Left ventricular endocardial longitudinal dysfunction persists after acute myocarditis with preserved ejection fraction.

Background: The aim of present study was to assess left ventricular (LV) myocardial deformation and changes over time in patients with acute myocarditis (AM) with preserved ejection fraction detected by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods: Thirty-five male patients with AM diagnoses and preserved systolic function based on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were prospectively enrolled. On admission, echocardiography with measurements of global and segmental longitudinal (LS) strains was performed both at the endocardial (ENDO) and epicardial (EPI) levels.

Arterial Wall Characteristics in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease. Preliminary Data Obtained at Different Arterial Sites by Radiofrequency-Based Wall Tracking System.

The common carotid artery (CCA) and the common femoral artery (CFA) have different characteristics. We compared CCA and CFA intima-media thickness (IMT), diameter and stiffness in 50 healthy controls, 50 patients with cardiovascular risk factors (CV-RFs), and 50 patients with peripheral artery diseases (PADs) using radiofrequency-based ultrasound (Rf-US). Common femoral artery-IMT was significantly and similarly increased in patients with both CV-RF and PAD, whereas CCA-IMT was significantly greater only in patients with PAD.

2D longitudinal LV speckle tracking strain pattern in breast cancer survivors: sports activity vs exercise as prescription model.

Prevention strategies are important to optimize and to manage heart care in breast cancer survivors. Regular physical activity at moderate intensity is normally proposed to maintain myocardial performance; however, no data is available about the different impact of different levels of physical exercise. 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) is an accepted method for early detection of myocardial dysfunction.

Two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography: standardization efforts based on synthetic ultrasound data.

Aims: Speckle tracking echocardiography has already demonstrated its clinical potential. However, its use in routine practice is jeopardized by recent reports on high inter-vendor variability of the measurements. As such, the European Association of CardioVascular Imaging (EACVI) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) set up a standardization task force, which was joined by all manufacturers of echocardiographic equipment as well as by companies offering software solutions only, with the ambition to tackle this problem by standardization and quality assurance (QA).

Definitions for a common standard for 2D speckle tracking echocardiography: consensus document of the EACVI/ASE/Industry Task Force to standardize deformation imaging.

Recognizing the critical need for standardization in strain imaging, in 2010, the European Association of Echocardiography (now the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging, EACVI) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) invited technical representatives from all interested vendors to participate in a concerted effort to reduce intervendor variability of strain measurement. As an initial product of the work of the EACVI/ASE/Industry initiative to standardize deformation imaging, we prepared this technical document which is intended to provide definitions, names, abbreviations, formulas, and procedures for calculation of physical quantities derived from speckle tracking echocardiography and thus create a common standard.

Left atrial function in cardiac amyloidosis.

Aims: Left atrium can be involved by amyloid deposition in familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP). The aim of our study is to assess left atrium function in atrial amyloidosis.

Methods: Twenty-eight FAP patients (53 ± 12 years) and a control group of 22 asymptomatic individuals (49 ± 11 years) underwent strain echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).

External Cardioversion of Atrial Fibrillation Causes an Early Improvement of Cardiac Performance: A Longitudinal Strain Analysis Study.

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is often associated with heart failure. Several studies have demonstrated that resumption of sinus rhythm (SR) improves cardiac output in the long-term. Aims of this study were to evaluate the acute variations of left ventricular (LV) performance, following successful external cardioversion (ECV) of persistent AF using longitudinal strain (LSt) analysis, and the influence of inflammation.

The effect of exercise training on left ventricular function in young elite athletes.

Background: Regular training, in particular endurance exercise, induces structural myocardial adaptation, so-called "athlete's heart". In addition to the 2D standard echo parameters, assessment of myocardial function is currently possible by deformation parameters (strain, rotation and twist). Aim of study is to assess the role of rotation and twist parameters for better characterize the heart performance in trained elite young athletes from different kind of sports.

Impact of prolonged cardiac unloading on left ventricular mass and longitudinal myocardial performance: an experimental bed rest study in humans.

Objective: This study evaluated the impact of prolonged circulatory unloading and subsequent left ventricular (LV) mass decrease on LV myocardial performance. Five-week head-down tilt (-6°) bed rest (HDTBR) was used as a model of prolonged circulatory unloading.

Methods: Ten young healthy male volunteers (age 23 ± 2 years) were studied a day before and within the first 24 h after the end of HDTBR by two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography and carotid applanation tonometry.

Interventricular delay optimization: a comparison among three different echocardiographic methods.

Aim Of The Study: To compare three different methods for obtaining interventricular-(VV) interval optimization.

Methods: A total of 30 patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) were enrolled. All the patients underwent VV-interval optimization performed with three different echocardiographic methods at seven different settings: simultaneous right (RV) and left (LV) ventricular pacing, LV stimulation only, LV preexcitation (LV+20,+40,+60 ms, respectively), RV preexcitation (RV+20 and+40 ms, respectively).

Speckle tracking for left ventricle performance in young athletes with bicuspid aortic valve and mild aortic regurgitation.

Aims: Longitudinal peak systolic strain (LPSS) quantifies regional and global heart function. Few data are available on left ventricle (LV) performance in young athletes with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), where a pattern of mild aortic insufficiency is relatively frequent, and the ejection fraction (EF) is often normal for a long time. We report the measurement of LV strain in young BAV athletes.