A definitive diagnosis of myocarditis requires right ventricular biopsy. Despite its specificity, however, right ventricular biopsy may lack sensitivity due to the focal nature of the disease. Because indium 111-monoclonal antimyosin antibody imaging can be used to detect myocardial necrosis, this procedure was performed on 28 patients clinically suspected of having myocarditis, 25 of whom had ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the role of plasma neurohormones in the diagnosis of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic right ventricular dysfunction. SETTING Tertiary cardiovascular referral centre. METHODS Plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) concentrations were measured in 21 asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic patients with chronic right ventricular pre...

This study further extends the clinical usefulness of the estimation of cardiac chamber size by means of single echocardiographic dimensions. In 24 patients left atrial size was calculatedfrom an anteroposterior standard echographic dimension and correlates (r=o088) with the left atrial surface area measured from selective cineangiograms in the right anterior oblique position. For clinical use ...

background: cardiac dysfunction due to chronic anemia and hemosiderosis are the major causes of death among patients with thalassemia intermedia. this study was performed to compare the cardiac function in thalassemia intermedia patients with normal subjects by means of echocardiography. materials and methods: this was a case-control study performed on 22 patients affected by thalassemia interm...

conclusion the cv value correlated more closely with low lvef and more accurately indicated an enlarged heart than ca or ctr. this may be due to the fact that an anteroposterior measurement of heart size is included in the former but not the latter two measurements. these study results may help quantify left heart enlargement with greater accuracy than may be obtained from standard cxr. backgro...

Thirty-one left ventricular (LV) biplane angiograms were performed in 28 patients with tricuspid atresia. Measurements of left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and left ventricular end-systolic volume were obtained by the modified Simpson's rule and systolic ejection fraction (EF) calculated. Left ventricular volumes and ejection fractions were also obtained in 19 control patients with ...

Although cystic fibrosis is noted primarily for pronounced abnormalities in pulmonary function, a substantial number of patients die as a result of cardiac complications. Nevertheless, little is known about cardiac performance in this disease. The cardiac pathophysiological consequences of cystic fibrosis were investigated non-invasively by measuring right and left ventricular performance using...

OBJECTIVES Gated radionuclide ventriculography (RNV) may be used for the evaluation of the right ventricular function. However, the accuracy of the method should be clinically validated in patients suffering from diseases with specific pathology of the right ventricle (RV) and with possible left ventricular (LV) interaction. METHODS Three groups of 15 patients each, diagnosed with arrhythmoge...

INTRODUCTION Right ventricular apical pacing-related heart failure is reported in some patients after long-term pacing. The exact mechanism is not yet clear but may be related to left ventricular dyssynchrony induced by right ventricular apical pacing. Right ventricular septal pacing is thought to deteriorate left ventricular function less frequently because of a more normal left ventricular ac...