Mitral Valve Velocity Research Articles

Ultrasound Findings with Bedside Ultrasound of Heart Failure with Preserved LVEF

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), formerly termed diastolic heart failure, constitutes nearly half the heart failure cases. Patients may exhibit acute heart failure symptoms, yet bedside echocardiograms might indicate normal left ventricular systolic function, potentially leading to the premature exclusion of heart failure as a differential diagnosis. This review delves into fundamental echocardiographic principles associated with diastolic dysfunction, crucial for recognition in HFpEF patients. Specifically, it explores the VALVE protocol, a stepwise approach tailored for the exigent nature of emergency departments. Acquiring accurate imaging windows in acutely ill patients poses a challenge, emphasizing the significance of precise measurements to avoid errors. Techniques such as E-point septal separation (EPSS) must be meticulously positioned for ejection fraction determinations. The discussion focuses on key metrics outlined in the VALVE protocol, encompassing ventricular function, annular tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) measurements, left atrium volume, mitral valve velocities, and the E/e0 ratio as indicators of diastolic dysfunction in HFpEF.

Echocardiographic evaluation of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection: Comparison of obstructed and unobstructed type.

This study aims to compare the differences between obstructed and unobstructed total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) using echocardiography, and to evaluate the clinical and echocardiographic parameters associated with pulmonary venous obstruction (PVO).We conducted a retrospective study of 70 patients with TAPVC between 2014 and 2019. The morphologic and hemodynamic echocardiographic parameters of patients were observed and measured, and the parameters between obstructed and unobstructed TAPVC were compared. The clinical and echocardiographic parameter differences between the two groups were used for ROC curve analysis.Obstructed TAPVC was found in 30 (42.9%) of 70 patients. Between obstructed and unobstructed TAPVC, there were significant differences in atrial septal defect size, pulmonary artery maximum velocity (PA Vmax ), peak E velocity of mitral valve, left ventricular fractional shortening, left ventricular ejection fraction, stroke volume and the incidence of patent ductus arteriosus, but there was no significant difference in birth weight. The first diagnosis age of obstructed TAPVC was earlier than unobstructed type. The ROC curve analysis for the first diagnosis age showed the sensitivity and specificity were 76.7%, 80% respectively. The ROC curve analysis for the PA Vmax showed the sensitivity and specificity were 88.5%, 67.6% respectively.Patients with TAPVC had a high incidence of PVO. The presence of PVO can affect the size of atrial septal defect and the closure of the ductus arteriosus, cause significant changes in PA Vmax, peak E velocity of mitral valve, left ventricular fractional shortening, left ventricular ejection fraction, stroke volume, lead to earlier symptoms and earlier first diagnosis age. The first diagnosis age and PA Vmax were excellent values since they associated with PVO.

최대 수축기 및 이완기 동안의 왼쪽 심장 혈류에 대한 수치해석

The left heart performs a circulatory function in which containing oxygen blood moves from the Left Atrium (LA) to the Left Ventricle (LV) and is delivered to the human body. Analysis of LA and LV flow can be Indicators of abnormal heart. Numerical analysis was performed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to analyze changes in velocity and flow patterns. As a result, the velocity of the Pulmonary Vein (PV) increased as diastolic progressed, but the movement of blood flow in the LA was lower than that of the systolic blood flow. Also, as the systolic progressed, the velocity of Aortic Valve (AV) and Mitral Valve (MV) increased, showing that the movement of blood flow in the LV increased. In this paper, we propose a standard indicators for a normal heart by analyzing the characteristics of velocity and flow patterns through a heart model implemented close to the human heart.

