Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Dec 2008
Real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography of the left atrial appendage: initial experience in the clinical setting.
The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and accuracy of a new real-time 3-dimensional (RT3D) matrix-array transesophageal echocardiographic probe for the determination of left atrial appendage (LAA) geometry. ⋯ RT3D TEE for the visualization and quantitative analysis of LAA orifice area is feasible and correlates well with 64-slice cardiac CT.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Dec 2008
Left atrial volume and function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea assessed by real-time three-dimensional echocardiography.
Studies have suggested that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) contributes to the deterioration of left ventricular diastolic function. This may lead to atrial myocardial overstretching and enlargement, which could be associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate left atrial (LA) volume and function in patients with OSA compared with controls without OSA and their associations with any left ventricular diastolic abnormalities using real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE). ⋯ Using RT3DE, this study demonstrates that OSA induces a functional burden on the left atrium, resulting in remodeling. These functional and structural changes are related to the impairment of diastolic function in this population.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Dec 2008
Echocardiographic speckle tracking radial strain imaging to assess ventricular dyssynchrony in a pacing model of resynchronization therapy.
Speckle tracking imaging is a promising new echocardiographic method to assess left ventricular (LV) mechanical dyssynchrony. Our aim was to assess a new speckle tracking regional strain algorithm by comparison with angle-corrected tissue Doppler (TD) in an animal model of left bundle branch block and cardiac resynchronization therapy. ⋯ Regional strain analysis using echocardiographic speckle tracking radial strain strongly correlated with strain by angle-corrected TD imaging in an animal model of dyssynchrony. Speckle tracking radial strain has potential for clinical applications.