Frequency Dependence of Petechial Hemorrhage and Cardiomyocyte Injury Induced during Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography

Microvascular permeabilization and cardiomyocyte injury provoked by myocardial contrast echocardiography in a canine model.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this research was to evaluate the potential for myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) to provoke microscale bioeffects in a canine model. BACKGROUND Myocardial contrast echocardiography induces bioeffects in rat hearts, but translation of such results to larger animal models is uncertain. METHODS Dogs were anesthetized and prepared for open- (n = 22) or closed- (n...

Myocardial contrast echocardiography.

MCE has evolved from a laboratory tool to a clinical procedure. It would be wrong to consider it merely another tool for imaging of myocardial perfusion. As discussed, it allows physicians to bring physiology and pathophysiology to the bedside, providing a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of abnormal findings in individual patients. MCE can provide quantitative measurements tha...

3D Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography

Transient myocardial ischemia during acetylcholine-induced coronary microvascular dysfunction documented by myocardial contrast echocardiography.

A 77-year-old white woman was referred for diagnostic coronary angiography after a 6-month history of exertional breathlessness and back pain. Her cardiovascular risk factors were hypercholesterolemia (low-density lipoprotein, 153 mg/dL) and a positive family history for cardiovascular disease (father died at 73 years of age because of a peripheral artery occlusive disease event). Furthermore, ...

The effect of time and of vasoactive drugs on capillary leakage induced during myocardial contrast echocardiography.

BACKGROUND Premature ventricular contractions (PVC), capillary leakage, and petechial hemorrhage can occur during myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE). The effects occur as a result of the interaction of contrast agent microbubbles and the ultrasound, but the detailed etiology of the effects is not yet clear. This study tested the hypothesis that the capillary leakage results from a physi...