OBJECTIVE To obtain normal M mode (one dimensional) echocardiographic values in a substantial sample of normal infants and children. DESIGN Data were obtained over three years from a single centre in central Europe. PATIENTS 2036 healthy infants and children aged one day to 18 years. METHODS In line with recommendations for standardising measurements from M mode echocardiograms, and using...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate changes in left ventricular function and the impact of ventricular hypertrophy and pressure gradient early and late after aortic valve replacement in patients with isolated aortic stenosis. DESIGN 41 patients with isolated aortic stenosis and normal systolic function underwent cross sectional and Doppler echocardiography two months before and two weeks and four years aft...

BACKGROUND Currently, 13-cis-retinoic acid (13-cis-RA) is the most effective therapy for acne. Isotretinoin, a first-generation synthetic 13-cis-RA compound, is associated with numerous adverse effects. To investigate the cardiac effects of 13-cis-RA, acne patients receiving 13-cis-RA were studied. METHODS Twenty male patients with acne were enrolled in the study. Patients were treated with a...

In a heart with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy without asymmetrical septal hypertrophy the number of transmural myocytes, the mean size of myocytes, and the percentage area of interstitial space were similar in the ventricular septum and left ventricular posterior wall, whereas in a reported series of 14 hearts with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with asymmetrical septal hypertrophy the number of tra...

Methods The study population consisted of 20 patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated by primary PCI. Cardiac MRI was performed within 10 days. The infarct size and the transmural extent of infarction (TEI) and mean TEI was quantified on delayed-enhancement images using 36 segments for each slices. AAR was quantified on T2-weighted images. Transmural infarction was defined...

BACKGROUND Esophageal injury is a potential complication after intraoperative or percutaneous transcatheter ablation of the posterior aspect of the left atrium. Understanding the spatial relations between the esophagus and the left atrium is essential to reduce risks. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined by gross dissection the course of the esophagus in 15 cadavers. We measured the minimal distan...

BACKGROUND More diagnostic techniques require a better understanding of the forces and stresses developed in the wall of the left ventricle. The aim of this study was to differentiate significant coronary artery disease (CAD) patients using a non-invasive quantification of myocardial wall stress in the diastole phase. METHODS Sixty male subjects with sinus rhythm (30 patients with significant...

Background & Aims: One of the important aims of quantitative cardiac image processing is the clarification of myocardial motions in order to derive biomechanical behavior of the heart in the disease condition. In this study we presented a computerized analysis method for detecting the instantaneous myocardial changes by using 2D echocardiography images. Methods: The analysis was performed on th...

To determine whether acute left ventricular failure associated with myocardial infarction leads to architectural changes in the spared nonischemic portion of the ventricular wall, large infarcts were produced in rats, and the animals were killed 2 days after surgery. Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure was increased, whereas left ventricular dP/dt and systolic pressure were decreased, indic...

Leptin, the product of the ob gene, has been shown to increase heart rate and blood pressure through a stimulation of cardiac sympathetic nervous system activity, a phenomenon also involved in the pathogenesis of left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensives. Thus, we hypothesize that plasma leptin concentration is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy. Forty hypertensive males and 15 he...