Introduction: We aimed to assess whether the vasodilator effect of oral dipyridamole on the left ventricular systolic function in patients with suspected CAD is different from that of intravenous (IV) dipyridamole using Tc-99m MIBI myocardial perfusion gated SPECT. Methods: Eighty-nine patients (17 M / 72 W; 61 ± 10 years) were enrolled in this study. The patients underwent a dipyridamole stre...

Management of patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is still a major clinical problem, as only half of them or slightly more show complete recovery of left ventricular (LV) function despite conventional evidence-based treatment for heart failure. Recent observations suggested that bromocriptine might favor recovery of LV systolic function in patients with PPCM. However, no evidence exi...

BACKGROUND The pathophysiology of diastolic dysfunction is complex, but can be simply described as impaired LV myocardial relaxation and/or increased LV stiffness. The objective of this study is to clarify true normal left ventricular (LV) diastolic function and early stage of diastolic dysfunction before relaxation abnormality develops in patients with normal LV diastolic function using simple...

Introduction Left ventricular (LV) twist is believed to store potential energy and plays an important role in generating diastolic suction. Recent advances in echocardiography techniques have allowed quantification of LV twist. The aim of the present study was to compare LV twist and torsion in healthy human subjects determined by velocity vector imaging (VVI) and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) a...

BACKGROUND Impaired left ventricular (LV) diastolic function is a common pathophysiological feature of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). High-normal thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH) levels may alter the performance of the left ventricle. AIM To ascertain whether the severity of impaired LV diastolic function in HCM patients might worsen with elevating TSH levels w...

The assessment of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function should be an integral part of a routine examination of hypertensive patient; indeed when LV diastolic function is impaired, it is possible to have heart failure even with preserved LV ejection fraction. Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) occurs frequently and is associated to heart disease. Doppler echocardiography is the bes...

To elucidate left ventricular (LV) cardiac structure and function in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension, we studied the relationship between LV geometry and function. We evaluated LV diastolic and systolic functions by M-mode echocardiography in 91 age-matched normotensive control subjects (NT) and 124 patients with essential hypertension. Hypertensive patients were divided i...

BACKGROUND Incomplete relaxation of the left ventricle (LV) affects LV filling, but the subsequent effect on LV systolic function remains unclear. We attempted to improve relaxation by applying oscillatory mechanical perturbation during diastole (diastolic vibration) and examined the extent to which systolic function improved. METHODS AND RESULTS Using 10 open-chest canine preparations, pacin...

To clarify the basis of increased left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic pressure associated with isometric exercise, LV diastolic and systolic function were examined in 25 patients during sustained handgrip. During handgrip, average systemic arterial mean pressure increased by 20 mm Hg, and LV systolic pressure rose by 31 mm Hg, though in five patients, no increase in mean arterial or LV systolic...

AIMS Myocardial ischaemia and angina have been demonstrated in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We hypothesized that left ventricular (LV) systolic or diastolic dysfunction would be provocated by pacing tachycardia in patients with HCM. METHODS AND RESULTS We investigated LV global and regional systolic and diastolic function in 17 patients with HCM without LV outflow obstruct...