Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Jan 2004
Case ReportsEchocardiographic tamponade in severe left ventricular dysfunction: the impact of small pericardial effusion and the absence of pulsus paradoxicus.
Cardiac tamponade is a commonly encountered clinical entity. It is a clinical syndrome characterized by elevated filling pressures, pulsus paradoxicus, and eventually, hypotension. It occurs as intrapericardial pressure exceeds intracardiac pressures altering ventricular filling. ⋯ It is well known that rapid accumulation of relatively small volumes of fluid can cause tamponade pathophysiology. We report a less well-recognized phenomenon. In the setting of severe left ventricular dysfunction, small volumes of pericardial fluid can result in excessive intrapericardial pressure and echocardiographic tamponade in the absence of a significant pulsus paradoxicus.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Nov 2003
Case ReportsTraumatic aortic transection with intraluminal aortic fat: transesophageal echocardiographic characteristics and implications.
Aortic transection can be a catastrophic complication of blunt chest trauma. Transesophageal echocardiography is a useful tool for assessing aortic pathology. Presented is a case of traumatic aortic transection in which periaortic fat was found within the aortic lumen. Transesophageal echocardiographic characteristics are reviewed and clinical implications discussed.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Nov 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialInterstudy reproducibility of parameters of left ventricular diastolic function: a Doppler echocardiography study.
Interstudy reproducibility of echocardiography for the assessment of parameters of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function is disputed. Therefore, we evaluated the reproducibility of echocardiography for assessment of LV diastolic Doppler parameters in 40 consecutive patients (age range: 19-77 years), who underwent 2 echocardiographic examinations by trained sonographers following a standard protocol, in conditions in which intrapatient sources of variability were minimized. ⋯ Under a standardized echocardiographic protocol and sonographers' training program, echocardiography can be a reproducible method for serial assessment of Doppler parameters of LV diastolic function, especially in cohort studies.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Nov 2003
Case ReportsAn unexpected surgical complication of ventricular assist device implantation identified by transesophageal echocardiography: a case report.
Ventricular assist devices are used for circulatory support for patients with cardiogenic shock and refractory heart failure. Although early and late complications of left ventricular assist devices have been reported, we report a rare surgical complication of a left ventricular assist device implantation. This unexpected surgical complication was accurately identified by transesophageal echocardiography.
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Oct 2003
Case ReportsThe enigma of occult mitral regurgitation in a patient with cardiogenic shock.
In patients with mitral regurgitation (MR), there is a high pressure gradient between the left ventricle (LV) and left atrium that Doppler echocardiography can easily detect. We present a case where transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) failed to provide an accurate evaluation of a patient who presented in cardiogenic shock. A transesophageal echocardiogram diagnosed MR because of a flail leaflet caused by a ruptured papillary muscle in the setting of normal ventricular function.