Today, with emphasis on the mechanical heart and heart transplantation from one human to another andone species to another, a knowledge of the anatomy of the bird’s heart could contribute to theseaccomplishments. Eight male adult ostriches were used to study the heart macroscopically. This studyrevealed that the ostrich heart has some different features from the other birds. In the ostrich, fib...

Valvular heart disease (VHD) is common and it is essential that hospital pharmacists understand the disease and the role of pharmacotherapy in its treatment and prevention. The heart is composed of four chambers (two atria and two ventricles) and contains four valves (mitral and aortic valves on the left, tricuspid and pulmonary valves on the right). The valves prevent blood flowing backwards w...

Pulmonary hypertension is a common complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The increase in pulmonary artery pressures is often mild to moderate, but some patients may suffer from severe pulmonary hypertension, and present with a progressively downhill clinical course because of right-sided heart failure added to ventilatory handicap. The cause of pulmonary hypertension in ...

Pulmonary hypertension is a common complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The increase in pulmonary artery pressures is often mild to moderate. However, 5-10% of patients with advanced COPD may suffer from severe pulmonary hypertension and present with a progressively downhill clinical course because of right heart failure added to ventilatory handicap. The prevalence of ...

Pulmonary hypertension is a common complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The increase in pulmonary artery pressures is often mild to moderate, but some patients may suffer from severe pulmonary hypertension, and present with a progressively downhill clinical course because of right-sided heart failure added to ventilatory handicap. The cause of pulmonary hypertension in ...

Pulmonary hypertension is a hemodynamic condition, defined as a mean pulmonary artery pressure by right-sided heart catheterization of at least 25 mm Hg at rest. It is classified into 5 general groups based on the underlying cause, with left ventricular failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease being 2 of the most common causes in the United States. Although the specifics of the pathoph...

A simple method of dividing and weighing the heart is described. It is quick to perform and ratios between the left and right ventricles and the total weight of the heart are remarkably constant. Analysis of 788 cases shows that these ratios are of value in the diagnosis after death of systemic and pulmonary hypertension. This is applicable to both sexes at all ages. An unexpected finding was a...

OBJECTIVE The state of pulmonary vascular bed in congenital heart disease is the predictor of the patients clinical condition, prognosis and outcome of surgical intervention. This study aims to investigate the condition of pulmonary vascular bed analyzing pulmonary artery stiffness by means of Doppler echocardiography. METHODS Thirty-three patients (16 females, mean age 26+/-15 years) with va...

The contraction of the right ventricle (RV) expels blood into the pulmonary circulation, and the contraction of the left ventricle (LV) pumps blood into the systemic circulation through the aorta. The respective afterloads imposed on the LV and RV by aortic and pulmonary artery pressures create very different mechanical requirements for the two ventricles. Indeed, differences have been observed...

The development of pulmonary hypertension is a poor prognostic sign in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and affects both mortality and quality of life. Although pulmonary hypertension in OSA is traditionally viewed as a result of apneas and intermittent hypoxia during sleep, recent studies indicate that neither of these factors correlates very well with pulmonary artery pressure. Hum...