The embryonic vertebrate heart is composed of two major chambers, a ventricle and an atrium, each of which has a characteristic size, shape and functional capacity that contributes to efficient circulation. Chamber-specific gene expression programs are likely to regulate key aspects of chamber formation. Here, we demonstrate that epigenetic factors also have a significant influence on chamber m...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the patterns of pulmonary venous drainage into the left atrium and to determine the frequency of each variant of pulmonary venous anatomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS After institutional review board approval (No. 09JUL011148), 300 studies of thoracic multidetector computed tomography were retrospectively reviewed for the anatomical features of the pulmonary vein and its drain...

BACKGROUND Prolonged and fractionated right atrial endocardial electrograms are characteristic of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (idiopathic or associated with sick sinus syndrome). The distribution of these abnormal atrial electrograms within the right atrium and the way it is related to the likelihood that patients with sick sinus syndrome will develop paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was studi...

Delayed evaluation and management of penetrating cardiac injuries especially mortar fragments were performed in 30 war victims in the Shahid Rajai Heart Hospital, Tehran. All were men with a mean age of 20.7 years. Pleuritic chest pain was the most common symptom (53.3%), while physical examination was negative in the majority of cases (66.8%). 50 percent of the cases had pericardial effus...

giant left atria are defined as those measuring larger than 8 cm and are typically found in patients who have rheumatic mitral valve disease with severe regurgitation. enlargement of the left atrium may create compression of the surrounding structures such as the esophagus, pulmonary veins, respiratory tract, lung, inferior vena cava, recurrent laryngeal nerve, and thoracic vertebrae and lead t...