INTRODUCTION The aim of the present study was to evaluate the haemodynamic effects of passive leg elevation on the right ventricular function in two groups of patients, one with a normal right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) and one with a reduced RVEF. METHODS Twenty coronary patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery were studied by a RVEF pulmonary artery cat...

Chronic heart disease contributes to the mortality of patients with AIDS. Although studies of left ventricular function in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have been conducted, studies of right ventricular function are rare. The present study aimed to characterize the tricuspid annulus movement and evaluate the right ventricular function of patients with AIDS by tissue D...

BACKGROUND Studies have shown cardiac changes induced by intense and regular physical activity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cardiac structures and function in soccer players, cyclists and long-distance runners, and compare them with non-athlete controls. MATERIAL AND METHODS Cardiac structural, systolic, and diastolic function parameters in 53 athletes and 36 non-athlete control...

Right ventricular function before and during 10 days of mild pressure loading (10 mm Hg increase in mean pulmonary arterial pressure) was compared with right ventricular function in unloaded near-term fetal sheep. Pressure loading did not alter fetal arterial blood gases or vascular pressures. The right ventricular function curve (stroke volume versus mean right atrial pressure) was not signifi...

Left ventricular dimensions, wall thickness, wall stress, and indexes of afterload, preload, contractility, and early diastolic function, as well as regional wall motion, were determined by echocardiographic methods in patients with transposition of the great vessels after arterial switch operation and in age-matched normal controls. In patients evaluated early after surgery, body surface area-...

D iabetes is thoroughly evidenced to increase the risk of development of heart failure even in the absence of frequently coexisting comorbidities such as coronary artery disease and hypertension. Cardiac adverse effects influenced by diabetes have been demonstrated thus far for the left ventricle, particularly systolic and diastolic dysfunction identified at rest (1–9) and/or during exercise (1...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Earlier diagnosis of PAH would be of great benefit for the estimation of the CHD, the grasp of the indications for surgery and prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of Doppler echocardiography (D-ECHO) in ...

Background T1 mapping is increasingly employed for evaluation of diffuse fibrosis within the left ventricular (LV) myocardium. Physiological confounders require correction of raw data prior to analysis. T1 values have been inversely correlated with LV systolic and diastolic function. We sought to evaluate the feasibility of right ventricular (RV) T1 mapping and to assess its relationship with R...

Background. The pericardium both limits cardiac distension and accentuates ventricular interdependence. Although this effect appears minimal under normal circumstances, the pericardium markedly restricts acute cardiac enlargement. Animal studies have demonstrated gradual pericardial adaptation and expansion in chronic volume overload and cardiomegaly, but the pericardial response in humans with...

Background Chronic right ventricular (RV) pressure and volume overload in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) results in leftward shift of the interventricular septum and impaired left ventricular (LV) diastolic function. However, the impact of PAH-mediated interdependency on LV fluid mechanics and fluid/structure interactions in LV diastolic dysfunction is incompletely understood. 4D flow CM...