BACKGROUND Postnatal outcome of fetuses with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is mainly determined by right ventricular function. In the present study we used spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC) to assess right ventricular function of fetuses with HLHS. METHODS Three-dimensional ultrasound with STIC technique was used to acquire heart images from fetuses that had HLHS and the norma...

The effect of retrograde cardioplegia delivered through the right atrium on right ventricular performance has not been critically examined in humans. We randomized 20 patients with right coronary artery lesions to receive cold blood cardioplegia solution either retrograde through the right atrium (group 1, n = 10) or antegradely (group 2, n = 10). The patients were similar in age, sex, severity...

Acute pharmacologically mediated parallel shifts in the left ventricular diastolic pressure-volume relation may be due to the restraining effect of the pericardium and/or leftward displacement of the interventricular septum. The existence and cause of this phenomenon in the right ventricle has not been studied in animals or in man. Accordingly, we altered right ventricular pressure with intrave...

BACKGROUND Continuous estimation of left ventricular volume from instantaneous conductance has compared favorably with "gold standards," is less labor intensive, and provides real-time data. Little information exists, however, correlating right ventricular conductance with such gold standards or examining the effects of an electrical field generated in the opposite ventricle. METHODS In open-...