To investigate the role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) in left ventricular (LV) remodeling induced by chronic pressure overload, the impact of transverse aortic constriction (TAC) on LV structure and function was compared in wild-type (WT) and NOS3-deficient (NOS3(-/-)) mice. Before TAC, LV wall thickness, mass, and fractional shortening were similar in the two mouse strains. Twent...

BACKGROUND Although obesity is associated with alterations in left ventricular (LV) mass and volume which are of prognostic significance, widely differing patterns of remodelling have been attributed to adiposity. Our aim was to define the relationship between body composition and LV geometry using three-dimensional cardiovascular magnetic resonance. METHODS In an observational study 1530 vol...

OBJECTIVES This study investigated the prognostic value of left ventricular (LV) mass at echocardiography in uncomplicated subjects with essential hypertension. BACKGROUND Only a few single-center studies support the prognostic value of LV mass in uncomplicated hypertension. METHODS The MAssa Ventricolare sinistra nell'Ipertensione study was a multicenter (45 centers) prospective study. The...

AIMS Atrial fibrillation (AF) can result in the development of left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombi. We sought to examine demographic and echocardiographic predictors of LAA thrombus in patients with persistent AF. METHODS AND RESULTS One hundred and sixty-five patients in persistent AF (36 with LAA thrombus and 129 without thrombus) were studied. Demographic and cardiovascular risk factors we...

AIMS Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and abnormal non-invasive measures of LV diastolic function are common in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) but their prognostic importance is uncertain. This study aimed to determine whether tissue Doppler measures of LV systolic and/or diastolic function or echocardiographic LV hypertrophy are useful for risk stratifying asymptomatic patients wit...

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to determine the presence and correlates of change (Delta) in left ventricular (LV) mass by echocardiography in young adults. BACKGROUND Left ventricular mass is known to be a powerful independent predictor for cardiovascular disease events in adults. However, little is known about Delta in LV mass over time in young adults. METHODS Coronary Artery Risk ...

Cardiac hypertrophy is a common but not inevitable complication of hypertension. Variation in heart size in hypertensives may reflect independent genetic susceptibility to cardiac hypertrophy. Using an experimental genetic model, we determined the location of quantitative trait loci responsible for cardiac hypertrophy and/or hypertension. We studied 182 F2 male animals derived from a cross of t...

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the United States during the past 30 years, which has been associated with a parallel rise in systolic blood pressure (BP) and pulse pressure (PP) in adolescents and young adults. Consistent with the elevation in systolic BP and PP, there has been an increase in the rates of prehypertension and hypertension mostly in youth with obesity, with the m...

BACKGROUND Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy has been established as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adults. Recent research has refined this relationship by determining a cutpoint of 51 g/m(2.7) for LV mass index indicative of increased risk and defining LV geometric patterns that are associated with increased risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate severe LV h...

AIMS We tested the hypothesis that abnormal left ventricular (LV) relaxation is associated with concentric LV geometry. METHODS AND RESULTS Doppler LV filling properties were studied in 1384 hypertensive participants without cardiovascular disease, from the HyperGEN population (731 women, 784 obese, 236 diabetic) and compared in four LV geometry groups; normal, concentric remodelling (3.5%), ...