OBJECTIVES Our study goal was to analyze whether gene variants of angiotensin II type 2-receptor (AT2-R) modulate the effects of angiotensin II on the left ventricle (LV). BACKGROUND Experimental data suggest that angiotensin II modifies ventricular growth responses via angiotensin II type 1-receptors (AT1-R) and AT2-R. METHODS In 120 white, young male subjects with normal or mildly elevate...

BACKGROUND Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH) in children is widely defined as a left ventricular mass index (LVMI, g/m(2.7)) >95th percentile. However, LVMI increases with decreasing height in young children; thus, the 95th percentile LVMI will depend on the height distribution of the reference population. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of a novel method of exp...

BACKGROUND Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy caused by aortic valve stenosis (AS) leads to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We sought to determine whether aortic valve replacement (AVR) decreases LV mass and improves LV function. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective review for 358 consecutive patients, who underwent aortic valve replacement for degenerative AS between January 1995 and D...

Ratio of stroke volume (SV, M-mode echocardiography) to pulse pressure (PP) has been proposed as an estimate of total arterial compliance and has been shown to be related to body size, age, and heart rate in normal adults. SV/PP was estimated in 294 hypertensive patients (98 women) as a raw value by use of SV/body surface area (SVi) and by the ratio of SV/PP to the value predicted by a previous...

BACKGROUND Although contributors to remodeling of the left ventricle (LV) have been well studied in general population cohorts, few data are available describing factors influencing changes in left atrial (LA) structure. METHODS AND RESULTS Maximum LA volume was determined by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging among 748 participants in the Dallas Heart Study at 2 visits a mean of 8 years apar...

OBJECTIVE Obesity is a chronic metabolic disorder and may associate with cardiovascular geometrical, structural and functional changes. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI), body surface area (BSA) and arterial-ventricular elasticity (Ea and Ees respectively) and cardiovascular coupling and myocardial wall stress and fiber stress in obese children. ...

BACKGROUND Data regarding the familial aggregation of left ventricular (LV) geometry and its relations to parental heart failure (HF) are limited. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated concordance of LV geometry within 1093 nuclear families in 5758 participants of the original (parents) (n=2351) and offspring (n=3407) cohorts of the Framingham Heart Study undergoing routine echocardiography in mid...

After the 16th hemodialysis session, LV mass index decreased by 15% (p=0.01), and LA volume decreased by 40.1% (p=0.01). The LV ejection fraction increased by 4.4% units overall (p=0.67). The overall E/Ea ratio decreased by 23.3% (p=0.07). The improvements in LV structure and function were significant in those with initially abnormal values. The rate of echocardiographic abnormalities in this s...

Vitamin D seems to protect against cardiovascular disease, but the reported effects of vitamin D on patient outcomes in CKD are controversial. We conducted a prospective, double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to determine whether oral activated vitamin D reduces left ventricular (LV) mass in patients with stages 3-5 CKD with LV hypertrophy. Subjects with echocardiographic criteria ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Inappropriately high left ventricular mass (iLVM) is known to be related to cardiovascular prognosis. A non-dipper pattern has a greater mean left ventricular (LV) mass than the dipper pattern in hypertensive patients. However, the appropriateness of LV mass in dipper or non-dipper patterns has not been adequately investigated. The aim of this study was to define the r...