4D flow magnetic resonance imaging to assess left atrial haemodynamics in healthy and hypertrophic subjects

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): - University, research centre and hospital foundation grants for the contracting of new research staff (FI 2020) - Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Retos investigacion project Introduction The assessment of the left atrium (LA) haemodynamics is key to better understand the development of LA-related pathological processes. In this regard 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide complementary information to standard Doppler echocardiographic studies and identify complex blood flow patterns. Yet, until recently, the left atrium (LA) has been largely left aside in 4D flow MRI studies. Purpose We aimed at assessing the LA haemodynamics of healthy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) subjects with a qualitative visualization of flow patterns and deriving quantitative indices related to ventricular dysfunction from pulmonary veins (PV) and mitral valve (MV) velocity profiles. Methods Segmentation was performed directly over 4D flow angiograms. A total of 20 cases were processed, 11 healthy and 9 HCM subjects. 4D velocity matrices were masked with the segmented mask to isolate LA haemodynamics. Velocity profiles were then obtained in the PV and MV and integrated over planes perpendicular to the lumen of the vessels to create velocity spectrograms. Fourier spectral analysis was applied to the velocity curves to highlight differences that might go unnoticed in the time domain. In addition, the Q-Criterion was computed for vortex identification, visually inspecting both cohorts across the whole cardiac cycle. Results Fourier spectral analysis of the velocity curves suggested that overall, healthy patients have higher dynamic range of the velocity curves. It can be observed in Figure 1, that the usual E/A MV velocity pattern is preserved in 10 of the 11 healthy subjects while 5 of the HCM patients present significant alterations of said curve. In fact, patients 4, 6, 7 and 8 seem to present a 3 peaked MV velocity curve. The vortex analysis identified 3 main types of vortices in healthy subjects: a ‘filling’ systolic vortex (10/11) arising near the most dominant PV (usually the left superior PV) as seen in Figure 2; a conduit phase vortex (7/11), similar in nature to the preceding systolic vortex; and an E-wave vortex (9/11) attached to the LA ostium. Four of the HCM patients (out of the five with altered MV velocity profile) also showed a systolic vortex, but with more complex blood flow patterns and emerging far from the PVs. One of such vortices is shown in Figure 2, composed of two distinct eddies near the MV. The E-wave vortex was also observed but was less predominant than in healthy subjects (3/9). Conclusions 4D Flow analysis of the LA is feasible and might hold promise in the understanding of the complex haemodynamics in ventricular dysfunction. Abstract Figure. Velocity Spectrograms and Vortices

Study of Cardiovascular Changes in Adolescents with Simple Obesity

Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that has deleterious effects on cardiovascular function. The aim of this work was to screen early cardiovascular abnormalities in obese asymptomatic adolescents using Conventional Echocardiography and Electrocardiogram. Fifty asymptomatic obese adolescents selected from National Heart Institute were compared to fifty non-obese normal controls with mean age of (12.44 ± 1.91) and (11.99 ± 1.89) years respectively. All studied adolescents were subjected to: careful history taking, complete clinical examination, laboratory investigation: fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, fasting insulin, insulin resistance, echocardiography and ECG. Results: It revealed statistical significant differences between obese and non-obese groups regarding left ventricle septal wall in diastole (LVSd), posterior wall thickness in diastole (LVPWd), relative wall thickness (RWT), LV end diastolic and systolic diameter (LVEDD and LVESD) and LV mass (P-value: 0.000). The left atrial dimensions (LA) were also significantly higher in the obese subjects than in the control group (P-value: 0.000). For the Doppler measurements, the early and late mitral valve velocity and the ratio between them (MVE velocity, MVA velocity and MV E/A) were significantly higher in obese than control subjects (P-value: 0.000). A strong positive correlation was noted between BMI and left atrial size (P-value: 0.003), left ventricular septum in diastole (LVSd) (P-value: 0.000), LVEDD (P-value: 0.005) and LVESD (P-value: 0.000), posterior wall thickness in diastole (LVPWd) (P-value: 0.012), left ventricle septal wall in diastole (LVSd) (P-value: 0.000) and left ventricular mass (P-value: 0.010). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that asymptomatic obese adolescents had significant changes in left ventricular dimensions and early diastolic filling compared to non-obese subjects.

