Echocardiography

Highlights of right ventricular characteristics of left ventricular noncompaction using 3D echocardiography. The aspects of right ventricular volumes and function investigated with 3D echocardiography in a large cohort of left ventricular noncompaction morphology (LVNC) population remains unclear. The objective of our research was to study the left (LV) and right (RV) ventricular parameters using 3D echocardiography and analyze the clinical features of a LVNC population with preserved LV ejection fraction (EF > 50 %) in comparison with healthy controls (HC)...

BACKGROUND: Paenibacillus constitutes a genus of gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria that act as potentially opportunistic pathogens. With only a few documented case studies to date, Paenibacillus species are rarely the cause of a disease in humans. CASE SUMMARY: We report a case involving a 64-year-old male with known mild mitral regurgitation, who presented with fever and dyspnoea. Initially treated with empirical antibiotics, his blood cultures cultivated Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus , a previously unreported cause of endocarditis...

BACKGROUND: In childhood and adolescence, cardiac arrhythmias are often benign in the absence of congenital heart defects. Nevertheless, life-threatening inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes can become clinically manifest in early childhood. As early symptoms may be similar in both conditions, thorough workup is fundamental to avoid delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis. CASE SUMMARY: We present the case of a 26-year-old Caucasian female patient who presented with recurrent non-sustained polymorphic wide complex tachycardia...

OBJECTIVE: Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury is a major cause of cardiac tissue damage, with high disability and death rates. Although both dexmedetomidine (Dex) and propofol (PPF) have been indicated to alleviate MI/R injury in rat models, the effects of the combined use of these two drugs remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the combined effects of Dex and PPF against MI/R injury and related mechanisms. METHODS: A rat model of MI/R injury was established and used to explore the combined effects of Dex and PPF on MI/R injury...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to delineate the diagnostic significance of miR-182-5p by investigating its influence on myocardial apoptosis and function, employing both in vivo and in vitro myocardial infarction models. METHODS: A rat myocardial infarction model was established. Myocardial infarction area was detected using the 2,3,5-chlorotriphenyltetrazolium (TTC) method, myocardial enzyme spectrums were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), myocardial structure was detected by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, myocardial apoptosis was detected using the TUNEL method, and expression levels of miR-182-5p and apoptosis-related molecules were detected using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Western blot...

BACKGROUND: Up to one-fifth of patients continue to have poor quality of life after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), with an additional similar proportion not surviving 1 year after the procedure. We aimed to assess the value of a new method based on an integrated analysis of left ventricular outflow tract flow velocity and aortic pressure to predict objective functional improvement and prognosis after TAVI. METHODS: In a cohort of consecutive patients undergoing TAVI, flow velocity-pressure integrated analysis was obtained from simultaneous pressure recordings in the ascending aorta and flow velocity recordings in the left ventricular outflow tract by echocardiography...

This study aims to assess whether the On-X aortic valved conduit better restores normal valvular and ascending aortic hemodynamics than other commonly used bileaflet mechanical valved conduit prostheses from St. Jude Medical and Carbomedics by using same-day transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. TTE and 4D flow MRI were performed back-to-back in 10 patients with On-X, six patients with St. Jude (two) and Carbomedics (four) prostheses, and 36 healthy volunteers...

Monitoring patients with spontaneous coronary dissection (SCAD) is critical in their care, as there are no accepted recommendations. To this end, finding clinical or imaging predictors of recurrent events in these patients is essential for predicting adverse events and guiding treatment decisions between conservative medical therapy and percutaneous coronary intervention. Myocardial injury and left ventricular function after SCAD can be variable parameters that require monitoring. Echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance are two useful imaging techniques to do so...

Background Errors caused by improper volume estimation increase acute mortality rates in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We aimed to determine volume status in AMI patients using echocardiography and to correlate the findings with clinical outcomes. Methods This cross-sectional, single-center study was performed at a tertiary care center in India between August 2017 and September 2020 involving AMI patients. We performed echocardiography for all patients. Parameters such as left ventricle (LV) and atrium size, LV end-diastolic pressure, inferior vena cava (IVC) size and size variation, velocity stroke volume, and velocity time integral variation were measured...

Patients with septic shock complicated by septic cardiomyopathy (SCM) can be extremely ill and at high risk for mortality. If early assessment of cardiac function is neglected during treatment, sepsis may be further exacerbated. We report a 77-year-old male patient with severe septic shock who underwent intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) because of progressive circulatory instability, SCM was diagnosed. Further perioperative treatment to support the circulation was successfully adjusted based on TEE and pulse index continuous cardiac output (CO) by ProAQT/PulsioFlex hemodynamic monitoring...

