BACKGROUND Heart failure (HF) with preserved (HFpEF) left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is a syndrome with complex pathophysiology. Little is known about changes in LVEF that occur over time in HFpEF patients. A fundamental clinical question about HFpEF is whether HFpEF is an early manifestation of HF with reduced LVEF (HFrEF). If so, which patients with HFpEF are likely to show a declin...

BACKGROUND The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has prognostic and therapeutic utility after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Although LVEF assessment is a key performance measure among AMI patients, contemporary rates of in-hospital assessment and its association with therapy use have not been well characterized. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined rates of in-hospital LVEF assessment...

INTRODUCTION Assessment of cardiac function is key in the management of intensive care unit (ICU) patients and frequently relies on the use of standard transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). A commercially available new generation ultrasound system with two-dimensional imaging capability, which has roughly the size of a mobile phone, is adequately suited to extend the physical examination. The p...

The present study aimed to investigate the association between cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) and left ventricular (LV) systolic function parameters in patients with or without preserved LV ejection fraction (LVEF). A total of 203 subjects suspected with coronary artery disease underwent chest radiography and dual source computed tomography coronary angiography (DSCT-CA). The LV systolic function p...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to determine the prognostic value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF), in comparison to data in HF patients with reduced left ventricular (LV) EF (≤40%). BACKGROUND Management of patients with HFPEF is difficult. BNP is a useful biomarker in patients with reduced LVEF, but data in HFPEF are sc...

Background In patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) predicts adverse clinical outcomes. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is the gold standard for LVEF measurement, but two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) is commonly used for serial evaluation of LVEF. The optimal 2DE method for LVEF measurement and limiting factors in this populat...

  Introduction: We investigated the difference in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and end-systolic volume(ESV) measured by gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (GSPECT) in the post-dipyridamole stress and rest periods, and compared the results with the perfusion patterns found in the conventional non-gated tomograms. Methods: 297 consecutive patients were studie...

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate efficacy of high dose vitamin D in improving left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in thalassemia patients with heart failure and vitamin D deficiency. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial study was conducted on 16 chronically transfused thalassemia patients and ventricular dysfunction with vitamin D deficiency between December...

OBJECTIVE Conflicting evidence exists on the benefits of treating patients with coronary artery disease and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with an ACE inhibitor. This retrospective analysis of the SMILE-4 Study sought to compare the efficacy of zofenopril 60 mg plus acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) versus ramipril 10 mg plus ASA 100 mg in patients with acute myocardial infarction...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether dobutamine stress echocardiography can predict the improvement of left ventricular systolic function in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). METHODS Myocardial contractile reserve, as assessed by dobutamine stress echocardiography, was determined in 18 patients with DCM (mean (SD) age 53 (13) years, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 28 (10)%) and ...