BACKGROUND In previous studies, we identified two urinary proteomic classifiers, termed HF1 and HF2, which discriminated subclinical diastolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction from normal. HF1 and HF2 combine information from 85 and 671 urinary peptides, mainly up- or down-regulated collagen fragments. We sought to validate these classifiers in a population study. METHODS In 745 people rando...

Although recently studies using Speckle Tracking Echocardiography (STE) on heart transplant (HTX) recipients have been published, an integrated assessment of myocardial properties is lacking. Thus our aim was to perform, by STE, an integrated study of ventricular mechanics in “healthy” HTX recipients. Standard echo-Doppler and STE study were performed in 50 HTX patients (age 50.4 ± 7.8, M/F = 3...

Background: Associations between childhood vitamin K consumption and cardiac structure and function have not been investigated.Objective: We determined associations between phylloquinone (vitamin K-1) intake and left ventricular (LV) structure and function in adolescents.Methods: We assessed diet with three to seven 24-h recalls and physical activity (PA) by accelerometry in 766 adolescents (ag...

Introduction. Reduced kidney function, approximated by elevated cystatin C, is associated with diastolic dysfunction, heart failure, and cardiovascular mortality; however, the precise mechanism(s) that account for these relationships remains unclear. Understanding the relationship between cystatin C and subclinical left ventricular (LV) remodeling, across ethnically diverse populations, may hel...

AIMS Early left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in asymptomatic patients with severe aortic regurgitation (AR) may go undetected due to the lack of a sufficiently sensitive diagnostic tool. Ultrasonic strain/strain rate (S/SR) imaging should now provide such sensitivity in detecting early dysfunction in regional LV systolic deformation. The aim of this study was to understand and define the change...

Background Global longitudinal strain (GLS), has shown utility in detecting early subclinical LV dysfunction and has demonstrated significant efficacy in evaluating patients for chemotherapy cardiotoxicity. However, echocardiography is often reliant on operator experience and adequate quality windows for assessment. CMR is not subject to limitations of poor image quality due to its superior end...

Our understanding of left ventricular (LV) function and its description using echocardiographic techniques continues to evolve. From measurement of systolic function by ejection fraction, Tissue Doppler parameters are now used to evaluate systolic and diastolic function in the shortand long axis. However, it is now recognized that LV function also involves twisting or torsion. LV torsion result...

INTRODUCTION Cirrhosis is associated with certain abnormalities in left ventricular (LV) structure and function. Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) enables a rapid and accurate analysis of regional LV systolic mechanics in the longitudinal, radial and circumferential directions. The aim of this study was to precisely assess the differences among the 3 directions in the e...

BACKGROUND Intensive multifactorial treatment aimed at prevention of cardiovascular (CV) disease may reduce left ventricular (LV) echocardiographic abnormalities in diabetic subjects. Plasma N-terminal (NT)-proBNP predicts CV mortality in diabetic patients but the association between P-NT-proBNP and the putative residual abnormalities in such patients are not well described. This study examined...