PURPOSE Following repair of coarctation of the aorta (CoA), LV mass is increased along with morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have reported increased shortening indices and impaired diastolic function. However, direct measurements of local material motion and temporal evolution of strain have been lacking. METHODS Magnetic resonance (MR) tissue tagging was used to quantify regional th...

In Euplotes crassus millions of telomeres are synthesized during the sexual phase of the life cycle. Since these newly synthesized telomeres are longer than normal macronuclear telomeres, they must be trimmed to the mature size. We have examined the timing and mechanism of this trimming step. We have shown that a sudden decrease in telomere length takes place at a specific time during macronucl...

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the most common types of cardiomyopathy worldwide. It is characterized by progressive chamber dilatation and myocardial systolic dysfunction and diagnosed by finding left ventricular (LV) enlargement and impaired systolic LV function (LV ejection fraction less than 50% or fractional shortening of less than 25-30%). Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors ...

Echocardiographic measurements of the left ventricular dimensions and wall thicknesses at end diastole and end systole, aortic root and left atrial dimensions, mitral valve E-F slope, left ventricular ejection fraction, percent fractional shortening of the left ventricular internal dimension, estimated left ventricular mass and percentage systolic thickening of the ventricular septum and left v...

A validatory study of quantitative single plane left ventricular cineangiography is presented, using human left ventricular casts ranging in size from 1.6 to 135 ml. Good correlation was found between actual and calculated volumes (r=0.967). 62 patient studies were carried out and the value of the usually calculated indices of left ventricular performance were compared to one another. Ejection ...

A 2-day-old male infant required a conventional VVI pacemaker for congenital atrioventricular block. Three years later, he developed progressive heart failure due to left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and mitral regurgitation despite optimized medical treatment, and a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device was implanted. This is the first Portuguese report of CRT in a pediatric patient. ...

The hemodynamic and contractile effects of clonidine were studied in hypertrophied hearts of spontaneously hypertensive rats (Okamoto-Aoki strain, SHR). The hemodynamic pattern was characterized by dose-dependent decreases in systolic blood pressure and systolic wall stress, ie, the afterload imposed upon the left ventricle, whereas left ventricular ejection fraction and stroke volume were unch...

Three main mechanisms contribute to global right ventricular (RV) function: longitudinal shortening, radial displacement of the RV free wall (bellows effect), and anteroposterior shortening (as a consequence left contraction). Since importance these may vary in different cardiac conditions, technology being able assess their relative influence on pump function could help clarify pathophysiology...

Hemochromatosis is a clinical syndrome caused by abnormal accumulation of iron in parenchymal organs leading to organ toxicity and dysfunction. Cardiac hemochromatosis is a cardiomyopathy due to primary iron-overload cardiomyopathy which causes congestive heart failure. Patients with cardiac hemochromatosis may be asymptomatic early in the disease. Once heart failure develops, there is rapid de...

Ventricular minor-axis dimensions were measured by echocardiography at end-systole (Ss) and end-diastole (SD)) in five groups of patients: (I) normal; (II) mitral stenosis; (III) compensated volume overload; (IV) idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis; and (V) congestive heart failure. Cardiac pump function was evaluated by determination of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction (EF...