OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence and clinical characteristics of left ventricular dysfunction among elderly patients in the general practice setting by echocardiographic assessment of ventricular function. DESIGN Cross sectional survey. SETTING Four centre general practice in Poole, Dorset. SUBJECTS 817 elderly patients aged 70-84 years. MAIN OUTCOMES Echocardiographic assessment of l...

We present a case of takotsubo cardiomyopathy characterized as acute transient left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patient with persistent atrial fibrillation, that occurred after cryoballoon pulmonary vein ablation procedure.

Background Peak oxygen consumption is reduced in patients with symptomatic congestive heart failure, but functional capacity of patients with asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction has not been assessed by measurement of peak oxygen consumption attained during graded exercise testing. Methods and Results Peak oxygen consumption, that is, aerobic capacity (Vo2, mL/kg per minute), was...

Background: NT-proBNP is a marker that is released from ventricles in response to pressure and volume overload. Raised plasma level of NT-proBNP is seen in ventricular dysfunction, ventricular muscular mass reduction or ventricular ischemia. Anthracyclines are widely used in treatment of pediatric cancer but their use is associated with cardiotoxicity which increases mortality and morbidity. We...

Background The World Health Organization estimates that diabetes mellitus (DM) affects 347 million people worldwide and will be the 7 leading cause of death by 2030. Right ventricular (RV) myocardial infarction and subsequent dysfunction complicating STEMI is independently associated with a higher mortality. Emerging research suggests that mechanisms for RV dysfunction may be different than tho...