BACKGROUND Mitral annular systolic displacement from M-mode echocardiography and velocity from tissue Doppler imaging reflect subendocardial longitudinal systolic LV performance and may precede radial abnormalities. The aim of this study is to evaluate the utility of mitral annular systolic displacement (D) and velocity (V) during dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) in detecting left ventr...

OBJECTIVES To clarify the prognostic value of strain and strain rate imaging in light-chain (AL) amyloidosis. BACKGROUND Myocardial strain and strain rate Doppler imaging are objective measurements that may detect regional subtle myocardial functional abnormalities in patients with amyloidosis. METHODS We prospectively examined 119 consecutive, untreated patients with biopsy-proven AL amylo...

BACKGROUND Conventional pacemaker implantation induces left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony, which might affect the LV function. We sought to evaluate the impact of different right ventricular (RV) pacing sites on the LV dyssynchrony and performance. METHODS Comprehensive echocardiographic evaluation including the atrio-ventricular, inter- and intra-ventricular dyssynchrony based on M-mode, con...

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%), ...

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) may augment arterial stiffening and thereby modulates left ventricular (LV) function. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is well suited to assess aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and aortic distensibility, both markers of arterial stiffness, without the use of geometric assumptions. Furthermore, CMR is a reliable method for assessing left ventricul...

BACKGROUND Altered diastolic filling is an important contributor to several cardiovascular disorders. Multiple lines of evidence suggest a genetic contribution to left ventricular (LV) diastolic filling; however, chromosomal locations harboring genes involved in impaired LV diastolic filling have not been reported. The aim of this study was to identify chromosomal regions contributing to variat...

BACKGROUND Left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients frequently leads to the development of congestive heart failure. We evaluated changes in echocardiographic parameters among CKD patients with LV diastolic dysfunction. METHODS We examined 70 ambulatory patients with CKD at stages 3-5 and 26 patients without CKD as a control group. Standard echocard...

BACKGROUND The ratio of early transmitral flow velocity to early diastolic velocity of the mitral annulus (E/e') correlates with left ventricular (LV) filling pressure. In particular, an E/e' ratio more than 15 is an excellent predictor of increased LV filling pressure. The authors evaluated the prognostic implications of preoperative estimated LV filling pressure, assessed by E/e' ratio, in pa...

INTRODUCTION Intraaortic balloon pump counterpulsation (IABP) is often used in patients with acute coronary syndrome for its favourable effects on left ventricular (LV) systolic function and coronary perfusion. However, the effects of IABP on LV diastolic function have not been comprehensively investigated. Acute diastolic dysfunction has been linked to increased morbidity and mortality. The ai...

BACKGROUND Aortic stenosis (AS) is increasingly diagnosed in current aging society. Echocardiography is the most important tool in the assessment of AS and its severity. However, load-dependency of Doppler measurement could affect the accuracy of AS severity assessment. We tried to evaluate the impact of afterload on the assessment of AS severity by modification of afterload using pneumatic com...