Correlation of newer indices of dyssynchrony with clinical response in patients undergoing cardiac resynchronisation therapy

–The benefits of CRT in select subsets of systolic heart failure patients with LBBB are proven. We prospectively evaluated conventional and newer echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular dyssynchrony in 35 patients who underwent CRT and were followed up after 6 months. Of the 33 surviving patients, 21 were echocardiographic responders and 24 were clinical responders. The parameters in clinical responders and non-responders were compared. The anatomic M Mode parameters of delays improved, while the radial strain and the mitral valve velocity time integral (MVVTI) did not show any significant change after CRT.

Abstract 14823: Comparison of a Novel Computed Tomography-Based Assessment of Mitral Annular Calcification to Transthoracic Echocardiogram

Introduction: Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is associated with increased stroke and death. The typical assessment by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is qualitative visual rating (VR), but this technique is user-dependent and lacks a gold standard for grading. Computed tomography (CT) has high sensitivity for calcium and can quantify MAC. The purpose of this study is to standardize grading of MAC and compare TTE-based assessment of MAC with CT. Methods: The analysis included 60 patients with non-contrast CT and TTE prior to aortic valve replacement or mitral valve (MV) repair. MAC was assessed on TTE by VR (none, mild, moderate, severe), a previously described echo calcium score (ECS), and systematic MAC grading (SMAC). TTE-based MV parameters were recorded. CT data were measured for calcium volume (MACV) via proprietary software (Visage Imaging) by an independent rater with 3D regions of interest in the MV area. Results: Mean age was 77 ± 11; 42% of patients were female. MACV for tertile-based groups (lowest, middle, highest) are shown in the Table. CT detected MAC in a notable portion of patients without MAC by TTE-derived methods: in 16 of 29 patients (55%) by VR, in 5 out of 15 (33%) by ECS, and in 5 out of 16 (31%) by SMAC. Fifteen of 22 patients (68%) with mild MAC by VR had middle or high-tertile MAC on CT. MACV-derived categories reclassified 65%, 60%, and 54% of patients compared with VR, ECS, and SMAC grading by TTE, respectively. Differences were also found across MACV categories for MV velocity, transmitral gradient, and E/e’. Except E/e’, trends were independent of TTE-based MAC analysis and significant after adjusting for mitral regurgitation or stenosis. Conclusions: TTE has limited ability to detect mild MAC compared with CT. This novel CT-based volumetric MAC assessment is feasible and can improve standardized quantification and sensitivity to detect MAC at lower values. Higher MACV by CT was associated with increasingly abnormal MV flow and diastology.

Value of Pulsed Tissue Doppler Imaging in Predicting the Presence of Significant Coronary Artery Insufficiency

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a paramount cause of death. Global and regional left ventricular (LV) systolic function is an important non-invasive marker of CAD. We can use tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) to measure the low velocities generated by myocardium which are: S'-wave, E'-wave, and A'-wave. We aimed to examine the value of the S'-wave dispersion of TDI across mitral valve annular velocities to predict angiographically significant coronary artery obstruction. Patients and Methods: We included 100 patients with symptoms suggesting CAD. All patients had undergone full history taken and clinical examination; ECG, echocardiographic with assessment of LV function, and Doppler derived mitral valve velocities; TDI with measuring of S'-wave and coronary angiography. Lesions with ≥70% or more stenosis in major epicardial artery or ≥50% stenosis in the left main coronary artery were considered significant. Patients were classified into two groups according to the presence or absence of significant coronary stenosis. Results: Clinical and conventional echocardiographic and Tissue Doppler measures were comparable between the two groups; there was statisticallysignificant difference between Group I and Group II (P value ; patients with significant coronary arteries lesions have higher S' wave dispersion as compared with patients with normal or mild significant coronary lesions. Conclusion: S'-wave dispersion may consider a good predictor of angiographically significant coronary artery disease.

Effects of chronic cigarette smoking on myocardial deformation parameters by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography.

