Echocardiology

Polymicrobial sepsis in mice causes myocardial dysfunction after generation of the complement anaphylatoxin, complement component 5a (C5a). C5a interacts with its receptors on cardiomyocytes (CMs), resulting in redox imbalance and cardiac dysfunction that can be functionally measured and quantitated using echocardiology/Doppler technology. In this report we have evaluated activation of MAPKs and Akt in CMs exposed to C5a in vitro and after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in vivo In both cases, C5a in vitro caused activation (phosphorylation) of MAPKs and Akt in CMs, which required availability of both C5a receptors...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In addition to its cardiotonic effect, levosimendan has been thought to have multiple cardiovascular benefits, including anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic. Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) has been revealed to be up-regulated in circumstances of coronary microembolization (CME), and the PTEN signaling pathway mediates myocardial apoptosis in swine after CME. However, whether this functional protein could be modified by pretreatment of levosimendan in models of CME has not been disclosed yet...

INTRODUCTION: Effects of ischemic postconditioning (IPostC) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-mediated pharmacologic postconditioning (ATP-PPostC) on cardiac function were evaluated by speckle tracking imaging (STI)-based echocardiography. AIMS: A myocardial I/R model was induced in rabbits by reversible ligation of the left ventricular branch of coronary artery. Rabbits were randomized into three groups: ischemia and reperfusion (IR) (no further intervention), IPostC, and ATP-PPostC groups...

To find an association between smoking and the development of myocardial infarction in male patients above forty years of age presenting at the echocardiology department of Sudan heart center Khartoum. A prospective cohort study was carried out at the echocardiography department of Sudan Heart Center in Khartoum-Sudan between July 2012 and June 2014. The study population comprised a total of 168 adult male patients who underwent cardiac ultrasound scanning. Out of a total of 144 cases, 65% (94) of patients were smokers, 74% of the 94 cases smoked for more than 10 years, and 26% of the 94 cases smoked for less than 10 years...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Phosphatase and the tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) has been recognized as a promoter of apoptosis in various tissues and has been shown to be upregulated in circumstances of coronary microembolization (CME). We hypothesized that the upregulation of PTEN correlates with CME-induced myocardial apoptosis. METHODS: Swine CME was induced by an intracoronary injection of inert plastic microspheres (diameter of 42 μm) into the left anterior descending coronary, with or without pretreatment of the PTEN small-interfering RNA (siRNA)...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) has been recognized as a promoter of apoptosis in various tissues, and revealed to be up-regulated in circumstances of coronary microembolization (CME). However, whether this functional protein could be modified by pretreatment of atorvastatin in models of CME has not been disclosed yet. METHODS: Swine CME was induced by intra-coronary injection of inertia plastic microspheres (diameter 42 μm) into left anterior descending coronary, with or without pretreatment of atorvastatin or PTEN siRNA...

Cardiac arrhythmias are commonly reported in freedivers during maximal voluntary breath-holds, but their influence on the cardiological status and their long-term effects on the cardiac health of these athletes have not been investigated. Here we present the results of a study on 32 healthy young men (mean age 32.6 ± 1.3 years) who were divided into two groups of 16 subjects. One group included 16 continuously training freedivers at the "high achievers in sports" level (DIVERS group). The CONTROL group included 16 healthy young men not involved in sports...

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a common congenital heart disease. Our study was to analyze clinical features of BAV and evaluate whether aortic valve calcium score (AVCS) was a reliable marker for aortic stenosis (AS) in patients with BAV. 101 patients with BAV who both underwent echocardiology and cardiac computed tomography (CT) scan in our institution were included. Basic clinical data, haemodynamic feature, aortic valve and coronary calcium score were collected and compared among patients with different valve function and different degree of AS...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Scorpion stings are a common emergency in India and many other tropical countries. In India, the red scorpions are more prevalent, and their venom is more likely to cause myocardial dysfunctions. There are very few studies conducted on this problem. The following study was done in Andhra Pradesh and aimed to identify cardiovascular complications of scorpion stings in children with a follow-up of 6 months. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective observational study...

Cases of embolism after using hydrogen peroxide have been described in many circumstances in the operating room. Hydrogen peroxide is not more effective than other antiseptics; its potentially serious risk should not be unrecognized. The alternative use of saline seems very reasonable. The widespread use of hydrogen peroxide by practitioners is explained mainly by its antiseptic effect associated with effervescent backlash visual and auditory, but sometimes the liquid hiding behind a black hole that absorbs the life of the patient in case of inappropriate use...

