We present the time course of transthoracic coronary flow reserve in the left anterior descending artery in a patient who suffered a transient left apical ballooning syndrome.

OBJECTIVE To verify the hypothesis that the pulmonary vein pulsatility index is higher in fetuses of diabetic mothers than it is in normal fetuses of nondiabetic mothers. METHODS Twenty-four fetuses of mothers with either gestational or previous diabetes (cases), and 25 normal fetuses of mothers without systemic disease (control) were examined. Fetuses were examined through prenatal Doppler a...

AIM To compare the efficacy and safety of an indomethacin treatment strategy based on serial echocardiographic measurement of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) flow pattern with a standard protocol. METHODS Neonates weighing less than 1500 g at birth, who required respiratory support, and who had developed symptomatic PDA, were studied. PDA was confirmed in all infants using colour Doppler echoc...

The onset of cor pulmonale is a common terminal finding in patients with cystic fibrosis. Since Doppler echocardiography can detect changes in diastolic filling patterns prior to the onset of either systolic dysfunction or clinical symptoms, we utilized this technique to determine whether detectable changes in left ventricular diastolic filling patterns exist in patients with cystic fibrosis. A...

Left ventricular (LV) function is normally improved after renal transplant; however, cardiovascular mortality remains elevated. Moderate physical activity has a positive impact on myocardial function; however, few data are available about the role of 2D echocardiography (2DE) and 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) on renal transplant recipients (RTR). From a large cohort of RTR submit...

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) results derived from gated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using Cedars-Sinai quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) processing software with results from 2D echocardiography, both obtained in routine clinical diagnostic use. Methods Data from previously performed tests were obtained from 73 pat...

BACKGROUND Kawasaki disease (KD) is a generalized systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology involving medium and small size blood vessels, particularly the coronary arteries. In these vessels a progressive stenosis may result from active remodeling with an intimal proliferation and neoangiogenesis. The aim of our study was to assess, by using high-resolution transthoracic 2D Echocardiography, if ...

Accurate determination of LV volume, ejection fraction and segmental wall motion abnormalities is important for clinical decision-making and follow-up assessment. Currently, echocardiography is the most common used method to obtain this information. Three-dimensional echocardiography has shown to be an accurate and reproducible method for LV quantitation, mainly by avoiding the use of geometric...

Three-dimensional echocardiography has evolved from a laborious technique of prolonged image acquisition and reconstruction into a push-button tool performed with surface and transesophageal ultrasound transducers. Recent advances in matrix transducers with more than 3000 crystals and new processors allow for the acquisition of real-time images without the need for off-line reconstruction. In a...

BACKGROUND This study performed at the National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Tehran, Iran, aimed to evaluate the effect of concomitant pulmonary hypertension on the outcome of pulmonary tuberculosis. METHODS New cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were recruited for the study. Pulmonary hypertension was defined as systolic pulmonary arterial pressure ≥ 35 mm Hg estimated b...