Cigarette smoking causes myocardial damage with several mechanisms such as sympathetic nervous system activation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction. Chronic smokers have an increased risk of morbidity and mortality associated with cardiac events. We aimed to compare the myocardial deformation parameters between chronic smokers and nonsmoker healthy population. Forty-two healthy participants (mean age 33.48±10.00years) without smoking history, 40 participants (mean age 33.98±9.27years) who had been smoking were prospectively included. In addition to conventional echocardiographic measurements, global longitudinal strain (GLS) of left ventricle (LV), GLS of right ventricle (RV), left atrial strain, and strain rate were analyzed. Smokers had lower peak early diastolic velocity (E) and E/a (early diastolic velocity/late diastolic velocity) ratio in mitral inflow (70.0±13.9cm/sec vs 77.1±13.3cm/sec, P=.023; 1.4±0.4 vs 1.7±0.4, P=.011; respectively). Peak early diastolic velocity of mitral valve septal annulus (Em) and Em/Am ratio (peak early diastolic velocity of mitral valve/late diastolic velocity of mitral valve)(11.0±2.1cm/sec vs 12.1±2.4cm/sec, P=.023; 1.2±0.3 vs 1.4±0.4, P=.039; respectively) were lower in smokers. LV GLS and RV GLS were significantly lower in smokers (-17.6%±3.01 vs -19.2%±2.5; P=.013, -18.9%±4.4 vs -21.0%±4.5; P=.039; respectively). Impaired LV and RV deformation were found in chronic smokers in our study. Although there was no statistically significant difference with left ventricular ejection fraction, LVGLS which is the early indicator of LV systolic dysfunction was lower in chronic smokers. The assessment of early harmful effects of smoking on left and right ventricle might be evaluated with speckle tracking echocardiography.

Echocardiographic Findings in Patients with Mild to Moderate Chronic Kidney Disease without Symptomatic Heart Failure: A Population-Based Study

Background: Renal dysfunction is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but early disease states in both organs are poorly studied. Objective: This cross-sectional population-based study aims to investigate if there is an early association between kidney function and echocardiographic markers of cardiac structure and diastolic function. Methods: The study population consisted of 1,504 individuals with no prior history of congestive heart failure or asymptomatic left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40% and an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on cystatin C >15 mL/min/1.73 m². The participants were categorized according to eGFR ≥90, 75–89, 60–74, 45–59, 30–44, and 15–29 mL/min/1.73 m². We evaluated associations between eGFR categories and echocardiographic findings specific to cardiac structure and diastolic function. Results: Associations between eGFR categories and echocardiographic findings were found for left atrium area/body surface area (p = 0.013) indicating structural changes, and peak early mitral valve velocity (A; p = 0.003), peak late atrial mitral valve velocity/peak systolic myocardial velocity at mitral annulus in the lateral wall (E/Élat; p = 0.002), É mean of lateral and septal wall/Á mean of lateral and septal wall (mean É/Á; p = 0.027) indicating diastolic dysfunction. Associations between E/Élat and mean É/Á and eGFR categories were already present in individuals with eGFR 45–60 mL/min/1.73 m². In sex-specific analysis these associations were only significant among men. Conclusion: A significant association between mild to moderate impairment of renal function and echocardiographic markers of cardiac structure and diastolic function was observed, supporting the hypothesis that interaction between the kidney and heart exists even in the early stages of renal impairment.

Mitral valve velocity time integral and passive leg raise as a measure of volume responsiveness

