Increased or reduced action of thyroid hormone on certain molecular pathways in the heart and vasculature causes relevant cardiovascular derangements. It is well established that overt hyperthyroidism induces a hyperdynamic cardiovascular state (high cardiac output with low systemic vascular resistance), which is associated with a faster heart rate, enhanced left ventricular (LV) systolic and d...

BACKGROUND Subclinical cardiovascular disease is prevalent in patients with Metabolic Syndrome (MetSyn). Left ventricular (LV) circumferential strain (εCC) and longitudinal strain (εLL), assessed by Speckle Tracking Echocardiography (STE), are indices of systolic function: shortening is indicated by negative strain, and thus, the more negative the strain, the better the LV systolic function. Th...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate the phenomenon of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction after ultraendurance exercise. BACKGROUND Subclinical LV dysfunction in response to endurance exercise up to 24 h duration has been described, but its mechanism remains elusive. METHODS We tested 86 athletes before and after the Adrenalin Rush Adventure Race using echocardiography, im...

Echocardiography is a well-established clinical tool for the assessment of myocardial function. However, in subclinical diseases, the routinely used echocardiographic parameters such as left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening are not sensitive enough to detect myocardial dysfunction. We have learned over the past years that other echocardiographic techniques such ...

BACKGROUND Subclinical left ventricular (LV) longitudinal myocardial systolic dysfunction occurs in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and preserved LV ejection fraction (LVEF), and is closely related to DM-related complications. However, the association of diabetic neuropathy (DN) with subclinical LV systolic longitudinal dysfunction in such patients has not been fully clarified. METHODS T...

BACKGROUND Severe aortic stenosis (AS) patients with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) or left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction are known to have worse outcome. We aimed to investigate whether LGE on CMR would be useful in early detection of subclinical LV structural and functional derangements in AS patients. METHODS 118 patients with moderate ...

OBJECTIVE Mitral valve stenosis (MS) remains as an important cause of morbidity despite evolution in diagnosis and treatment. Generally, left ventricular (LV) systolic functions are well preserved in patients with MS. However, there are some studies showing impaired LV systolic functions in patients with pure MS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate subclinical LV systolic dysfunction in a...

OBJECTIVE Individuals with depression are at risk of heart failure. This study was designed to elucidate the relationship between depression and subclinical left ventricular (LV) changes in the general Korean population. DESIGN Cross-sectional cohort study. SETTING University hospital. PATIENTS A total of 2420 participants, aged 40-79 years, without known cardiovascular disease, were recr...

Background There is an epidemic of obesity and Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in the developed world. Subclinical diastolic dysfunction in diabetes is associated with the development of overt heart failure. Although diabetic cardiomyopathy is well documented in older adults with T2DM there are scarce data on younger adults and no published CMR data. We aimed to assess the prevalence and potent...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate left ventricular (LV) function and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in patients with axial SpA in relationship to underlying disease severity. METHODS We recruited 104 patients with axial SpA and 50 controls. Detailed transthoracic echocardiography was performed and analysed with two-dimensional speckle tracking strain analysis for systolic function and tissue Dopple...