In an adolescent patient with severe yew intoxication and consecutive cardiac arrest, non-responsive to conventional resuscitation necessitating extracorporeal life support, Levosimendan has been implemented in the early acute phase of hemodynamic stabilization, without obvious side effects. However, the additive value of this treatment in severe yew intoxication remains speculative.

Vasospastic angina (VSA) is a disease that causes myocardial ischemia due to transient vasoconstriction of the epicardial coronary arteries. This disease generally occurs in middle-aged and older adults, but there are also reports of it occurring in young people. We report a case of VSA in a woman in her 20's. Six months ago, a female patient in her 20s became aware of a strangling sensation in the chest that lasted for approximately 1-20 minutes at rest or during stress. She consulted her family doctor who prescribed nitroglycerin sublingual tablets, which were effective...

BACKGROUND: Reducing Ca2+ content in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) through ryanodine receptors (RyRs) by calcin is a potential intervention strategy for the SR Ca2+ overload triggered by β-adrenergic stress in acute heart diseases. METHODS: OpiCal-PEG-PLGA nanomicelles were prepared by thin film dispersion, of which the antagonistic effects were observed using an acute heart failure model induced by epinephrine and caffeine in mice. In addition, cardiac targeting, self-stability as well as biotoxicity were determined...

OBJECTIVE: The choroidal vascularity index (CVI) is a method that measures the density of blood vessels in the choroidal layer and can be used to evaluate the effects of hypertension. In this study we aimed to investigate the relationship between epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and CVI in patients with hypertension. METHODS: This prospective study included 112 patients diagnosed with hypertension and 120 healthy individuals. Patients' demographic data such as age, gender, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, and presence of coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus were recorded...

Cardiovascular instability is common during the reperfusion phase of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), and some patients experience a postreperfusion syndrome (PRS). However, there are no reports comparing the cardiac dysfunction between patients with PRS and those without. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate cardiac dysfunction in patients exhibiting PRS. This observational retrospective study included 34 patients who underwent OLT and were monitored with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of hemodynamic monitoring in liver transplantation. RECENT FINDINGS: Radial arterial blood pressure monitoring underestimates the aortic root arterial blood pressure and causes excessive vasopressor and worse outcomes. Brachial and femoral artery monitoring is well tolerated and should be considered in critically ill patients expected to be on high dose pressors. The pulmonary artery catheter is the gold standard of hemodynamic monitoring and is still widely used in liver transplantation; however, it is a highly invasive monitor with potential for serious complications and most of its data can be obtained by other less invasive monitors...

BACKGROUND: The clinical safety and consequences of upgrade procedures compared with de novo cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) implantation in heart failure remain unclear. The present study aimed to assess clinical and procedural consequences of patients undergoing CRT upgrade as compared to de novo CRT implantations. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, two subgroups were considered as the study population as (1) de novo group that CRT was considered on optimised medical treatment with heart failure of NYHA functional class from II to IV, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≤35%, and QRS width of >130 ms and (2) upgrade group including the patients with previously implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) with the indications for upgrading to CRT...

BACKGROUND: In 2020, reports revealed cases called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and adolescents temporally related to COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. A small proportion of patients suffer from persistent left ventricular dysfunction at discharge. The primary aim was to investigate if myocardial impairment persists during follow-up in these patients. METHODS: Children fulfilling the criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children with cardiac involvement hospitalized between December 2020 and February 2022 were included in this retrospective single centre study...

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) assessment is fundamental for managing dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients. Although cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has become the gold-standard imaging technique for evaluating cardiac chamber volume and function, PCWP is not routinely assessed with CMR. Therefore, this study aimed to validate the left atrial expansion index (LAEI), a LA reservoir function parameter able to estimate filling pressure with echocardiography, as a novel CMR-measured parameter for non-invasive PCWP estimation in DCM patients...

OBJECTIVE: Fetal premature atrial contractions (PACs) are usually benign, but are associated with congenital heart defects (CHDs) and tachyarrhythmias, which in turn carry a risk of cardiac failure and fetal death. We aimed to explore the frequency of adverse outcomes and to identify risk factors for tachyarrhythmias in pregnancies complicated by fetal PACs. METHODS: Fetuses diagnosed with PACs at two academic centres in Amsterdam between 2007 and 2022 were included in this retrospective cohort study...