Assessment of cyclic changes in the diameter of the aortic annulus using speckle-tracking trans-esophageal echocardiography.

It is uncertain whether dynamic variation in the diameter of the aortic annulus occurs during the cardiac cycle in humans. The purpose of this study was to analyze cyclic changes of the aortic annulus using speckle-tracking trans-esophageal echocardiography. The subjects were 40 patients with aortic stenosis and 40 controls.

Dramatic response to low-dose rivaroxaban in an Asian patient with deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

We report a case of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism treated with rivaroxaban due to warfarin allergy. The patient responded well to a low dose of 15 mg/day. There has been a report about treating patients with atrial fibrillation using a low dose of rivaroxaban in Japan, but no previous reports about deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism.

Subvalvular aortic stenosis diagnosed by 3D transesophageal echocardiography.

The patient was a 13-year-old male with chief complaints of exertional chest pain and dyspnea. Cardiac murmur was suspected in a medical checkup at 1 month old, at which time he was diagnosed with subvalvular aortic stenosis. He had subsequently been under follow-up observation at a nearby hospital for subvalvular aortic stenosis.

Midwall ejection fraction for assessing systolic performance of the hypertrophic left ventricle.

Background: In patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), LV midwall fractional shortening (FS) is used as a measure of LV systolic performance that is more physiologically appropriate than conventional FS. For evaluation of LV volume and ejection fraction (EF), 2-dimensional (2D) echocardiography is more accurate than M-mode echocardiography. The purpose of this study was to assess systolic performance by midwall EF using 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (STE).