Diwan and co-investigators report in this issue of Circulation that the interval between onset of mitral E and annular early diastolic velocity (Ea) by tissue Doppler, TE Ea, can be used to estimate left ventricular (LV) filling pressure in patients with mitral valve disease.1 Garcia and colleagues were the first to report that the onset of Ea occurred 7.5 3.5 ms after peak mitral inflow veloci...

BACKGROUND Right brachial pre-ejection period (rbPEP), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and right brachial ejection time (rbET) can be automatically determined from an ABI-form device. The aims of this study are to test the applicability of baPWV-derived myocardial performance index (MPI) (defined as the ratio of rbPEP divided by its own s.d. + baPWV divided by its own s.d. to rbET d...

AIMS Diagnosis of pericardial adhesions is challenging. Twisting of the left ventricle (LV) is essential for normal LV functioning. We experimentally characterized the impact of pericardial adhesions on epicardial and endocardial LV rotational mechanics with velocity vector imaging (VVI). METHODS AND RESULTS In nine open-chest pigs, the heart was exposed while preserving the pericardium. Earl...

Vascular stiffness has been proposed as a simple method to assess arterial loading conditions of the heart which induce left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). There is some controversy as to whether the relationship of vascular stiffness to LVH is independent of blood pressure, and which measurement of arterial stiffness, augmentation index (AI) or pulse wave velocity (PWV) is best. Carotid pulse ...

This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of the classic Morrow septal myectomy with the modified procedure in treating hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).A retrospective study was conducted to compare the outcomes of classic with modified Morrow septal myectomy in 42 patients treated from January 2005 to July 2011. Preoperative and postoperative ventricular septal thickne...

The effects of ouabain (G-strophanthin) 20 mug/kg, on left ventricular (LV) pressure (P), diameter (D), velocity of contraction (dD/dt), and dP/dt were studied in conscious dogs instrumented with ultrasonic diameter gauges and miniature pressure gauges. The effects of ouabain were compared on separate occasions in the same dogs after cardiac depression with propranolol, 3.0 mg/kg, and also afte...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to investigate the incremental prognostic value of non-invasive measures of early myocardial relaxation and left ventricular diastolic pressure (LVDP) in patients with impaired left ventricular (LV) systolic function. BACKGROUND The early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (Em) reflects myocardial relaxation, and the combined ratio of the early transmitral flow vel...

We tested the hypothesis that, in acute metabolic acidemia, the fetal left ventricle (LV) has the capacity to increase its contractility in response to angiotensin II infusion. Eleven ewes and their fetuses were instrumented at 127-138/145 days of gestation. The effect of angiotensin II on fetal LV function was assessed using intraventricular pressure catheter and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). ...

BACKGROUND In congenital aortic stenosis, chronic pressure load has detrimental effects on left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function. Reduction in LV pressure load with balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAVP) may improve diastolic function. METHODS AND RESULTS Echocardiographic and catheterization data for 25 consecutive patients undergoing BAVP for congenital aortic stenosis were ret...

Long-term follow-up of left ventricular (LV) function using echocardiography has not been reported and, in this study, was carried out in normotensive (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In 10 WKY rats and SHR, LV diastolic and systolic diameter (LVEDD and LVSD), shortening fraction (SF), and weight (LVW) were determined at 8, 15, 20, 35, and 80 wk of age. The ratio of early t...