Right ventricular volume and function by three-dimensional echocardiography: results of the echocardiographic measurements in normal Chinese adults (EMINCA) II.

Three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography is an emerging technique for assessing right ventricular (RV) volume and function, but 3D-RV normal values from a large Chinese population are still lacking. The aim of the present study was to establish normal values of 3D-RV volume and function in healthy Chinese volunteers. A total of 1117 Han Chinese volunteers from 28 laboratories in 20 provinces of China were enrolled, and 3D-RV images of 747 volunteers with optimal image quality were ultimately analyzed by a core laboratory.

Layer-specific strain in patients with cardiac amyloidosis using tissue tracking MR.

Background: Cardiac infiltration is the major predictor of poor prognosis in patients with systemic amyloidosis, thus it becomes of great importance to evaluate cardiac involvement.

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate left ventricular myocardial deformation alteration in patients with cardiac amyloidosis (CA) using layer-specific tissue tracking MR.

Material And Methods: Thirty-nine patients with CA were enrolled.

Prognostic value of coronary CT angiography in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction.

Objectives: To investigate the prognostic value of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Methods: Between January 2009 and December 2013, 6497 participants (mean age 63 ± 9.4 [range 32-86] years; 4111 men) who underwent CCTA and echocardiography were prospectively included.

Nonhypertensive male with multiple paragangliomas of the heart and neck: A case report.

Background: Paraganglioma is a rare disease that can be lethal if undiagnosed. Thus, quick recognition is very important. Cardiac paragangliomas are found in patients who have hypertension.

The value of serum metabolomics analysis in predicting the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Objective: To construct a prediction model based on metabolic profiling for predicting the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Methods: Peripheral venous (PV) and coronary sinus (CS) blood samples were collected from 25 patients with heart failure (HF) at the time of CRT implantation, and PV blood samples were obtained from ten healthy controls. The serum samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

Left Heart Ejection Fraction as a Load-Independent Parameter for Patients with Mitral Regurgitation.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The functions of the left ventricle and left atrium are closely associated with the outcomes of surgically treated patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR). However, both parameters were overestimated in the presence of MR. The present study integrated the left atrium and left ventricle as the left heart (LH) to eliminate the influence of MR within the integrated structure.

Early anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity monitored by echocardiographic Doppler parameters combined with serum hs-cTnT.

Purpose: As growing numbers of long-term cancer survivors faced with the cardiac side effects by anthracycline treatment, it is necessary to explore the optimal monitoring method for the early detection of cardiac toxicity.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 82 consecutive patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with chemotherapy. Echocardiographic Doppler imaging-derived Tei index and mitral annular peak systolic velocity (Sm) measured by tissue Doppler imaging TDI, serum high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) levels, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by multigated radionuclide angiography (MUGA) were obtained before, after 2-4, and after 6-8 chemotherapy cycles.

Assessment of biventricular systolic strain derived from the two-dimensional and three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in lymphoma patients after anthracycline therapy.

The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) for assessment of both left and right ventricular systolic function in patients with lymphoma after anthracycline chemotherapy, compared with two-dimensional (2D) STE. Totally eighty-nine patients undergoing anthracycline containing chemotherapy were studied. Echocardiographic assessment included 2D and 3D left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS) and right ventricular (RV) GLS.

A novel method for sensitive determination of subclinical right ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate right ventricular (RV) regional systolic function and dyssynchrony in patients with newly diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea using real-time three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography.

Methods: Eighty-two subjects without hypertension, diabetes mellitus or any cardiac or pulmonary disease referred for evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) had overnight polysomnography and complete echocardiographic assessment. According to the apnea hypopnea index (AHI), subjects were divided into four groups: group 1: control subjects (AHI < 5, n = 19), group 2: patients with mild OSA (AHI: 5-14, n = 21), group 3: moderate OSA (AHI: 15-30, n = 18), group 4: severe OSA (AHI > 30, n = 24).

Rapid predictors for the occurrence of reduced left ventricular ejection fraction between LAD and non-LAD related ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Backgrounds: Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), which implies the occurrence of cardiac dysfunction, impacts cardiac prognosis, even after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study was designed to clarify the difference of clinical and angiographic predictors for reduced LVEF in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with left anterior descending artery (LAD) or non-LAD vessel as culprit artery.

Methods: This was a retrospective study to review a total of 553 patients of STEMI underwent primary PCI in our hospital.

A Novel Method for Sensitive Determination of Subclinical Left-Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in Subjects With Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Background: This study was to evaluate the subclinical left-ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction with 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography in subjects with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with normal left ventricular ejection fraction and without any confounding disease that can cause myocardial dysfunction.

Methods: Nineteen healthy individuals and 60 subjects with OSA were included in this study. According to the severity of disease, OSA subjects were examined in 3 groups: mild, moderate, and severe OSA.

The influence of aortic valve calcification on the risk of periprocedural myocardial injury after elective coronary intervention.

