Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
-
J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Mar 2004
ReviewA practical approach to the echocardiographic evaluation of diastolic function.
A number of recent community-based epidemiologic studies suggest that 40% to 50% of the cases of heart failure have preserved left ventricular systolic function. Although diastolic heart failure is often not well clinically recognized, it is associated with marked increases in morbidity and all-cause mortality. Doppler echocardiography has emerged as the principal clinical tool for the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function. ⋯ Unfortunately, these Doppler flow variables are significantly influenced by loading conditions and, therefore, the results from these standard techniques can be inconclusive. Recently, color M-mode and Doppler tissue imaging have emerged as new modalities that are less affected by preload and, thus, provide a strong complementary role in the assessment of diastolic function. This review will discuss the diastolic properties of the left ventricle, Doppler echocardiographic evaluation, and grading of diastolic dysfunction.
-
J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Mar 2004
Comparative StudyPrevalence, clinical characteristics, quality of life, and prognosis of patients with congestive heart failure and isolated left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.
Prevalence of isolated left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction has been reported to be as high as one-third of all heart failure (HF) cases, with an increasing prevalence in the elderly population. However, there is a paucity of prospective data about the prevalence and prognosis of isolated LV diastolic dysfunction in an unselected population of patients hospitalized with HF. Therefore, we prospectively evaluated 179 consecutive patients discharged from our hospital with HF to assess the prevalence of systolic versus diastolic LV dysfunction among patients hospitalized with HF and to compare their demographics, clinical features, self-perceived quality of life (QOL), and 6-month readmission rate and mortality. ⋯ Finally, 6-month survival, adjusted for age and sex, was similar between patients with LV diastolic or systolic dysfunction (hazard ratio 0.68; 95% confidence interval 0.20-2.35). Using standardized echocardiographic criteria, isolated LV diastolic dysfunction among unselected patients hospitalized with HF was less than previously reported. Patients with HF and isolated diastolic dysfunction showed similar clinical symptoms, self-perceived QOL, readmission rate, and 6-month mortality to patients with prevalent LV systolic dysfunction.
-
J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Mar 2004
Case ReportsTransesophageal echocardiographic diagnosis of intracardiac entrapment of a Swan-Ganz catheter in open heart operation.
A Swan-Ganz catheter entrapment by a suture in the right atrial wall during open heart operation is presented. The diagnosis of the suture entrapment of the Swan-Ganz catheter to the right atrial wall was established by direct observation of the specific movement pattern of the cardiac structures when manual traction was applied from outside by a transesophageal echocardiographic examination.
-
Diverticula arising from the mitral valve are very rare. They are usually detected by echocardiography as masses arising from the cardiac valves. ⋯ This was initially detected by transesophageal echocardiography, and later confirmed by pathologic appearance. The case illustrates the unique findings on echocardiography that would help to differentiate diverticula from other valvular masses.