Circulation. Cardiovascular imaging
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Circ Cardiovasc Imaging · Nov 2014
Comparative StudyTwo-dimensional global longitudinal strain rate is a preload independent index of systemic right ventricular contractility in hypoplastic left heart syndrome patients after Fontan operation.
Assessment of systemic right ventricular (RV) function in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome is important during long-term follow-up after Fontan repair. Traditional echocardiographic parameters to evaluate systolic ventricular function are affected by loading conditions. The only generally accepted load-independent parameter of systolic function, end systolic elastance (Ees), requires invasive catheterization. Therefore, we sought to determine if parameters obtained by 2-dimensional speckle tracking (2DST) were affected by acute changes in preload and correlated with catheterization-derived indices of RV contractility in hypoplastic left heart syndrome patients after Fontan palliation. ⋯ In contrast to S, SR was not affected by preload and correlated with Ees of the systemic RV. SR may be a useful noninvasive surrogate of RV contractility and suitable for follow-up of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome after Fontan palliation.
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Circ Cardiovasc Imaging · Nov 2014
Observational StudyIncremental prognostic value of left ventricular global longitudinal strain in patients with aortic stenosis and preserved ejection fraction.
We sought to assess the utility of left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) in predicting mortality in moderate to severe and paradoxical severe aortic stenosis (AS) patients with preserved ejection fraction. ⋯ LV-GLS independently predicts mortality in moderate-severe and severe AS patients with preserved LV ejection fraction, providing incremental prognostic utility, in addition to standard clinical and echocardiographic parameters.
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Circ Cardiovasc Imaging · Nov 2014
Myocardial perfusion imaging in emergency department patients with negative cardiac biomarkers: yield for detecting ischemia, short-term events, and impact of downstream revascularization on mortality.
In patients with possible acute coronary syndromes, guidelines recommend routine provocative testing after negative cardiac biomarkers. We hypothesized that myocardial perfusion imaging would be low yield with limited short-term value and that early revascularization would not affect mortality. ⋯ Routine provocative testing to detect ischemia before emergency department discharge is low yield in patients with negative troponins and TIMI scores ≤2 and modest yield in patients with TIMI scores ≥3. In all patients, 30 days events are rare. Finally, in patients with ischemia, we are unable to demonstrate a mortality benefit with early revascularization.
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Circ Cardiovasc Imaging · Jul 2014
Coronary artery disease detected by coronary computed tomographic angiography is associated with intensification of preventive medical therapy and lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) is an accurate test for the identification of coronary artery disease (CAD), yet the impact of CCTA results on subsequent medical therapy and risk factors has not been widely reported. ⋯ Abnormal CCTA findings are associated with downstream intensification in statin and aspirin therapy. In particular, CCTA may lead to increased use of prognostically beneficial therapies in patients identified as having extensive, nonobstructive CAD.