BACKGROUND In patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), left ventricular ejection performance may be normal while segmental myocardial function is distinctly abnormal. The advent of magnetic resonance tissue tagging has allowed the noninvasive evaluation of intramyocardial segmental shortening in vivo in a topographic and temporal manner. METHODS AND RESULTS Ten patients with HCM docum...

The myocardium is a complex three-dimensional structure consisting of myocytes interconnected by a dense collagen weave that courses in different directions. Regional ischemia can be expected to produce complex changes in ventricular deformation. In the present study, we examined the effects of ischemia on two- and three-dimensional finite strains during acute transmural myocardial ischemia in ...

BACKGROUND Response to cardiac resynchronization therapy depends both on dyssynchrony and (regional) contractility. We hypothesized that septal deformation can be used to infer integrated information on dyssynchrony and regional contractility, and thereby predict cardiac resynchronization therapy response. METHODS AND RESULTS In 132 cardiac resynchronization therapy candidates with left bundl...

Fifty consecutive patients undergoing aortic valve replacement for isolated aortic regurgitation were studied prospectively by echocardiography, electrocardiography and cardiac catheterization. Good quality echocardiograms were obtained in 49 of the 50 patients. Left ventricular (LV) dilatation was present in all 49 patients. LV systolic function, as assessed by echocardiographic percent fracti...

Normal, marginal, and central ischemic regional myocardial function were evaluated in a canine model of myocardial infarction during 90 minute left circumflex coronary artery occlusion in 25 anesthetized dogs randomly assigned to intravenous ibuprofen infusion (n = 13,5.36 mg/kg/h beginning 1 hour before occlusion) or vehicle solution as control (n = 12) and in 15 conscious, unsedated dogs 48 a...

Background Response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) depends both on dyssynchrony and (regional) contractility. We hypothesized that septal deformation can be used to infer integrated information on dyssynchrony and regional contractility and thereby predict CRT response. Methods and Results In 132 CRT-candidates with left bundle branch block (LBBB)like ECG morphology (left ventricula...

The onset of mitral valve prolapse and its close correlate, the time of systolic click, vary considerably with different physiologic and pharmacologic interventions. In order to explain the mechanism responsible for these alterations, the effects of tilt and amyl nitrite inhalation on left ventricular dynamics and the time of the systolic click were studied by analyzing echocardiograms and simu...

Fifty consecutive patients undergoing aortic valve replacement for isolated aortic regurgitation were studied prospectively by echocardiography, electrocardiography and cardiac catheterization. Good quality echocardiograms were obtained in 49 of the 50 patients. Left ventricular (LV) dilatation was present in all 49 patients. LV systolic function, as assessed by echocardiographic percent fracti...