3D and 4D Ultrasound: Current Progress and Future Perspectives.

Purpose Of Review: Three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography (3DE) and 4-dimensional echocardiography (4DE), also known as real-time (RT) 3DE (RT3DE), are rapidly emerging technologies which have made significant impact in the clinical arena over the years. This review will discuss the recent applications of 3DE in diagnosing and treating different types of cardiovascular disease.

Recent Findings: Recent studies using 3DE expanded on prior findings and introduced additional applications to different cardiac conditions.

Right ventricular function in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a community-based study.

Background: The prevalence and clinical significance of right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction (RVD) in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are not well characterized.

Methods And Results: Consecutive, prospectively identified HFpEF (Framingham HF criteria, ejection fraction ≥50%) patients (n=562) from Olmsted County, Minnesota, underwent echocardiography at HF diagnosis and follow-up for cause-specific mortality and HF hospitalization. RV function was categorized by tertiles of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and by semiquantitative (normal, mild RVD, or moderate to severe RVD) 2-dimensional assessment.

Three-dimensional color Doppler echocardiographic quantification of tricuspid regurgitation orifice area: comparison with conventional two-dimensional measures.

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) color Doppler echocardiography (CDE) provides directly measured vena contracta area (VCA). However, a large comprehensive 3D color Doppler echocardiographic study with sufficiently severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) to verify its value in determining TR severity in comparison with conventional quantitative and semiquantitative two-dimensional (2D) parameters has not been previously conducted. The aim of this study was to examine the utility and feasibility of directly measured VCA by 3D transthoracic CDE, its correlation with 2D echocardiographic measurements of TR, and its ability to determine severe TR.

Comparative study of high-resolution microimaging with 30-MHz scanner for evaluating cardiac function in mice.

Background: The accurate assessment of cardiac function in mice is challenging because of their small heart size and rapid heart rate.

Methods: We examined the usefulness of novel high-resolution echocardiography (HRE) with a 30-MHz transducer in evaluating cardiac function in 20 mice compared with conventional echocardiography (CE) with a 13-MHz transducer. The left ventricular (LV) regional wall motion (RWM), LV end-diastolic dimension, fractional shortening, anterior LV wall thickness, E/A, and myocardial performance index were assessed.

H(2)O(2) regulates cardiac myocyte phenotype via concentration-dependent activation of distinct kinase pathways.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can act as signaling molecules to stimulate either hypertrophy or apoptosis in cardiac myocytes. We tested the hypothesis that the phenotypic effects of ROS are due to differential, concentration-dependent activation of specific kinase signaling pathways. Adult rat ventricular myocytes were exposed to H(2)O(2) over a broad concentration range (10-1000 microM).

Beta-adrenergic receptor-stimulated apoptosis in cardiac myocytes is mediated by reactive oxygen species/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase-dependent activation of the mitochondrial pathway.

Stimulation of beta-adrenergic receptors (betaARs) causes apoptosis in adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVMs). The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mediating betaAR-stimulated apoptosis is not known. Stimulation of betaARs with norepinephrine (10 micromol/L) in the presence of prazosin (100 nmol/L) for 24 hours increased the number of apoptotic myocytes as determined by TUNEL staining by 3.