Diastolic dysfunction of the heart is characterized by normal left ventricular contractility and normal ejection fraction, however ventricular relaxation is impaired. In systolic dysfunction, ventricular contractility and ejection fraction are reduced, in addition to impaired relaxation. The prevalence of diastolic dysfunction is increased in the elderly, especially those who have had inadequat...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Hydrocephalus is an important complication of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We investigated the occurrence of acute hydrocephalus in a rat SAH model. METHODS SAH was induced by endovascular perforation in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=36). Sham rats (n=8) underwent the same procedure without perforation. MRI was performed 24 hours after SAH and the volume of the ve...

conclusion the cv value correlated more closely with low lvef and more accurately indicated an enlarged heart than ca or ctr. this may be due to the fact that an anteroposterior measurement of heart size is included in the former but not the latter two measurements. these study results may help quantify left heart enlargement with greater accuracy than may be obtained from standard cxr. backgro...

This editorial refers to ‘Clinical significance of electrocardiographic right ventricular hypertrophy in athletes: comparison with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and pulmonary hypertension’, by A. Zaidi et al., on page 3649 and ‘Should axis deviation or atrial enlargement be categorised as abnormal in young athletes? The athlete’s electrocardiogram: time for re-appraisal of mar...

Amyloid cardiomyopathy is characterized by non-dilated thick-walled left ventricular, thickening of interventricular septum and right ventricular free wall, biatrial enlargement associated with granular 'sparkling' appearance of the myocardium. Typically, decreased left ventricular compliance results in abnormal diastolic functions but left ventricular systolic functions are preserved until lat...

A further 15 patients with left ventricular/right atrial communication are reported, 14 of whom were treated surgically. The clinical triad of a ventricular septal defect murmur, cardiac enlargement, and an arteriovenous shunt at atrial level is characteristic of the malformation. Of the 14 patients accorded surgical treatment, one died soon after operation. The remainder are well, with both th...

Fourteen cases of totally or predominantly unilateral ventricular reflux and stasis of intrathecally injected radioisotope or contrast medium were demonstrated by scintigraphy or computed tomographic cisternography. All showed asymmetric enlargement of the lateral ventricles and nine had ipsilateral brain lesions. Four case reports are presented. The pathophysiologic mechanism of communicating ...

murmur of decreasing intensity. His ventricular septal defect, previously demonstrated angiocardiographically, could not be found at autopsy; it is presumed to have closed by fusion of its muscular rims with subsequent covering by endocardial proliferation. The second patient, with a double-outlet right ventricle, demonstrated progressive left ventricular enlargement and congestive failure desp...

The electrocardiograms of i95 patients (78 Coloured and II7 Bantu) presenting with congestive cardiomyopathy have been studied. The tracings had a fairly uniform pattern showing left ventricular hypertrophy in every case, frequent left atrial enlargement, the absence of right ventricular hypertrophy, and the rarity of right axis deviation in the absence ofpulmonary embolism. A study of the cond...

OBJECTIVES Whether transcranal sonography (TCS) depicted third ventricular enlargement as a sign of brain atrophy is predictive for neuropsychological deficits in mildly affected patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). DESIGN Cross-sectional study of a cohort of mildly diseased patients with MS. SETTING Neurological MS outpatient clinic at a large teaching hospital in central Europe. PARTI...