronary ostia are most frequently involved. It may cause angina pectoris and sudden death during the early course of the disease. We describe a 14-year-old girl who first presented with exertional angina and syncope and was diagnosed as having left coronary artery ostial stenosis from TA by using transthoracic echocardiography.

Perioperative changes in dynamic aortic root morphology after Yacoub's root remodeling and concomitant aortic annuloplasty.

We have performed aortic root remodeling concomitant with aortic annuloplasty (subvalvular circular annuloplasty: it tightens the aortic annulus, using Gore-Tex strip (N.L. Gore and Associates, Arizona, USA)) in patients with AAE and AR.

[Evaluation of echocardiographic left ventricular wall motion analysis supported by internet picture viewing system].

Background: Assessment of deterioration of regional wall motion by echocardiography is not only subjective but also features difficulties with interobserver agreement. Progress in digital communication technology has made it possible to send video images from a distant location via the Internet.

Objectives: The possibility of evaluating left ventricular wall motion using video images sent via the Internet to distant institutions was evaluated.

Aortic valve repair for aortic regurgitation: intermediate-term results in patients with tricuspid morphology.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Surgical results after aortic valve repair in patients with aortic regurgitation (AR) of tricuspid valve morphology and with no evidence of aortic root disease have not yet been clarified.

Methods: Between January 1994 and June 2001, aortic valve repair was performed in 40 patients (eight females, 32 males; mean age 61.0 +/- 10.

[Coronary sinus ostial atresia with thrombus: a case report].

An 82-year-old woman presented with mitral regurgitation and atrial fibrillation. She was hospitalized for further examination of cardiac thrombus detected by transthoracic echocardiography. No definitive diagnosis could be made based on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Effects of exercise training on left ventricular function evaluated by the Tei index in patients with myocardial infarction.

Background: This study investigated the influence of exercise training on left ventricular (LV) function in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using a new index of cardiac function, the Tei index.

Methods And Results: The study enrolled 53 consecutive patients (36 males, 17 females; mean age: 65+/-10 years) with AMI. Exercise training was performed for 6 months; peak VO2 and the Tei index were measured at the start of the cardiac rehabilitation program and 1, 3, and 6 months later.

Morphological analysis of aortic root in eccentric aortic regurgitation using anyplane two-dimensional images produced by transesophageal three-dimensional echocardiography.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Evaluation of leaflet dysfunction in aortic valve repair is important. In eccentric aortic regurgitation (AR), it is unclear whether leaflet dysfunction other than prolapse exists. The study aim was to validate the hypothesis that eccentric AR correlates with leaflet dysfunction.

Noninvasive Measurement of Left Coronary Blood Flow Reserve by Transthoracic Doppler Echocardiography: Comparison with Doppler Guidewire Ultrasonography.

The development of new ultrasound instrumentation has made epicardial coronary artery blood flow imaging easier with the use of transthoracic coronary Doppler echocardiography (TCDE). This study was performed to investigate the accuracy of coronary blood flow reserve (CFR) measurement by TCDE. In 15 patients with ischemic heart disease in the absence of valvular disease or atrial fibrillation, coronary flow at rest and flow with hyperemia induced by intravenous dipyridamole infusion were recorded by TCDE and Doppler guidewire ultrasonography.