BACKGROUND Response to cardiac resynchronization therapy depends both on dyssynchrony and (regional) contractility. We hypothesized that septal deformation can be used to infer integrated information on dyssynchrony and regional contractility, and thereby predict cardiac resynchronization therapy response. METHODS AND RESULTS In 132 cardiac resynchronization therapy candidates with left bundl...

BACKGROUND Right ventricular apical (RVA) pacing induces left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony, increases the risk of persistent atrial fibrillation in the long term. The aim was to investigate the effects of RVA pacing on left atrial (LA) function, which are unknown. METHODS Echocardiographic evaluation including LV dyssynchrony based on conventional Doppler, tissue Doppler imaging and speckle ...

AIMS The study aimed at evaluating the prevalence of interventricular and intraventricular contractile dyssynchrony in heart failure patients with either normal or prolonged QRS duration. METHODS AND RESULTS Echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) were performed in 158 consecutive patients with advanced left ventricular dysfunction (LVEF<35%); 61 patients had a normal QRS duration (...

Morbidity and mortality rates are higher in patients with severe left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and ECG-derived prolonged QRS interval than in those with normal QRS duration. QRS duration is currently used on the grounds that it reflects the presence of ventricular dyssynchrony. However, 30-40% of patients selected on the basis of a prolonged QRS do not receive benefit by cardiac re...

OBJECTIVES We compared mechanical dyssynchrony and the impact of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in failing hearts with a pure right (RBBB) versus left bundle branch block (LBBB). BACKGROUND Cardiac resynchronization therapy is effective for treating failing hearts with conduction delay and discoordinate contraction. Most data pertain to LBBB delays. With RBBB, the lateral wall contra...

BACKGROUND Dyssynchrony of myocardial deformation is usually described in terms of variability only (e.g. standard deviations SD's). A description in terms of the spatio-temporal distribution pattern (vector-analysis) of dyssynchrony or by indices estimating its impact by expressing dyscoordination of shortening in relation to the global ventricular shortening may be preferential. Strain echoca...

BACKGROUND Abnormalities in right ventricular function are known to occur in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. OBJECTIVE Test the hypothesis that chronic elevation in pulmonary artery systolic pressure delays mechanical activation of the right ventricle, termed dyssynchrony, and is associated with both symptoms and right ventricular dysfunction. METHODS Fifty-two patients (mean...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the incidence and prevalence of left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony in patients with heart failure after myocardial infarction (MI) by real- time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT-3DE), and to investigate the clinical application value of using RT-3DE as a method of providing more detailed information for clinical strategy. METHODS This cross-sectional study was carr...

Background—The ability of echocardiographic dyssynchrony to predict response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been unclear. Methods and Results—A prospective, longitudinal study was designed with predefined dyssynchrony indexes and outcome variables to test the hypothesis that baseline dyssynchrony is associated with long-term survival after CRT. We studied 229 consecutive class I...