BACKGROUND/AIM Long-term intensive training is associated with distinctive cardiac adaptations which are known as athlete's heart. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) could affect echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular (LV) morphology and function in elite strength and endurance athletes. METHODS A total of 20 elite strength a...

BACKGROUND Recent evidence demonstrated that the circulating adipokines were associated with the onset of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) including unstable angina pectoris (UAP) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). As a novel adipokine, chemerin has been related to atherosclerosis and the presence of coronary artery disease. However, the plasma levels of chemerin in patients with ACS have yet ...

A low dose of digoxin is known to reduce mortality and hospitalization in patients with heart failure; however, the safety of digoxin in treating patients with heart failure on maintenance hemodialysis remains controversial. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness and safety of digoxin at lower doses in patients with heart failure on maintenance hemodialysis using a retro...

BACKGROUND Frequent ventricular ectopic beats (VEB) in patients without significant cardiac disease are usually classified as benign arrhythmia. However, they may alter cardiac performance. RF ablation can effectively eliminate VEB. AIM To evaluate the effects of RF ablation on selected haemodynamic parameters of left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function and exercise capacity in p...

Purpose: To investigate the alteration of left ventricular function in subjects with persistent atrial tachyarrhythmia induced cardiomyopathy (TIC) undergoing radiofrequency ablation, and to study the pathogenesis and effective treatment of TIC. Methods: A total of 25 cases with persistent atrial tachyarrhythmia and impaired left ventricular systolic function were studied (16 men and 9 women, a...

AIMS Despite recent advances in medical therapy, heart failure remains a leading cause for cardiovascular mortality, and its complex pathogenesis is incompletely understood. This study was performed to identify possible new therapeutic targets in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). METHODS AND RESULTS Oligonucleotide microarray analysis was performed on endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) from patients ...

OBJECTIVES We sought to investigate the impact of six months of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on echocardiographic variables of left ventricular (LV) function. BACKGROUND Cardiac resynchronization therapy has recently been introduced as a new therapeutic modality in patients with advanced heart failure (HF) and conduction abnormalities. However, most studies have only investigated t...

The acorn cardiac support device (ACSD) is a device designed to treat heart failure by containing the heart to prevent further dilation. Six patients with symptomatic heart failure due to ischemic cardiomyopathy were treated surgically with ACSD. All patients simultaneously underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. Ventricular reconstruction was also performed in 5 of the 6 patients. We follow...

OBJECTIVE This study utilized Doppler ultrasonography cardiograms in patients with third-degree atrioventricular (III-AV) block to compare right ventricular apex (RVA) pacing and right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) pacing with respect to their effects on synchronization of contraction between the two ventricles, as well as on timing of specific left-ventricular electrical and mechanical even...

Aims Rheumatic valve diseases are most common etiological valve diseases in developing countries. Urotensin II is cardiovascular autacoid/hormone and may be associated with patients of heart valve diseases. The present study was to measure plasma urotensin II concentrations in patients with left-sided rheumatic valve diseases such as mitral regurgitation (MR) and aortic regurgitation (AR), and ...