UNLABELLED: Hypocalcemic cardiomyopathy in infants is characterized by heart failure in a previously normal infant with hypocalcemia without organic cardiac lesion. Vitamin D deficiency rickets is increasing in Middle East. In a six month study 136 cases of rickets were diagnosed in the main Children's Hospital in Almadinah but none of them showed evidence of cardiomyopathy. Concerned of missing this serious complication of rickets we searched pub med and present this review article. RESULTS: 61 cases of hypocalcemic cardiomyopathy were reported as case reports with two series of 16 and 15 cases from London and Delhi, respectively...

OBJECTIVE: More attention is being paid to the relationship between kidney dysfunction and cardiovascular events Characteristic features include renal dysfunction, left ventricular (LV) and left atrial (LA) enlargement. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationships between circulating levels of β2-microglobulin (β2-m) and cystatin C and left atrial size in patients with coronary artery disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited 300 patients who presented with chest tightness or chest pain and subsequently underwent coronary angiography...

A 94-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of altered mental status and cerebellar ataxia of left upper and lower extremities. A brain CT scan revealed a right cerebellar hemorrhage approximately 15 cc. Plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) value on admission was 1,064.6 pg/ml. Twelve-lead ECG revealed negative T-wave in V3-V5. Transthoracic echocardiology confirmed an ejection fraction of 35%, and left ventricular apical akinesia and basal hyperkinesis were seen. Plasma BNP value was dramatically declined in the subacute phase of cerebellar hemorrhage...

A 24-yr-old, male western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) was diagnosed with congestive heart failure using transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiology. New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III was assigned to the severity of the condition. Over 16 mo, this progressed to NYHA Class IV despite increasing medical therapy. Repeated evaluations suggested that implantation of a cardiac resynchronization therapy device with a defibrillator (CRT-D) could benefit this animal based on clinical signs and underlying evidence of dyssynchrony and suspected fibrotic myocardial disease...

BACKGROUND: Hyperuricemia is frequently present in patients with heart failure. Many pathological conditions, such as tissue ischemia, renal function impairment, cardiac function impairment, metabolic syndrome, and inflammatory status, may impact uric acid (UA) metabolism. This study was to assess their potential relations to UA metabolism in heart failure. METHODS: We retrospectively assessed clinical characteristics, echocardiological, renal, metabolic and inflammatory variables selected on the basis of previous evidence of their involvement in cardiovascular diseases and UA metabolism in a large cohort of randomly selected adults with congestive heart failure (n = 553)...

Recommendations are proposed how to assess left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) as well as a complex approach to examination of the heart structure and function in patients with different diseases accompanied with LVH development. LVH differential diagnosis is considered in arterial hypertension (AH), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMP), accumulation myocardial diseases, non-compact myocardium, valvular and combined cardiac pathology, compensatory LVH in athletes. Novel echocardiological techniques are recommended for use in complicated diagnostic cases...

PURPOSE: Discrete upper septal thickening (DUST) has been well described in the echocardiology literature. To our knowledge, the computed tomography findings of DUST, however, have not been previously described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five hundred consecutive coronary computed tomography angiograms were evaluated by 2 cardiothoracic radiologists for the presence of DUST. RESULTS: Of the 500 studies reviewed, 23 cases had features consistent with DUST (23/500 = 5%)...

AIMS: The aim of the study was to assess myocardial perfusion by means of non-invasive diagnostic methods and measurement of the plasma concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with long-lasting type 1 diabetes. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was performed on 41 Type 1 diabetic patients (23 females, 18 males), aged 30±7.6 with a duration of disease 15.2±5.5years. 17 patients exhibited microalbuminuria (10 females, 7 males) and 24 subjects were without microalbuminuria (13 females, 11 males)...

PURPOSE: To demonstrate a simple low-cost system for tele-echocardiology, focused on paediatric cardiology applications. METHODS: The system was realized using open-source software and COTS technologies. It is based on the transmission of two simultaneous video streams, obtained by direct digitization of the output of an ultrasound machine and by a netcam showing the examination that is taking place. These streams are then embedded into a web page so they are accessible, together with basic video controls, via a standard web browser...

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