Background: Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is a common progressive condition that involves several inflammatory and atherosclerotic mediators. However, it is unclear whether the occurrence of periprocedural myocardial injury (PMI) after elective coronary intervention is associated with AVC in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.

Methods: A total of 530 stable CAD patients who underwent elective coronary intervention were enrolled in this clinical study.

Three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography for the assessment of left ventricular function and mechanical dyssynchrony.

Objective: Evaluation of left ventricular (LV) function and dyssynchrony is of vital importance. A newly-developed three-dimensional (3D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) has the potential to circumvent limitations of two-dimensional STE. Our study was to evaluate LV function and dyssynchrony by 3D-STE.

Misdiagnosis of aortic dissection: experience of 361 patients.

Aortic dissection (AD) is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate diagnosis and surgical correction. Patients with acute AD usually present clinically with an insignificant medical history, leading to a high probability of misdiagnosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the number of misdiagnoses of patients with AD in order to understand this problem and to avoid future misdiagnosis in the emergency department.

Prevalence and severity of coronary artery disease in diabetic patients with aortic valve calcification.

Objective: Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is common in the elderly and associated with increased cardiovascular mortality, while diabetes is one of the confirmed risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of CAD in type-2 diabetic patients with AVC.

Methods: From June to December in 2007, a total of 325 consecutive patients with chest pain or chest distress were admitted for coronary angiography.

Therapeutic effect of intermittent hypobaric hypoxia on myocardial infarction in rats.

Intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH) preconditioning protects the heart against ischemic injuries. However, little is known about the therapeutic effect of IHH on myocardial infarction (MI). The aim of this study was to test whether IHH treatment influences infarct size and cardiac performance after MI.

[Effects of intracoronary administration of nitroglycerin and verapamil for treatment of coronary slow flow phenomenon].

Objective: To assess the efficacy of intracoronary nitroglycerin and verapamil for patients with the coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP).

Methods: Sixty-four patients with CSFP without stenotic lesions during diagnostic coronary angiography were enrolled and divided into the nitroglycerin group (n = 35) and verapamil group (n = 29), 29 patients with normal coronary flow served as normal control. CSFP was defined when 4 or more heart beats were needed for contrast media to opacify the distal vasculature.

[Link between cardiac myosin binding protein-C gene mutation of Pro1208fs and Gly507 Arg and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in Chinese patients].

Objective: To detect gene mutations associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in Chinese patients and possible correlations between genotype and phenotype.

Methods: Twenty-one unrelated patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were studied. The clinical data including symptoms, physical examination, echocardiography and electrocardiography were collected.

Quantitative myocardial contrast echocardiography during pharmacological stress for diagnosis of coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies.

Aims: We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the accuracy of quantitative stress myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods And Results: Database search was performed through January 2008. We included studies evaluating accuracy of quantitative stress MCE for detection of CAD compared with coronary angiography or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and measuring reserve parameters of A, beta, and Abeta.

Real-time myocardial contrast echocardiography can predict functional recovery and left ventricular remodeling after revascularization in patients with ischemic heart disease.

Background: Previous studies showed that preservation of microvascular integrity after myocardial ischemia was associated with myocardial viability. Real-time myocardial contrast echocardiography (RT-MCE) is a promising modality for non-invasive evaluation of microcirculation perfusion. Thus, it provides a unique tool to detect myocardial viability.

Assessment of left ventricular systolic synchronicity by real-time three-dimensional echocardiography in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Recent advances in real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) offer the potential to assess the left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony simultaneously by analyzing the 17 segments time-volume curves. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and accuracy of RT3DE for quantitative evaluation of left ventricular systolic synchronicity.

Methods: Twenty-four patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and twenty-five healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study.

Usefulness of dobutamine stress myocardial contrast echocardiography for assessing coronary artery disease.

Background: Quantitatively assessing myocardial perfusion and its reserve is of great importance for the diagnosis and stratification of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), and represents an important goal of myocardial contrast echocardiography. In this study we sought to test the usefulness of low dose dobutamine stress real-time myocardial contrast echocardiography (RT-MCE) in the assessment of CAD, and to explore the relationship between perfusion reserve and contractile reserve.

Methods: Twenty-six patients with suspected or clinical diagnosed CAD were enrolled and underwent RT-MCE at baseline and under low dose dobutamine stress, and subsequent coronary angiography.

Assessment of left ventricular segmental function after autologous bone marrow stem cells transplantation in patients with acute myocardial infarction by tissue tracking and strain imaging.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that stem cells can be used to improve cardiac function in patients after acute myocardial infarction. In this randomized trial, we aimed to use Doppler tissue tracking and strain imaging to assess left ventricular segmental function after intracoronary transfer of autologous bone-marrow stem cells (BMCs) for 6 months' follow up.

Methods: Twenty patients with acute myocardial infarction and anterior descending coronary artery occlusion proven by angiography were [corrected] randomized into intracoronary injection of bone-marrow cell (treated, n = 9) or diluted serum (control, n = 11) groups.