Clinical acceptance of an association between papillary muscle dysfunction and mitral regurgitation is widespread, despite the lack of objective support. To evaluate a possible association, we performed echocardiographic examinations on 22 patients with prior myocardial infarction and clinical evidence of papillary muscle dysfunction, 40 patients with prior myocardial infarction and no clinical...

The current study seeks to elucidate the presence and potential function of an anomalous tendinous origin of the brachialis muscle. The brachialis muscle originates from the humeral shaft, which is usually muscular, thereby becoming tendo-aponeurotic distally towards its insertion. During routine cadaveric dissection, in a 52-year-old cadaver, the anomalous brachialis muscle originated in the f...

The expression and subcellular distribution of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex and laminin were examined in cardiac muscle by immunoblot and immunofluorescence analysis of rabbit and sheep papillary muscle. The five dystrophin-associated proteins (DAPs), 156-DAG, 59-DAP, 50-DAG, 43-DAG, and 35-DAG, were identified in rabbit ventricular muscle and found to codistribute with dystrophin in bot...

BACKGROUND Chronic stress is associated with cardiac remodeling; however the mechanisms have yet to be clarified. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was test the hypothesis that chronic stress promotes cardiac dysfunction associated to L-type calcium Ca2+ channel activity depression. METHODS Thirty-day-old male Wistar rats (70 - 100 g) were distributed into two groups: control (C) and chro...

Background—The frequency of papillary muscle infarction (PapMI) without rupture has not been fully investigated in vivo. Furthermore, the relationship between papillary muscle dysfunction and mitral regurgitation (MR) has been controversial in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the frequency and clinical characteristics of Pa...

BACKGROUND The frequency of papillary muscle infarction (PapMI) without rupture has not been fully investigated in vivo. Furthermore, the relationship between papillary muscle dysfunction and mitral regurgitation (MR) has been controversial in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the frequency and clinical characteristics of Pa...

BACKGROUND Tricuspid regurgitation in hypoplastic left heart syndrome has an impact on outcome, but its mechanisms remain unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS Real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography was performed in 35 patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (age, 1 month to 10 years; 10 after first-stage Norwood, 12 after superior cavopulmonary shunt, 13 after Fontan). From the 3-dimensional ...

Chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (CIHH) has an effective cardiac protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully known. It has been shown that blockade of beta-adrenergic receptor exerts anti-arrhythmic action and improves cardiac remodeling in ischemic myocardium. Thus we determined the influence of CIHH on beta-adrenergic receptor activit...

Recently, ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) has been shown to be an individual risk factor for ischemic heart disease. The main mechanism of IMR is tethering of the leaflet secondary to left ventricular (LV) dilatation. In this situation, surgical treatment for IMR has been limited to ring annuloplasty with varying degrees of effectiveness. However, mid-term follow-up studies have shown that ...