Left ventricular (LV) mass and geometry predict risk for cardiovascular events in hypertension. Regression of LV hypertrophy (LVH) may imply an important prognostic significance. The relation between changes in LV geometry during antihypertensive treatment and subsequent prognosis has not yet been determined. A total of 436 prospectively identified uncomplicated hypertensive subjects with a bas...

BACKGROUND Left ventricle (LV) in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) faces a double hemodynamic load incorporating both valvular stenosis and reduced systemic arterial compliance (SAC). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of global LV afterload on LV hypertrophy (LVH) before and after aortic valve replacement (AVR). METHODS The study cohort included 453 patients (247 males; mean age, 64 ±...

BACKGROUND Left ventricular (LV) energy supply-demand imbalance is postulated to cause "energy starvation" and contribute to heart failure (HF) in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM). Using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and [(11)C] acetate positron emission tomography (PET), we evaluated LV perfusion and oxidative metabolism in NIDCM and the effects of spironolactone on LV supply-dema...

BACKGROUND Obesity increases cardiovascular risk. However, the extent to which various measures of body composition are associated with abnormalities in cardiac structure and function, independent of comorbidities commonly affecting obese individuals, is not clear. This study sought to examine the relationship between body mass index, waist circumference, and percent body fat with conventional ...

Background Recently two novels indicators of left ventricular (LV) performance assessed by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) have been introduced: the LV global function index (LVGFI) and the LV mass/volume ratio (LVMVR). The LVGFI combines LV stroke volume, end-systolic and end diastolic volumes, as well as LV mass, integrating structural as well as mechanical behaviour. Elevated LVMVR i...

BACKGROUND Aortic stenosis (AS) leads to variable stress for the left ventricle (LV) and consequently a broad range of LV remodeling. The aim of this study was to describe blood flow patterns in the ascending aorta of patients with AS and determine their association with remodeling. METHODS AND RESULTS Thirty-seven patients with AS (14 mild, 8 moderate, 15 severe; age, 63±13 years) and 37 hea...

BACKGROUND To evaluate the effect of lifestyle intervention in conjunction with rosiglitazone or placebo therapy on left ventricular (LV) mass, using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in the metabolic syndrome. METHODS The present study was a pre-specified substudy of a double-blind randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of lifestyle intervention in conjunction with rosiglita...

After the publication of our paper Dunlop et al. "Rationale and design of the Sodium Lowering In Dialysate (SoLID) trial: a randomised controlled trial of low versus standard dialysate sodium concentration during hemodialysis for regression of left ventricular mass", we became aware of further data correlating left ventricular (LV) mass index at baseline and their corresponding mass at 12 month...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or the combination of IFG and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is associated with progressive abnormalities of cardiac geometry and function. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We studied 562 nondiabetic (311 women), nonhypertensive participants of the second Strong Heart Study exam, without prevalent cardiovascular (CV) disease and with e...