BACKGROUND The prediction of the ventricular remodeling process after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) may have important clinical implications. OBJECTIVE To analyze echocardiographic variables predictors of remodeling in the infarction model in rats. MEHTODS: The animals underwent echocardiography in two moments, five days and three months after infarction (AMI group) or sham surgery (contr...

Left ventricular function was evaluated in 34 patients with the echocardiogram, and an external mechanical cardiac stimulator was used to induce a ventricular premature contraction (VPC) noninvasively. Extent of post-extrasystolic potentiation (PESP) was determined by comparing systolic dimensional shortening and ejection fraction of the sinus beat preceding the VPC to that of the potentiated b...

INTRODUCTION Cardiovascular disease and heart failure are common in dialysis patients. Recurrent subclinical myocardial ischemia is an important event which may lead to the heart failure. We examined whether this phenomenon occurs secondary to the intradialytic hypotension in hemodialysis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twelve patients prone to intradialytic hypotension who had been on mainte...

BACKGROUND The relevance of the remodeling pattern in the model of rats exposed to cigarette smoke is not known. OBJECTIVE Analyzing the presence of different remodeling patterns in this model and its relation with the ventricular function. METHODS Smoking rats (n=47) have been divided according to the geometry pattern, analyzed by echocardiogram: normal (normal mass index and normal relati...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES The structural and functional changes observed in the left ventricle in professional soccer players could cause alterations in ventricular rotation (Rv) and ventricular torsion (Tv). Our aim was to characterize the changes in Tv that occur in professional soccer players. METHODS In total, 17 professional soccer players and 10 healthy volunteers who had not undergon...

The role of microtubules in modulating cardiomyocyte beta-adrenergic response was investigated in rats with cardiac hypertrophy. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent stenosis of the abdominal aorta (hypertensive, HT) or sham operation (normotensive, NT). Echocardiography and isolated left ventricular cardiomyocyte dimensions demonstrated cardiac hypertrophy in the HT rats after 30 wk. Cardiomyocy...

Purpose: Assessment of contractile function is a major challenge in patients with left ventricular dysfunction, especially during cardiac surgery. The initial tangent of the femoral arterial pressure increase (tanin) has recently been described to be an estimate of left ventricular (LV) contractility. To confirm these findings tanin was compared to various indices of LV performance in patients ...

Exercise might reduce blood pressure in mild essential hypertensive individuals, but it could raise left ventricular mass, counteracting the beneficial effects induced by a decrease in blood pressure. Seventeen (group 1) of 25 mild hypertensive patients, nonresponders to a 3-month low sodium diet (2 g/day), were admitted into a physical training program consisting of three weekly sessions of ae...

Left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction often occurs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) independent of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, myocardial ischemia, and regional wall motion anomalies. Limited information exists on LV myocardial tissue strain in this patient group. We measured 3-dimensional (3-D) parameters of LV systolic and diastolic functions in 28 patients wh...

The effect of isometric skeletal muscle contraction on the performance of the normal left ventricle was studied noninvasively in 20 subjects. Studies were conducted at rest and at 3 minutes of isometric hanedrip exercise at 50 per cent of maximum voluntary contraction, and consisted of simultaneous recording of left ventricular echocardiogram, external carotid pulse, phonocardiogram, and electr...