Clinical implication of LAVI over A' ratio in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Purpose: The ratio of the left atrial volume index (LAVI) and late diastolic mitral annular velocity (A') is a useful echocardiographic index for identifying advanced left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction in patients with dyspnoea. We investigated the clinical implications and prognostic value of the aforementioned ratio (LAVI/A') in patients with ST elevation (STE) or non-STE (NSTE) acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: We studied 212 patients with ACS.

Altitude-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension on One-Day Rapid Ascent of Mount Fuji: Incidence and Therapeutic Effects of Sildenafil.

Aims: Exposure to high altitudes especially with rapid ascent may induce hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) possibly leading to life-threatening high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence of PH on a 1-day rapid ascent up Mount Fuji (3775 m) in recreational climbers and also to determine the effectiveness of sildenafil for this rapid ascent-induced PH as measured by echocardiography.

Methods And Results: Twenty-five subjects who climbed Mount Fuji showed significantly increased pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) from 22.

Usefulness of right ventricular basal free wall strain by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Recently two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) derived from right ventricular (RV) free wall has been shown to be a very useful tool for the estimation of RV performance. The purpose of this study was to examine whether RV basal free wall strain can detect increased mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). We investigated a total of 126 patients with CTEPH (mean age, 56 ± 12 years).

Two cases with past Kawasaki disease developing acute myocardial infarction in their thirties, despite being regarded as at low risk for coronary events.

Two patients after Kawasaki disease (KD) developed acute myocardial infarction in their thirties, though coronary artery follow-up were deemed unnecessary because of apparently angiographic normal coronary arteries in their children more than 1-year after acute KD. Angiographic findings of apparently normal coronary arteries in the late period after acute KD are possible to mislead their prognoses. It should be recognized that coronary aneurysms can often regress in the late period.

The role of norepinephrine and estradiol in the pathogenesis of cardiac wall motion abnormality associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background And Purpose: The majority of patients with ventricular wall motion abnormality (WMA) associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are postmenopausal women. In addition to elevated catecholamine, the role of estrogen in the pathogenesis of WMA has recently been implicated. The objective of this study is to clarify the interrelation among catecholamine, estrogen, and WMA in patients with SAH.

Prognostic value of left atrial volume index in patents with first acute myocardial infarction.

Aims: We evaluated the usefulness of left atrial volume index (LAVI) and the degree of changes in LAVI (delta LAVI) during hospitalization for the prediction of prognosis after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods And Results: We investigated 205 consecutive patients with first AMI. They underwent echocardiography on admission as well as at discharge.

(123)I-BMIPP and (99m)Tc-TF discordance on myocardial scintigraphy and it's correlation with functional recovery following acute myocardial infarction: role of conventional echocardiography.

(123)I-beta-methyl-iodophenyl pentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) and (99m)Tc-Tetrofosmin (TF) mismatch designated as stunned myocardium having both systolic and diastolic components. The degree of mismatch might reflect subsequent functional improvement, and this study was designed to unravel the impact of mismatched defect score (MMDS) on recovery of both systolic and diastolic function following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Forty patients with recent AMI were recruited, and all of them underwent emergency percutaneous coronary intervention.

Long term prognosis of chronic heart failure: reduced vs preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.

Background: Left ventricle diastolic dysfunction is attracting increasing attention of one of the etiologies of chronic heart failure (CHF).

Methods And Results: The study sample included 560 patients with CHF who were hospitalized during the 5-year period. They were classified into 2 groups according to the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF): reduced group (LVEF <50%, n=431); or preserved group (LVEF >or=50%, n=129).

Prognostic implications of left ventricular wall motion abnormalities associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Left ventricular (LV) dysfunction generally occurs early in the course of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We evaluated the prognostic value of electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities and echocardiographic LV dysfunction evaluated shortly after SAH. We prospectively enrolled 47 SAH patients (62 +/- 14 years, mean +/- SD) who were admitted to the neurosurgical care unit of our institute.

Significance of transient left ventricular wall thickening in acute lymphocytic myocarditis.

Transient left ventricular (LV) wall thickening is observed in patients with acute lymphocytic myocarditis. The present study was undertaken to clarify the significance of transient LV wall thickening in patients with this disease. The subjects comprised 25 patients with acute lymphocytic myocarditis.

Relief of left ventricular outflow obstruction by cibenzoline in a patient with Fabry's disease--a case report.

A 46-year-old man was admitted for further evaluation of exertional chest discomfort. One family member had experienced sudden death, and 2 others had died of heart failure, including 1 known to have had Fabry's disease. The patient was also diagnosed with Fabry's disease, based on reduced leukocyte alpha-galactosidase A activity, 2.

A case of unicuspid aortic valve associated with a single coronary artery and ventricular septal defect.

The patient was a 26-year-old man who had undergone patch closure of a ventricular septal defect at 2 years of age. After this surgery, his condition was satisfactory until he visited our hospital for treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in November 2000. Echocardiography revealed moderate to severe aortic valve regurgitation and dilatation of the left ventricle and ascending aorta.

Relationship between basal thinning of the interventricular septum and atrioventricular block in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis.

Background: Basal thinning of the interventricular septum (IVS) and atrioventricular block (AVB) are characteristic features of cardiac sarcoidosis. Since the conduction system passes along IVS, it has been considered that a close connection exists between basal thinning of IVS and AVB. However, neither the incidence of cases showing basal thinning of IVS nor the relation between it and AVB has been clarified.

Questionnaire survey on the state of routine echocardiographic examinations in Japan: second report.

We mailed questionnaires to 748 registered medical sonographers [RMSs (cardiology)] to gather information for a large-scale survey of RMSs in May 2000. We wanted to evaluate the current state of routine echocardiography in Japan. Altogether, 530 (70.

Narrowing of the left ventricular cavity associated with transient ventricular wall thickening reduces stroke volume in patients with acute myocarditis.

It has been reported that some patients with acute myocarditis have transient ventricular thickening associated with narrowing of the left ventricular cavity caused by interstitial edema. The present study investigated this phenomenon in 20 patients with acute myocarditis. Based on the sum of the interventricular septal wall thickness and left ventricular posterior wall thickness (IVST + PWT), measured by M-mode echocardiography, patients were divided into group A (IVST + PWT >/=25 mm, n=12) and group B (IVST + PWT <25 mm, n=8).