BackgroundFluid responsiveness is an important topic for clinicians. Aggressive hydration has been shown to lead to worse outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of mitral valve (MV) velocity time integral (VTI) as a non-invasive marker of volume responsiveness.MethodsThis was a prospective observational study conducted in a tertiary emergency department. End-stage renal disease patients presenting to the emergency department requiring emergent hemodialysis were enrolled. A focused echocardiogram was done on enrolled patients. Two sets of measurements were obtained before and after hemodialysis. During each scanning session, the left ventricular outflow tract and the mitral valve VTI were obtained before and after a passive leg raise maneuver.Results54 patients were enrolled, of which, 30 (55%) were male. The mean age was 47.4 years. The mean volume of fluid removed was 3.89 ± 0.91 L. All patients had a diagnosis of hypertension, 22 (41%) patients were diabetic, 14 (26%) patients had coronary artery disease, and 19 (35%) patients had congestive heart failure. The mean change in LVOT VTI was 1.83% (95% CI 0.12–3.55) in the pre-dialysis group and 15.05% (95% CI 12.76–17.34) in the post-hemodialysis cohort. The mean change in MV VTI was 3.74% (95% CI 2.84–4.65) in the pre-dialysis cohort and 12.95% (95% CI 11.50–14.39) in the post-dialysis cohort. For patients who had < 4 L removed, the mean delta LVOT VTI post-hemodialysis was 12.64% (95% CI 9.79–15.49) and the mean delta MV VTI was 10.48% (95% CI 8.28–12.69). For patients who had > 4 L removed, the mean delta LVOT VTI was 16.84% (95% CI 13.47–20.22) and the mean MV VTI was 14.77% (95% CI 13.03–16.51). Mitral valve VTI with PLR was found to have a sensitivity of 89.18% and a specificity of 94.11% in detecting volume responsiveness.ConclusionMitral valve velocity time integral in conjunction with passive leg raise seem to correlate with volume responsiveness in hemodialysis patients.

Study of blood flow velocity and respiratory variability in different parts of left heart by ultrasonography

Objective To investigate the correlation between blood flow velocity and respiratory variability in different parts of left heart of patients with sepsis via measuring the flow velocity of the E-wave of mitral valve (MV), peak flow velocity of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT), and respiratory variability (ΔVpeak) by ultrasonography. Methods Totally 81 patients with sepsis hospitalized in ICU were chosen consecutively from March 2017 to October 2017. Each patient’s flow velocity of the E-wave of mitral valve and peak flow velocity of LVOT was inspected, by apical four-chamber view and apical five-chamber view respectively, to calculate the respiratory variability. Results (1) Of the 81 patients with sepsis, 33 patients (40.7%) had complete control of mechanical ventilation (no spontaneous breathing trigger), and 48 patients (59.3%) had spontaneous breathing and incomplete control of mechanical ventilation (partial spontaneous breathing trigger). (2) There was no significant difference in the mean values of flow velocity of the E-wave of mitral valve and peak flow velocity of LVOT in patients with sepsis. Whereas the flow velocity of the E-wave of mitral valve (0.15±0.05) was greater than the peak flow velocity of LVOT (0.12±0.04) with statistical significance (P<0.01). In sepsis patients with complete control of mechanical ventilation (no spontaneous breathing trigger), respiratory variability in the flow velocity of the E-wave of mitral valve (0.17±0.06) was significantly greater than the peak flow velocity of LVOT (0.11±0.03), P<0.01, whereas in sepsis patients with incomplete control of mechanical ventilation (partial spontaneous breathing trigger), there was no statistically significant difference between the respiratory variability in flow velocity of the E-wave of mitral valve (0.14±0.04) and in the peak flow velocity of LVOT (0.13±0.03), P=0.102. (3) The respiratory variability in flow velocity of the E-wave of mitral valve was correlated with the peak flow velocity of LVOT (r=0.670, P<0.01). The flow velocity of the E-wave of mitral valve was all correlated with the peak flow velocity of LVOT in both sepsis patients with complete control of mechanical ventilation (no spontaneous breathing trigger) (r=0.894, P<0.01), and sepsis patients with incomplete control of mechanical ventilation (partial spontaneous breathing trigger) (r=0.774, P<0.01), respectively. Conclusions The respiratory variability in flow velocity of the E-wave of mitral valve was correlated with that in the peak flow velocity of LVOT, which may provide a new indicator in evaluating the fluid responsiveness of patients with sepsis. Key words: Ultrasonography; Mitral valve; Left ventricular outflow tract; Respiratory variability; Fluid responsiveness

