BACKGROUND Anemia and echocardiographic systolic and diastolic parameters are useful predictors of cardiovascular outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, no studies have evaluated the use of anemia for predicting cardiovascular outcome in AF patients when the important echocardiographic parameters are known. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate whether low hemoglo...

We aimed to evaluate the association of albuminuria and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at baseline and changes in these parameters with left ventricular mass index (LVMI) at 7 years in adults with hypertension from communities in Pakistan. A nested cohort of 539 hypertensives aged 40 years and older from a community-living population in Karachi, Pakistan, followed up for 7 years in...

AIMS The prevalence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction increases with age, particularly in hypertensive women. We aimed to determine the age- and sex-related differences in diastolic function, and its relation to alterations of cardiac dimensions in a hypertensive population. METHODS AND RESULTS We enrolled 479 hypertensive patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥50%...

Although indexes of wave reflection enhance risk prediction, the extent to which measures of aortic systolic pressure augmentation (augmented pressures [Pa] or augmentation index) underestimate the effects of reflected waves on cardiovascular risk is uncertain. In participants from a community sample (age >16), we compared the relative contribution of reflected (backward wave pressures and the ...

AIMS The present study aimed to test the capability of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) in characterizing early abnormalities of left ventricular (LV) structure and function in native, untreated hypertensive patients. METHODS AND RESULTS Thirty-eight newly diagnosed, never-treated hypertensives (H) and 38 healthy controls (C) underwent both standard echo-Doppler and RT3DE ...

BACKGROUND Fabry disease (FD) is a rare disorder and one of the causes of progressive renal and cardiac dysfunction. FD results from an X-linked recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by a defect in the gene encoding lysosomal α-galactosidase A. Although accumulation of globotriaosylceramide leads to renal and cardiac manifestations, the precise mechanisms remain unclear. Coronary microvas...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to determine whether sex differences contribute to the association of serum uric acid and left ventricular hypertrophy in individuals with hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS Seventy participants with essential hypertension (34 men, 36 women; 54.4 +/- 1.6 years old) were enrolled to undergo echocardiography to calculate the left ventricular mass index...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Residual renal function (RRF) has been shown to influence survival of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. This study examined the relations between RRF and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) before switching on dialysis treatment and observed during 18 months on PD treatment. METHODS A prospective longitudinal study was performed in 50 non-anuric (defined as >200 mL urine outpu...

BACKGROUND Although left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and remodeling is associated with cardiac mortality and morbidity, little is known about the impact of gender on the ventricular response in aortic stenosis (AS) patients. This study aimed to analyze the differential effect of gender on ventricular remodeling in moderate to severe AS patients. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 118 consecutiv...

Epicardial fat tissue is a visceral fat depot with anatomical and functional contiguity to the myocardium and coronary arteries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and cardiac changes in healthy female subjects. The study population consisted of ninety-six consecutive healthy female (mean age 31.1 ± 6.7 years) who underwent trans...