BACKGROUND According to previous studies on the deformation properties of the left atrium, the systolic strain and strain rates represent the atrial reservoir function and the early and late diastolic strain rates show the conduit and booster functions, respectively. OBJECTIVES We sought to evaluate the intra and interatrial asynchrony using strain/strain rate imaging in systolic heart failur...

From the *Department of Paediatrics, Division of Paediatric Cardiology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada; †Labatt Family Heart Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and the ‡Department of Paediatric Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical School Hannover, Hannover, Germany. Manuscript received May 31, 2011, accepte...

We studied effects on venous return of aand /8-adrenergic agonists in anesthetized dogs. Blood from the superior and inferior venae cavae (venous return) was drained at the level of the tricuspid valve into a reservoir, from which blood was pumped into the right atrium at a constant rate. Isoproterenol infused into the ascending aorta or the right atrium increased the venous return and heart ra...

Background Left atrium enlargement is directly proportional to the severity of underlying clinical (or subclinical) cardiovascular disease. Right atrium (RA) measurements are not routinely performed despite their prognostic value has been demonstrated in chronic heart failure, atrial and pulmonary arterial hypertension. The aim of the study was to evaluate RA dimensions and volumes by cardiac M...

brain in young adults. Myxomas are the most common among them and they are mainly located in the left atrium.1 Cardiac lipomas are a very rare benign neoplasm of the heart usually located in the right atrium.2,3 Its etiological relationship with stroke is not well established. We describe the case of a thalamic stroke probably caused by paradoxical embolism from a right atrial lipoma through a ...

CASE DESCRIPTION 2 cats were examined because of congestive heart failure secondary to heartworm infection. CLINICAL FINDINGS One cat had severe abdominal distention and the other had dyspnea secondary to chylothorax. Both had loud right-sided heart murmurs, precordial thrills, and jugular distension. Thoracic radiography revealed cardiomegaly and enlarged caudal pulmonary arteries. Echocardi...

We present a case of a 55-year-old woman who complained of chest pain at rest. A mass was detected adjacent to her left atrium. The mass was completely excised, and a pathologic examination revealed it to be a schwannoma. Schwannomas are tumors that originate in the nerve sheath and are rarely detected in the heart. Here, we describe a rare case of primary schwannoma of the left atrium.

We report a case of mechanical flow obstruction after heart transplantation caused by a prominent left atrium suture with a "pursestring" effect. The diagnosis was achieved by transesophageal echocardiography. The mean transstenotic gradient was measured at 13 mm Hg. Because of the profound hemodynamic and multisystemic failure, no surgical correction was attempted. The postmortem examination c...

Myxomas are the most frequent benign primary cardiac tumours (50% of benign heart tumours). This kind of tumour is most likely to be localized in the left atrium, followed by the right atrium, right ventricle and left ventricle. Quite exceptional is the presence of a myxoma originating from the tricuspid valve or from the Eustachian valve. We describe the case of a woman with moderate dyspnoea ...

  Cor triatriatum is an acyanotic congenital heart disease. We present a rare case of cor triatriatum sinistrum in a 6-month-old female infant who was presented with cyanosis and failure to thrive. The 2D transthoracic echocardiography and the Doppler color flow imaging showed a proximal venous chamber communicating to the distal left atrium  through restrictive opening to the low-pressure, dis...