Impact of Pulmonary Venous Inflow on Cardiac Flow Simulations: Comparison with In Vivo 4D Flow MRI

Blood flow simulations are making their way into the clinic, and much attention is given to estimation of fractional flow reserve in coronary arteries. Intracardiac blood flow simulations also show promising results, and here the flow field is expected to depend on the pulmonary venous (PV) flow rates. In the absence of in vivo measurements, the distribution of the flow from the individual PVs is often unknown and typically assumed. Here, we performed intracardiac blood flow simulations based on time-resolved computed tomography on three patients, and investigated the effect of the distribution of PV flow rate on the flow field in the left atrium and ventricle. A design-of-experiment approach was used, where PV flow rates were varied in a systematic manner. In total 20 different simulations were performed per patient, and compared to in vivo 4D flow MRI measurements. Results were quantified by kinetic energy, mitral valve velocity profiles and root-mean-square errors of velocity. While large differences in atrial flow were found for varying PV inflow distributions, the effect on ventricular flow was negligible, due to a regularizing effect by mitral valve. Equal flow rate through all PVs most closely resembled in vivo measurements and is recommended in the absence of a priori knowledge.

Feasibility of Ultrasound-Based Computational Fluid Dynamics as a Mitral Valve Regurgitation Quantification Technique: Comparison with 2-D and 3-D Proximal Isovelocity Surface Area-Based Methods

Current Doppler echocardiography quantification of mitral regurgitation (MR) severity has shortcomings. Proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA)-based methods, for example, are unable to account for the fact that ultrasound Doppler can measure only one velocity component: toward or away from the transducer. In the present study, we used ultrasound-based computational fluid dynamics (Ub-CFD) to quantify mitral regurgitation and study its advantages and disadvantages compared with 2-D and 3-D PISA methods. For Ub-CFD, patient-specific mitral valve geometry and velocity data were obtained from clinical ultrasound followed by 3-D CFD simulations at an assumed flow rate. We then obtained the average ratio of the ultrasound Doppler velocities to CFD velocities in the flow convergence region, and scaled CFD flow rate with this ratio as the final measured flow rate. We evaluated Ub-CFD, 2-D PISA and 3-D PISA with an in vitro flow loop, which featured regurgitation flow through (i) a simplified flat plate with round orifice and (ii) a 3-D printed realistic mitral valve and regurgitation orifice. The Ub-CFD and 3-D PISA methods had higher precision than the 2-D PISA method. Ub-CFD had consistent accuracy under all conditions tested, whereas 2-D PISA had the lowest overall accuracy. In vitro investigations indicated that the accuracy of 2-D and 3-D PISA depended significantly on the choice of aliasing velocity. Evaluation of these techniques was also performed for two clinical cases, and the dependency of PISA on aliasing velocity was similarly observed. Ub-CFD was robustly accurate and precise and has promise for future translation to clinical practice.

Evaluation of cardiac functions of cirrhotic children using serum brain natriuretic peptide and tissue Doppler imaging.

