BACKGROUND To evaluate the inter-study, inter-reader and intra-reader reproducibility of cardiac cine and scar imaging in rats using a clinical 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance (MR) system. METHODS Thirty-three adult rats (Sprague-Dawley) were imaged 24 hours after surgical occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery using a 3.0 Tesla clinical MR scanner (Philips Healthcare, Best, T...

OBJECTIVE To investigate relative contributions of glucose status and arterial stiffness to markers of left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic dysfunction after 8 years of follow-up. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In the population-based prospective Hoorn Study, 394 individuals with preserved LV systolic and diastolic function participated, of whom 87 had impaired glucose metabolism and 128...

One of the most debilitating effects of primary aging is the decline in aerobic exercise capacity. One of its causes is an age-related decline in peak exercise stroke volume. This study's main purpose was to determine the cardiovascular adaptations to aging that most influence peak exercise stroke volume in the elderly. We hypothesized that increased left ventricular (LV) filling and mild conce...

AIMS Left ventricular (LV) torsion may be an important component of normal LV systolic function. However, its mechanics remain unresolved. Two-dimensional (2-D) strain imaging is increasingly used to quantify LV torsion in the clinical setting. Telmisartan has cardioreparative effects, including attenuation of subendocardial myocardial fibrosis and improvement of LV remodelling. To clarify the ...

BACKGROUND Exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity to psychological demands may contribute to the development of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. We examined the cross-sectional association between anticipatory blood pressure (BP) responses to bicycle exercise and LV mass in the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, a population-based epidemiological sample. METHODS AND RESULTS Amo...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Inappropriately high left ventricular mass (iLVM) is known to be related to cardiovascular prognosis. A non-dipper pattern has a greater mean left ventricular (LV) mass than the dipper pattern in hypertensive patients. However, the appropriateness of LV mass in dipper or non-dipper patterns has not been adequately investigated. The aim of this study was to define the r...

Primary aldosteronism is a common form of secondary hypertension that is associated with a variety of cardiovascular sequelae. Studies conducted in patients with this endocrine disorder have consistently reported greater frequency of cardiovascular events than in well-matched patients with primary hypertension. Subclinical cardiac changes that forego cardiovascular events in patients with hyper...

Cardiac muscle adapts well to changes in loading conditions. For example, left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy may be induced physiologically (via exercise training) or pathologically (via hypertension or valvular heart disease). If hypertension is treated, LV hypertrophy regresses, suggesting a sensitivity to LV work. However, whether physical inactivity in nonathletic populations causes adaptive...

AIMS Type 2 diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for the development of heart failure. To better understand the mechanism by which this occurs, we investigated cardiac structure, function, and perfusion in patients with and without diabetes. METHODS AND RESULTS Sixty-five patients with no stenosis >30% on invasive coronary angiography were categorized into diabetes (19) and non-dia...

Resistance training (RT) is a popular method of conditioning to enhance sport performance as well as an effective form of exercise to attenuate the age-mediated decline in muscle strength and mass. Although the benefits of RT on skeletal muscle morphology and function are well established, its effect on left ventricular (LV) morphology remains equivocal. Some investigations have found that RT i...