JACC. Cardiovascular imaging
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JACC Cardiovasc Imaging · Mar 2009
Prognostic value of exercise echocardiography in patients with left bundle branch block.
Our aim was to evaluate the role of exercise echocardiography for predicting outcome in a cohort of patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB). ⋯ Exercise echocardiography provides significant prognostic information for predicting outcome in patients with LBBB. As compared to patients with normal exercise echocardiograms, patients with abnormal results are at increased risk of mortality and major cardiac events.
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JACC Cardiovasc Imaging · Mar 2009
Comparative StudyThoracic aortic calcium versus coronary artery calcium for the prediction of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease events.
This study compared the ability of coronary artery calcium (CAC) and thoracic aortic calcium (TAC) to predict coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. ⋯ This study found that CAC, but not TAC, is strongly related to CHD and CVD events. Moreover, TAC does not further improve event prediction over CAC.
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JACC Cardiovasc Imaging · Feb 2009
Comparative StudyUtility of right ventricular Tei index in the noninvasive evaluation of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension before and after pulmonary thromboendarterectomy.
We evaluated the utility of tissue Doppler-derived right ventricular (RV) Tei (or myocardial performance) index in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) before and after pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) and assessed correlations with mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), and cardiac output (CO). ⋯ These results demonstrate a correlation between RV Tei index and right heart hemodynamics (particularly PVR) in CTEPH. Because PVR is difficult to estimate noninvasively -- and yet correlates with disease severity -- the RV Tei index may be a valuable noninvasive parameter for monitoring disease severity in CTEPH and outcome after PTE.
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JACC Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2009
Comparative StudyDiagnostic capability and reproducibility of strain by Doppler and by speckle tracking in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
The objective of the present study was to investigate the ability of strain by Doppler and by speckle tracking echocardiography in the acute phase in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) to diagnose left ventricular (LV) infarct size. Furthermore, we wanted to study at which time during the cardiac cycle strain should be measured. ⋯ On a segmental level, circumferential strain separated transmural from subendocardial necrosis better than longitudinal strain in the acute phase in patients with STEMI. Our findings suggest that in the acute phase in patients treated with thrombolysis, LV global peak systolic speckle strain should be the preferred method for predicting final LV infarct size.
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JACC Cardiovasc Imaging · Jan 2009
Extent of left ventricular scar predicts outcomes in ischemic cardiomyopathy patients with significantly reduced systolic function: a delayed hyperenhancement cardiac magnetic resonance study.
The objective of the study was to determine whether the extent of left ventricular scar, measured with delayed hyperenhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (DHE-CMR), predicts survival in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and severely reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). ⋯ In patients with ICM and severely reduced LVEF, a greater extent of myocardial scar, delineated by DHE-CMR is associated with increased mortality or the need for cardiac transplantation, potentially aiding further risk-stratification.