Background:Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM) is described as the presence of cardiac dysfunction in cirrhotic patients. In children with chronic liver disease, CCM has been very rarely investigated.The Aim of the Study:Is to evaluate the cardiac function of cirrhotic children to identify those with CCM.Patients and Methods:Fifty-two cirrhotic patients and 53 age and sex matched controls were assessed using serum brain-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), conventional echocardiography, and tissue Doppler imaging.Results:Patients’ mean ages were 7.66 ± 4.16 years (vs. 6.88 ± 3.04 years for the controls). The study included 27 males and 25 females (28 and 25 respectively for the controls). Patients had larger left atrium and right ventricle (RV) (P value 0.05) and increased LV posterior wall thickness than controls (P value 0.04). They had higher late atrial diastolic filling velocity (A) of tricuspid valve (TV) inflow (0.59 ± 0.17 vs. 0.5 ± 0.1 m/s, P < 0.001) and lower ratios between the early diastolic filling velocity (E) and A wave velocity (E/A) of both mitral valve and TV inflow (1.7 ± 0.35 vs. 1.87 ± 0.34 and 1.3 ± 0.3 vs. 1.5 ± 0.3, P < 0.005 and 0.0008, respectively). Patients had significantly longer isovolumic relaxation time of LV (45.5 ± 11.1 vs. 40.5 ± 7.7 ms P 0.008), higher late diastolic peak myocardial velocity (A’) (11.8 ± 3.6 vs. 9.5 ± 2.7 ms, P 0.0003) and systolic velocity (S’) of the RV (14.5 ± 2.7 vs. 13.2 ± 2.9, P 0.01) and significantly higher myocardial performance index of both LV and RV (P 0.001 and 0.01). BNP levels were significantly higher in cases than controls (5.25 ng/l vs. 3.75 ng/l, P < 0.04) and was correlated with the E wave velocity of the TV (r 0.004) and the E/E’ ratio of the RV (r 0.001). None of the clinical or laboratory data were correlated with the BNP level.ConclusionCirrhotic children have cardiac dysfunction mainly in the form of diastolic dysfunction. There is a need that CCM be more accurately described in children.

Evaluation of Heart Function in Patients With Hemophilia.

There are conflicting reports about the protective effect of hemophilia on the occurrence of ischemic heart disease. This study focuses on evaluation of heart function in patients with hemophilia. Cross-sectional, case-control study was done on all patients with hemophilia A or B who came to hemophilia center, and data were compared to controls. The data were collected from their charts, and heart function was evaluated by 2-dimensional, Doppler and pulse tissue Doppler. The serum troponin I level was measured in all patients as a marker of myocardial damage. Fifty patients with hemophilia took part in this study. All of them were male with mean age 29.1 years. Systolic blood pressure (mean = 121.52 ± 11 vs 115.61 ± 9.81, P = .038) and diastolic (mean = 81.94 ± 4.51 vs 75.21 ± 3.95, P = .042) blood pressure were higher in the patients. Five (10%) patients had systolic hypertension and 7 (14%) patients had diastolic hypertension. The M-mode echocardiography results showed that interventricular septum in diastole in patients with hemophilia (mean 1.143 ± 0.29) was significantly thicker than the control group (mean 0.828 ± 0.22, P < .001). Tissue Doppler echocardiography showed that late diastolic velocity of septum (Aa; P = .030), systolic velocity (S) of lateral mitral valve ( P = .006), late diastolic velocity of lateral mitral (Aa) annulus ( P = .038), and late velocity of (Aa) tricuspid ( P = .004) had significant difference compared with the control group ( P < .05). Troponin enzyme level was < 0.1 in all patients. Patients with hemophilia had higher blood pressure and more hypertension. Echocardiographic study of patients with hemophilia showed some increase in septal thickness and changes in diastolic dysfunction.

Murine left atrium and left atrial appendage structure and function: echocardiographic and morphologic evaluation.

Aim of this study was to provide an echocardiographic protocol for the description of the normal murine venous reservoir (atrium, appendage and pulmonary veins) and to investigate the possibility to use this approach to discriminate changes on left atrium (LA) and left atrial appendage (LAA) in a stress-induced model such us myocardial infarction. Global left ventricular function and the venous reservoir were assessed by a Vevo2100 in 20 female C57BL/6N. LA and LAA were also studied in 10 CD-1 and 10 FVB mice, whereas modifications investigated in 15 C57BL/6N subjected to coronary artery ligation. Left ventricle function was evaluated as well as pulsed Doppler mitral valve, pulmonary vein, and LAA velocities. From 2D view monoplane LA volumes were obtained and LAA long axis measured. Macroscopic inspection with casts and immunohistochemistry were performed. Results show that compared to humans, in C57BL/6N mice left atrium was disproportionately smaller (5.2±1.4μL) than the left ventricle (53±8μL) and connected through a duct by a large LAA and posteriorly to three pulmonary veins. The LA volume increased 2-fold during reservoir with two distinct phases, early and late divided by a short pause. LAA long axis (4.1±0.5mm) was almost 2 times longer than the LA. LAA flow volume together with LA volume reservoir account for about 36% of stroke volume and the rest was provided by conduit flow. Linear regressions showed that stroke volume was strongly influenced by LAA flow, LA early filling volume and left ventricle base descent. Moreover, we also report the ability to assess LA and LAA in other mice strains and discriminate size increase following myocardial infarction. In conclusion, we performed a complete characterization of murine left venous reservoir establishing an optimized protocol that can be used in both investigative and pharmacological studies requiring rapid and serial determination of cardiac structure and function.

