Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Jul 2007
Practice GuidelineACCF/ASE/ACEP/ASNC/SCAI/SCCT/SCMR 2007 appropriateness criteria for transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Quality Strategic Directions Committee Appropriateness Criteria Working Group, American Society of Echocardiography, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, and the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. Endorsed by the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Jul 2007
Clinical TrialRecovery of left ventricular systolic longitudinal strain after valve replacement in aortic stenosis and relation to natriuretic peptides.
We sought to examine left ventricular (LV) longitudinal systolic myocardial contractility in isolated valvular aortic stenosis (AS) before and after valve replacement and relation to natriuretic peptides. ⋯ LV longitudinal systolic strain is severely depressed despite preserved LV ejection fraction and fractional shortening in AS. A significant association exists among natriuretic peptides, myocardial longitudinal contractility, and the degree of symptoms. Reverse LV remodeling after aortic valve replacement with regression of myocardial hypertrophy results in improvement of LV longitudinal myocardial strain and decrease of Nt-pro-BNP plasma levels. LV strain analysis might have the potential to identify patients with asymptomatic AS who might benefit from earlier surgical intervention to preserve overall LV function.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Jun 2007
Clinical TrialIntraoperative transesophageal echocardiography using a quantitative dynamic loading test for the evaluation of ischemic mitral regurgitation.
Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography may underestimate ischemic mitral regurgitation (MR) as a result of the unloading effect of general anesthesia on the left ventricle (LV). An intraoperative loading test could prove useful to avoid underestimation of ischemic MR. ⋯ A quantitative loading test with fluids and phenylephrine is useful to avoid underestimation of ischemic MR by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography, and may detect significant MR in some patients who had unloaded LVs and nonsignificant MR during their preoperative assessment.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · May 2007
ReviewLeft ventricular form and function revisited: applied translational science to cardiovascular ultrasound imaging.
Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) and DTI-derived strain imaging are robust physiologic tools used for the noninvasive assessment of regional myocardial function. As a result of high temporal and spatial resolution, regional function can be assessed for each phase of the cardiac cycle and within the transmural layers of the myocardial wall. ⋯ The data are, however, limited. This review examines the structure and function of the left ventricle relative to the potential clinical application of DTI and speckle tracking in assessing the global mechanical sequence of the left ventricle in vivo.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · May 2007
Case ReportsAorta-right atrial fistula: a rare complication of prosthetic aortic valvular endocarditis.
Aortic root abscess is a well-known complication of aortic valve endocarditis but intracardiac fistulas are rarely seen. This report describes a patient with prosthetic valve endocarditis who had an aortic root abscess that ruptured into the right atrium creating an aortic-right atrial fistula and causing a highly mobile vegetative mass in the right atrium.