Heart failure in the setting of reduced systolic pump function, if left untreated, is characterized by progressive ventricular dilation and dysfunction. Many of the major advances in pharmacologic treatments for heart failure achieved over the last two decades came with the recognition that this process, referred to as ventricular remodeling, results from abnormal mechanical stress on the myoca...

A 58-year-old man had been diagnosed with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMP) according to echocardiography findings 16 years ago. Echocardiography showed ischemic cardiomyopathy (CMP)-like features with decreased systolic function but a non-dilated chamber. Coronary angiography was performed but showed a normal coronary artery. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed m...

IntroductionExtrinsic obstruction of an LVAD circuit is a well known complication, and often requires surgical correction or pump explantation. Endovascular stenting, however, offers minimally invasive approach for treatment hemodynamically significant obstructions.Case ReportPatients 1 2 both presented with reports low-flow alarms their LVADs. Patient 66 year old male non-ischemic cardiomyopat...

Trimetazidine, a metabolic agent with anti-ischemic properties, has strong evidence of efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, including subjects with chronic angina and heart failure. There is now a growing evidence that trimetazidine has also a positive impact on quality of life of these patients. This seems to be a consequence of the clinical bene...

Evidence-based criteria for applying cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy are still scarce. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive value of real-time myocardial contrast echocardiography (RT-MCE) in a preclinical canine model of ischemic cardiomyopathy who received CRT. Ischemic cardiomyopathy was produced by ligating the first di...

BACKGROUND Risk stratification for ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) is important to refine selection criteria for primary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy. Impaired hyperemic myocardial blood flow (MBF) is associated with increased mortality rate in ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathy, which may be attributed to electric instability inducing VAs. The aim of this pilot ...

BACKGROUND Owing to its variable course from asymptomatic cases to sudden death risk stratification is of paramount importance in newly diagnosed non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. We tested whether late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is a prognostic marker in consecutive patients with newly diagnosed non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. METHODS We enrolle...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to assess the determinants of mortality in a large group of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy who are treated medically and the impact of the extent of viable tissue on prognosis. BACKGROUND Whether the presence of viability drives mortality in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy who are treated medically and whether the extent of viability is im...