OBJECTIVE To evaluate the acute effects of atrial pacing at different pacing sites on mechanical stunning after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF). SETTING Tertiary referral centre. PATIENTS 20 patients with persistent AF were studied. INTERVENTIONS Spontaneous echo contrast (SEC), left atrial appendage emptying velocity (LAAEV), and left atrial appendage emptying fraction (LAAEF) ...

BACKGROUND During right atrial stimulation, the anterior and posterior approaches provide inputs to the atrioventricular (AV) node. The purpose of the present study was to determine how activation proceeding from the left atrium reaches the AV node. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied AV nodal conduction during right and left atrial (coronary sinus) stimulation in 46 patients (27 women and 19 men;...

BACKGROUND Normal development of the atria requires left-right differentiation during embryonic development. Reduced expression of Pitx2c (paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2, isoform c), a key regulator of left-right asymmetry, has recently been linked to atrial fibrillation. We therefore systematically studied the molecular composition of left and right atrial tissue in adult murin...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To analyze the extent of pericardial constraint on right ventricular function in humans. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty patients, 59 +/- 2 (mean +/- SEM) years old, undergoing coronary bypass surgery. Right ventricular volumes and pressures were evaluated using a rapid response Swan-Ganz thermodilution catheter. INTERVENTIONS Parameters were determined before and after pericard...

Objective: To evaluate the acute effects of atrial pacing at different pacing sites on mechanical stunning after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF). Setting: Tertiary referral centre. Patients: 20 patients with persistent AF were studied. Interventions: Spontaneous echo contrast (SEC), left atrial appendage emptying velocity (LAAEV), and left atrial appendage emptying fraction (LAAEF) we...

patients and methods in 382 subjects admitted in the emergency department (ed), we evaluated maximal (volmax) and minimal (volmin) la volumes and la emptying fraction (la-ef), from rt-3d images, with a semiautomated border detection program. a follow-up was performed in order to evaluate all-cause mortality and new hospital admission for cardiovascular events. objectives aims of this study were...

BACKGROUND Intergenic variations on chromosome 4q25, close to the PITX2 transcription factor gene, are associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). We therefore tested whether adult hearts express PITX2 and whether variation in expression affects cardiac function. METHODS AND RESULTS mRNA for PITX2 isoform c was expressed in left atria of human and mouse, with levels in right atrium and left and...

Holt-Oram syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder, characterised by skeletal abnormalities of the upper limb associated with congenital heart defect, mainly atrial and ventricular septal defects. Skeletal defects exclusively affect the upper limbs in the preaxial radial ray distribution and are bilateral and asymmetrical. They range from clinodactyly, absent or digitalised thumb, hypoplastic...