Methods Forty nine subjects undergoing clinically indicated right and left heart cardiac catheterization were prospectively recruited to undergo MRI in a 1.5T scanner. First pass perfusion using steady state free precession saturation recovery sequence was performed with gadolinium infusion at 0.01 mmol/kg. Global TT was defined as the time between the peaks of time intensity curves between the...

OBJECTIVE To study the incidence of spontaneous echo contrast in left atrium of Indian patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis in normal sinus rhythm and to define its relations. SUBJECTS Transthoracic and multiplane transoesophageal echocardiographic studies were performed in 89 consecutive patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis who were in normal sinus rhythm. RESULTS Spontaneous echo co...

BACKGROUND Esophageal injury is a potential complication after intraoperative or percutaneous transcatheter ablation of the posterior aspect of the left atrium. Understanding the spatial relations between the esophagus and the left atrium is essential to reduce risks. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined by gross dissection the course of the esophagus in 15 cadavers. We measured the minimal distan...