BACKGROUND The severity of aortic regurgitation can be estimated using pressure half time (PHT) of the aortic regurgitation flow velocity, but the correlation between regurgitant fraction and PHT is weak. AIM To test the hypothesis that the association between PHT and regurgitant fraction is substantially influenced by left ventricular relaxation. METHODS In 63 patients with aortic regurgit...

A 22-year-old man was admitted to our department due to mild exertional dyspnea for 2 months. He had no other cardiac symptoms and his medical history was unremarkable. 4/6 systolic murmur was heard at the left sternal border and at the apex. Electrocardiogram revealed sinus rhythm with negative T waves in leads V1 to V4. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (2D TTE) revealed a clear ...

Introduction Chronic aortic and mitral regurgitation place an additional hemodynamic load on the left ventricle (LV). Substantial LV chamber dilation, as assessed with echocardiographic techniques, is commonly used as an indirect marker of volume overload. However, for asymptomatic and minimally symptomatic patients the direct measure of regurgitant volume would be the key parameter for patient...

Background: Diastolic retrograde flow in the descending aorta has been associated to the severity of aortic regurgitation; however, most of the parameters related to flow velocity are not validated with a reference imaging technique. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of diastolic retrograde flow in the descending thoracic aorta and the abdominal aorta in the quantifi...

we studied 49 consecutive patients in whom the sites of mitral valve prolapse were confirmed at the time of operation. The study group consisted of 22 patients with anterior leaflet prolapse, 24 patients with posterior leaflet prolapse, and three patients with multiple scallop prolapse (one patient with both anterior leaflet and middle scallop prolapse, and two patients with both medial and lat...

BACKGROUND AND AIM The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate echocardiographic changes in clinical responders and nonresponders after 3 and 15 months of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT). METHODS Fifty eight patients in whom a biventricular system was implanted between 2005 and 2008 were followed up at 3 and at 15 months. Clinical and echocardiography parameters including intra-...

We describe a case of acute unilateral left pulmonary edema occuring in an old man one year after mitral valve replacement. Transesophageal echocardiography identified a paravalvular leakage with severe mitral regurgitant jet directed to both left pulmonary veins. A prompt surgical closure of the leakage by pericardial patch was decided with rapid clinical and radiological improvement.

BACKGROUND Right ventricular outflow tract obstruction (RVOTO) is a common problem after repair of congenital heart disease. Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI) can treat this condition without consequent pulmonary regurgitation or cardiopulmonary bypass. Our aim was to investigate the clinical and physiological response to relieving RVOTO. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 18 patie...

BACKGROUND The systolic variation of mitral regurgitation (MR) is a pitfall in its quantification. Current recommendations advocate using quantitative echocardiographic techniques that account for this systolic variation. While prior studies have qualitatively described patterns of systolic variation no study has quantified this variation. METHODS This study includes 41 patients who underwent...