OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate the impact of cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) on left ventricular (LV) size and myocardial function. BACKGROUND CCM is a device-based therapy for patients with advanced heart failure. Previous studies showed that CCM improved symptoms and exercise capacity; however, comprehensive assessment of LV structure, function, and reverse remodeling is not...

Doppler ultrasound measures of left ventricular (LV) active relaxation and diastolic suction are slowed with healthy aging. It is unclear to what extent these changes are related to alterations in intrinsic LV properties and/or cardiovascular loading conditions. Seventy carefully screened individuals (38 female, 32 male) aged 21-77 were recruited into four age groups (young: <35; early middle a...

OBJECTIVE Published observations about cardiovascular alterations in normotensive individuals genetically predisposed to develop essential hypertension are conflicting. We tested the hypothesis that abnormalities in left ventricular mass and/or functions may be present in normotensive children of hypertensive parents. METHODS One hundred normotensive offsprings (6 to 18 year age) of hypertens...

BACKGROUND Release of growth hormone (GH), putatively through alterations in insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels, has been implicated to influence left ventricular (LV) myocardial structure and function. The objective of this study was to determine contributory mechanisms by which GH supplementation may influence LV function with the development of congestive heart failure (CHF). METHODS A...

The effects of changes in coronary blood flow and coronary artery pressure on left ventricular (LV) contractility were determined in 18 animals. Dogs on cardiopulmonary bypass provided isovolumetric LV contractions during controlled perfusion of the coronary circulation. Coronary venous efflux, myocardial oxygen consumption, peak LV pressure, LV dp/dt, and the forcevelocity relations of the LV ...

BACKGROUND Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) has been known to adversely influence cardiac output. Even though left ventricular (LV) diastolic function significantly contributes to LV performance, the effects of PEEP on LV diastolic function remains controversial. We, therefore, aimed to examine the effects of PEEP on LV diastolic function by use of pulsed wave Doppler tissue imaging in p...

BACKGROUND A physiological third heart sound (S3) is common in youth but allegedly very rare after the age of 40 years. The mechanism of its disappearance is not known. The aim of this work was to study the prevalence and predictors of physiological S3 in a population-based sample of persons approaching 40 years of age. METHODS AND RESULTS A random sample of 120 persons born in 1954 was invit...

BACKGROUND Impaired left ventricular (LV) diastolic function is a common pathophysiological feature of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). High-normal thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH) levels may alter the performance of the left ventricle. AIM To ascertain whether the severity of impaired LV diastolic function in HCM patients might worsen with elevating TSH levels w...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the coronary blood flow velocity pattern immediately and 24 h after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in relation to myocardial reperfusion and follow-up left ventricular (LV) function. BACKGROUND Analysis of coronary blood flow velocity pattern after AMI may provide information about micr...

AIMS Impaired diastolic function is responsible for many of the clinical features of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) whose symptoms are refractory to medical therapy, alcohol septal ablation (ASA) reduces left ventricular (LV) outflow tract gradient, with short-term improvement in LV diastolic function. Little is known about the longe...