We tested the hypotheses that Doppler echocardiography has a higher accuracy than clinical evaluation in the detection of significant aortic and mitral valvular heart disease and that Doppler echocardiography is highly accurate as compared with cardiac catheterization for the assessment of valvular disease severity. Thus, cardiac catheterization for the assessment of valve lesion severity may b...

BACKGROUND Pulmonary hypertension results in increased morbidity and mortality in children after surgical repair of congenital heart defects. Various vasodilators have been unsuccessful in providing preferential pulmonary vasodilation in these patients. Identification of a more preferential pulmonary vasodilator would improve the assessment, management, and outcome of these children. To determi...

In this observational treatment comparison in a single center over 25 years, we sought to assess long-term outcomes of coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) or medical therapy in patients with heart failure, coronary artery disease, and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The benefit of CABG compared with medical therapy alone in these patients is a source of continuing clinical debate. This...

Pulmonary hypertension (PH), second only to left heart diseases (LHD), is a frequent problem in clinical practice. At the same time, left heart diseases represent the most common cause of pulmonary hypertension, and the occurrence of PH in patients with chronic heart failure is usually associated with worse functional class, and prognosis. Right heart catheterization (RHC) is the "gold standard...

We report a 28 years old male presenting with heart failure. A thorough clinical evaluation directed us towards restrictive heart disease. Doppler echocardiographic study was used as a main modality of diagnosis and cardiac catheterization confirmed the diagnosis of idiopathic restrictive cardiomyopathy. We express the contribution of clinical findings and appropriate diagnostic measures in app...

OBSTRUCTION to left ventricular outflow has been considered a characteristic and functionally important feature of "hypertrophic subaortic stenosis." The presence of obstruction has been inferred from the finding of a pressure gradient within the left ventricle during catheterization of the left heart in certain patients with idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy. Indeed, the disease was not ...