left ventricle in dogs. Circulation 60: 1104, 1979 14. Eaton LW, Maughan WL, Weiss JL: Accurate volume determination in the isolated ejecting canine heart from a limited number of two-dimensional echocardiographic cross-sections. (abstr) Am J Cardiol 45: 470, 1980 15. Helak J, Reichek N, Pearlman E, Weber K, Pietra G, Kastor JA: Quantitation of human left ventricular mass and volume by cross-se...

OBJECTIVES The effects of increasing heart rate on left ventricular contraction and relaxation were examined in conscious dogs with tachycardia-induced heart failure under autonomically blocked conditions. BACKGROUND Previous studies using isolated myocardium have shown attenuated positive inotropic responses to stimulation frequency in heart failure. However, these responses have not been we...

We present a case of a 62-year-old male patient (coronary heart disease, and stenosis of aortic valve) with severe left ventricular dysfunction (left ventricular ejection fraction 20%, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter 80 mm, end-diastolic volume 329 ml) who developed giant electrical storm (on the whole 115 episodes of pulseless ventricular tachycardia treated by antiarrhythmics and elec...

A significant fraction of patients in whom mechanical left ventricular assist devices are implanted for refractory cardiac failure after open heart surgery have had the complication of right heart failure. To evaluate the effects of left ventricular assistance and pressure unloading on right ventricular function, we performed experiments in the normal hearts of open-chest, anesthetized, large m...

We have shown previously that patients with resistant hypertension and hyperaldosteronism have increased brain natriuretic peptide suggestive of increased intravascular volume. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that hyperaldosteronism contributes to cardiac volume overload. Thirty-seven resistant hypertensive patients with hyperaldosteronism (urinary aldosterone > or = 12 microg/24...

BACKGROUND Quantitation of valvular regurgitation remains a challenge. The accuracy of quantitative Doppler is controversial, and its ability to measure regurgitant volume is unknown; therefore, it is not widely used. METHODS AND RESULTS In 120 patients (20 without regurgitation, 19 with aortic regurgitation, and 81 with mitral regurgitation), the stroke volume through the mitral annulus and ...

In 16 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an acute response of the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and volume index to intravenously administered verapamil was assessed. Verapamil decreased the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure from 20 +/- 6 to 17 +/- 5 mm Hg(p less than 0.001) and increased the end-diastolic volume index from 82 +/- 22 to 91 +/- 23 ml/sqm (p less than 0.01...

It has been reported that 30-40% of patients with aortic stenosis are hypertensive. In such patients, the left ventricle faces a double (i.e. valvular and vascular) pressure overload, which results in subsequent wall volume hypertrophy. From a clinical standpoint, it is difficult to separate the respective contributions of aortic stenosis and systemic hypertension to left ventricular burden and...

A previously fit 52-year-old man presented with severe progressive exertional dyspnea. He was in heart-failure with an elevated jugular-venous-pressure, edema, and increased plasma-NTpro-BNP levels of 4285 μg/mL (upper limit of normal <900 μg/mL). His ECG demonstrated sinus-rhythm with low limb and chest lead voltages (Figure 1). He had significant proteinuria with renal and bone marrow biopsie...