Acute pericarditis as a major clinical manifestation of long COVID-19 syndrome.

Background: The long COVID-19 syndrome has been recently described and some reports have suggested that acute pericarditis represents important manifestation of long COVID-19 syndrome. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and clinical characteristics of patients with long COVID-19, presenting with acute pericarditis.

Methods: We retrospectively included 180 patients (median age 47 years, 62% female) previously diagnosed with COVID-19, exhibiting persistence or new-onset symptoms ≥12 weeks from a negative naso-pharyngeal SARS CoV2 swamp test.

A hanging mass in the ascending aorta diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography in a totally asymptomatic subject.

Aortic mural thrombosis is generally associated with several diseases, including coagulopathies, aortic dissection or trauma, tumors, and complicated atherosclerotic plaques. The development of a friable mobile thrombus, especially in the ascending aorta or proximal aortic arch, is a rare event with potentially ominous consequences because of a life-threatening risk of stroke and peripheral embolization. The treatment of choice of this condition is still controversial.

Incremental prognostic value of stress echo positivity in the left anterior descending coronary artery territory.

Background: Dipyridamole stress echo (DSE) positivity is usually titrated according to presence and severity of the induced wall motion abnormalities. The purpose of our study is to assess whether the location of DSE positivity might add to prognostic stratification.

Methods: The study enrolled 112 patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) and without a history of prior myocardial infarction.

Heart involvement in T cell lymphoma through hypereosinophilic syndrome: a common complication of a rare condition.

This case describes a 42-year-old male affected by hypereosinophilic syndrome associated with angioimmunoblastic lymphoma. Heart involvement was suspected at ECG mimicking left ventricular hypertrophy. MRI clarified the extensive endomyocardial fibrosis, confirming the role of this technique in in-vivo tissue characterization.

Diagnostic value of exercise electrocardiography and dipyridamole stress echocardiography in hypertensive and normotensive chest pain patients with right bundle branch block.

Objectives: Studies on the diagnostic value of exercise electrocardiography in right bundle branch block produced controversial results, and data on the accuracy of stress echo are still lacking. The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic value of exercise electrocardiography and dipyridamole stress echo in chest pain patients with right bundle branch block, and to verify whether stress testing accuracy is affected by history of hypertension.

Methods: The study group was made up of 71 patients (56 men, aged 63 +/- 8 years) with chest pain of unknown origin and complete right bundle branch block.

Noninvasive pacemaker stress echocardiography for diagnosis of coronary artery disease: a multicenter study.

Objective: We evaluated the feasibility, safety, and diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive pacemaker stress echocardiography (PASE) test as a potential alternative to exercise or pharmacologic stress in patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD).

Background: Transesophageal atrial pacing echocardiography is an accurate test for detection of CAD, but its practical impact has been blunted by semi-invasiveness. In the expanding population of patients with permanent pacemakers (PMs), a pacing stress test can be administered noninvasively by external programming of the PM.

Doppler-derived mitral and pulmonary venous flow variables are predictors of pulmonary hypertension in dilated cardiomyopathy.

This study assessed whether Doppler-derived mitral and pulmonary venous flow parameters were predictors of pulmonary artery hypertension in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. Doppler echocardiographic examinations were performed in patients (n = 100) with dilated cardiomyopathy in sinus rhythm either symptomatic or asymptomatic before and after optimized therapy with ACE inhibitors, diuretics, and vasodilators. In case of weak or poor Doppler signals, measurable tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary venous flow tracings were obtained after intravenous administration of 2.

Prognostic value of left atrial enlargement in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Previous studies have shown that abnormal mitral flow patterns and left atrial (LA) enlargement are independently associated with survival in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. However, it is not known whether these outcome indicators can provide different information in patients of various age groups. This study was designed to assess the prognostic value of the restrictive mitral flow pattern (RMFP) and increased LA size in patients with LV dysfunction (ejection fraction <45%) grouped into those < or = 70 years old (n = 102; mean age 61) and those >70 years old (n = 105; mean age 78).