Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Failure with Preserved Left Ventricular Systolic Function: Distinct Elevated Risk for Cardiovascular Outcomes in Women Compared to Men.

Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is prevalent in women and is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, sex associations in AF-related HFpEF are not well explored. Aim: We studied differences between men and women with and without AF-related HFpEF symptoms on left ventricular (LV) geometry and diastolic dysfunction (DD) and their effect on cardiovascular events.

Tissue Doppler derived biphasic velocities during the pre and post-ejection phases: patterns, concordance and hemodynamic significance in health and disease.

Background: Pre-(PRE) and post-ejection (POE) velocities by mitral annular tissue Doppler (TD) are biphasic and may be related to myocardial deformations. We investigated the predominance and concordance of TD-PRE and POE velocities and their effect on myocardial functions in controls and in heart failure (HF) patients.

Methods: Retrospectively, 84 HF patients [57.

Precision Phenotyping in Heart Failure and Pattern Clustering of Ultrasound Data for the Assessment of Diastolic Dysfunction.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether cluster analysis of left atrial and left ventricular (LV) mechanical deformation parameters provide sufficient information for Doppler-independent assessment of LV diastolic function.

Background: Medical imaging produces substantial phenotyping data, and superior computational analyses could allow automated classification of repetitive patterns into patient groups with similar behavior.

Methods: The authors performed a cluster analysis and developed a model of LV diastolic function from an initial exploratory cohort of 130 patients that was subsequently tested in a prospective cohort of 44 patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.

In vitro antischistosomal activity of venom from the Egyptian snake Cerastes cerastes.

Introduction:: We studied the potential in vitro antischistosomal activity of Cerastes cerastes venom on adult Schistosoma mansoni worms.

Methods:: Live specimens of the horned viper snake, C. cerastes were collected from the Aswan Governorate (Egypt).

Radius of proximal isovelocity surface area in the assessment of rheumatic mitral stenosis: Connecting flow to anatomy and hemodynamics.

Background: Echocardiographic assessment of left atrial pressure (LAP) in mitral stenosis (MS) is controversial. We sought to examine the role of the radius of the proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA-r) in the assessment of the hemodynamic status of MS after fixing the aliasing velocity (Val).

Methods And Results: We studied 42 candidates of balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV), for whom pre-BMV echocardiography was done and LAP invasively measured before dilatation.

Tissue Doppler-Derived Myocardial Acceleration during Isovolumetric Contraction Predicts Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure in Patients with Significant Mitral Regurgitation.

The aim of this study was to determine whether isovolumic contraction velocity (IVV) and acceleration (IVA) predict pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) in mitral regurgitation. Forty-four patients with mitral regurgitation were studied. PCWP was invasively measured.