GW24-e3698 The analysis of Fetal echocardiographic reference value in normal fetus and study on relationship of these measurement with gestational age (II)

ObjectivesTo establish normative reference ranges of fetal cardiac hemodynamic between 20 and 34 per weeks including: velocity of mitral valve and tricuspid valve, artery valve, important physiological channel of fetal...

Lacidipine inhibits endoplasmic reticulum stress and myocardial remodeling induced by pressure overload in rat heart

We undertook this study to investigate the influence of lacidipine on endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and myocardial remodeling under pressure overload conditions. Thirty male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham, transverse aortic constriction (TAC), and TAC+lacidipine groups. Invasive hemodynamics was measured. The structure of the left ventricle was observed via echocardiography. ERS parameters such as calreticulin (CRT) and caspase-12 expressions in cardiomyocytes were examined by immunohistochemistry. TUNEL staining was used to detect cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), interventricular septal thickness (IVST), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), left ventricular weight index (LVWI), CRT and caspase-12 expression in cardiomyocytes were evaluated. The incidence of cardiomyocyte apoptosis significantly increased in the TAC group compared with the sham group (P<0.01). Meanwhile, left ventricular end-systolic pressure (LVESP), ejection fraction (EF), and early diastolic blood maximum flow rate of mitral valve/late diastolic blood flow velocity of mitral valve (E/A) values decreased significantly (P<0.01). LVEDP, IVST, LVPWT, and LVWI values and the incidence of cardiac apoptosis in the TAC+lacidipine group decreased significantly compared with those in the TAC group. CRT and caspase-12 expressions in cardiomyocytes were also significantly downregulated (P<0.05). On the other hand, LVESP, EF, and E/A values in the TAC+lacidipine group substantially increased (P<0.05). Our results suggest that lacidipine attenuates hypertrophied myocardial remodeling accompanied by inhibiting CRT and caspase-12 expression and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in rats subjected to TAC.

Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity Is the Only Index of Arterial Stiffness That Correlates with a Mitral Valve Indices of Diastolic Dysfunction, but No Index Correlates with Left Atrial Size

The objective of this study was to determine the optimal assessment of arterial stiffness that relates to diastolic dysfunction. Forty-one patients had measurements of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), ankle brachial index (ABI), pulse pressure (PP), and augmentation index (AIx). Diastolic dysfunction was evaluated by echocardiographic indices of the ratio of the peak early diastolic mitral valve velocity and the peak late diastolic velocity (E/A ratio), left atrial diameter, and left atrial volume indexes. There was a significant (P < 0.05) correlation between baPWV and E/A ratio with an inverse relationship indicating that higher arterial stiffness was associated with greater diastolic dysfunction. In contrast, there was no significant correlation between E/A ratio and cfPWV, PP, ABI, or AIx. After multivariate analysis, the relationship between baPWV and E/A ratio remained significant (P < 0.05), independent of age and systolic blood pressure (BP). There were no correlations between any index of vascular stiffness and left atrial dimension or volume. In summary, baPWV correlates with diastolic dysfunction, independent of a patient's age and BP and is a better indicator of diastolic dysfunction than other indicators of arterial stiffness. baPWV has the utility of infering the presence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.