AN INCREASE IN THE MASS OF LEFT VENTRICULAR muscle is intimately associated with most chronic diseases of the heart. Classically, left ventricular hypertrophy, which represents an extreme increase in left ventricular mass, has been thought to represent a reaction to pressure or volume overload. In the short run, increases in left ventricular mass may be beneficial by allowing the heart to compe...

To elucidate the pathophysiology of severe right ventricular infarction (RVI), isolated RVI was produced in 15 dogs with the pericardium intact or open. After RVI in dogs with the pericardium intact, RV systolic pressure decreased by 27%, aortic pressure by 29% and cardiac output by 34%. RV transmural pressure, RV end-diastolic size and intrapericardial pressure increased, left ventricular tran...

an elevated pulmonary artery pressure (pap) from any cause is associated with increased mortality, especially in cases of primary pulmonary arterial hypertension (pah). one of the many reasons behind a bad prognosis is the inherent difficulty in assessing right ventricular (rv) function with reproducible methods. intensive research involving the left heart has made it relatively easy to assess ...

We tested the hypothesis that there is an enhanced susceptibility in hypertrophied cardiac muscle to develop decreased diastolic distensibility of the left ventricle in response to hypoxia. The effects of brief hypoxia (3 minutes) were studied in rats with and without chronic left ventricular pressure overload hypertrophy using an isolated buffer-perfused and isovolumic (balloon-in-left ventric...

A transthoracic echocardiogram of a 72-year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital complaining of dyspnea at rest and peripheral edema showed severe pericardial effusion with right chamber and left atrial collapse, as well as left ventricular hypertrophy with systolic anterior movement of the septal mitral leaflet and systolic gradient through the left ventricular outflow tract (peak gradie...

AIMS Left ventricular hypertrophy has been shown to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity. Acknowledging the skewed distribution of left ventricular mass, we wanted to develop criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy based on percentiles of left ventricular mass, and observe the effect on estimates of left ventricular hypertrophy prevalences in different subgroups and on the ...

Left ventricular hypertrophy is a maladaptive response to chronic pressure overload and an important risk factor for atrial fibrillation, diastolic heart failure, systolic heart failure, and sudden death in patients with hypertension. Since not all patients with hypertension develop left ventricular hypertrophy, there are clinical findings that should be kept in mind that may alert the physicia...

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an important cause of heart failure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The pro brain natriuretic peptide N-terminal (NT-proBNP) has been suggested as a noninvasive marker to evaluate ventricular function. However, there is no evidence to support the use of NT-proBNP in monitoring the benefits of vasodilators in COPD induced PH. Thus, we used NT-proBN...

Nitroprusside was used to reduce afterload in 13 patients with isolated, severe aortic regurgitation. The drug significantly lowered mean aortic pressure, pulse pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and left ventricular volume. Total ventricular, or angiographic, cardiac index was generally unaffected, but forward cardiac index was improved significantly in 8 of 13 patients. Augment...