Breast Cancer Promotes Cardiac Dysfunction Through Deregulation of Cardiomyocyte Ca-Handling Protein Expression That is Not Reversed by Exercise Training.

Background Patients treated for breast cancer have a high incidence of cardiovascular complications. In this study, we evaluated the impact of breast cancer on cardiac function and cardiomyocyte Ca-handling protein expression. We also investigated whether exercise training (ET) would prevent these potential alterations.

Left Atrial Function in Patients with Chronic Chagasic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Chagas disease is a cause of dilated cardiomyopathy, and information about left atrial (LA) function in this disease still lacks.

Objective: To assess the different LA functions (reservoir, conduit and pump functions) and their correlation with the echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic functions.

Methods: 10 control subjects (CG), and patients with Chagas disease as follows: 26 with the indeterminate form (GI); 30 with ECG alterations (GII); and 19 with LV dysfunction (GIII).

Usefulness of a new proposed tissue Doppler imaging global function index in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: A global function index (GFI) derived from tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) has been proposed to improve the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of this index in a large selected HCM population.

Methods: GFI =[E/Ea]/Sa, was calculated at mitral annulus lateral and septal borders in 164 HCM patients and in 40 healthy volunteers.