Role of cardiac dyssynchrony and resynchronization therapy in functional mitral regurgitation

Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is a common complication of left ventricle (LV) dysfunction and remodelling. Recently, it has been recognized as an independent prognostic factor in both ischaemic and non-ischaemic LV dysfunctions. In this review article, we discuss the mechanisms through which cardiac dyssynchrony is involved in FMR pathophysiologic cascade and how cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can have therapeutic effects on FMR by reverting specific dyssynchrony pathways. We analyse recent clinical trials focusing on CRT impact on FMR in 'real-world' patients, the limits and future perspectives that could eventually generate new predictors of CRT response in terms of FMR r…

Left ventricular hypertrophy or storage disease? the incremental value of speckle tracking strain bull's-eye

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) develops in response to a variety of physical, genetic, and biochemical stimuli and represents the early stage of ventricular remodeling. In patients with LVH, subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction despite normal ejection fraction (EF) may be present before the onset of symptoms, which portends a dismal prognosis. Strain measurement with two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) represents a highly reproducible and accurate alternative to LVEF determination. The present review focuses on current available evidence that supports the incremental value of STE in the diagnostic and prognostic workup of LVH. When assessing the components o…

Usefulness of Stress Echocardiography in the Management of Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs.

In recent years, the survival of patients with cancer has improved thanks to advances in antineoplastic therapeutic protocols. This has led to an increasing burden of cardiovascular complications related to cancer treatment. Therefore, a new branch of cardiology has been created, ``cardio-oncology,'' with the aims of preventing cardiovascular complications related to antineoplastic treatment, achieving early diagnosis and treatment of any complications, and allowing completion of the expected antineoplastic treatment. Stress echocardiography has a pivotal role in achieving a timely diagnosis of coronary artery disease and thus is the best management approach in this clinical setting. Athero…

Identification of cardiac organ damage in arterial hypertension: insights by echocardiography for a comprehensive assessment

: Arterial hypertension, a widespread disease, whose prevalence increases with age, represents a major risk factor for cardiovascular events, causing damage in several organs, including the heart. In this context, echocardiography has a clear and pivotal role, being able to assess cardiac morphology and detect haemodynamic changes induced by this disease. 2018 European Society of Cardiology/European Society of Hypertension guidelines on AH identified main echo parameters such as left ventricular mass, relative wall thickness and left atrial volume, for detecting cardiac organ damage. The present review highlights the advantage of additional echocardiographic parameters such as diastolic mea…

XStrain 4D analysis predicts left ventricular remodeling in patients with recent non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Bicuspid aortic valve and sports: From the echocardiographic evaluation to the eligibility for sports competition

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital heart defect in adults. Although a BAV may remain without clinical consequences for a lifetime, it can deteriorate in aortic valve stenosis and regurgitation and aortic dilatation. Unfortunately, the impact of regular training on patients with BAV and its natural course is not fully understood, although preliminary evidence suggests that the progression of valvular disease occurs primarily in an independent manner from sports practice. The current review aims to report how to perform a comprehensive echocardiographic examination in athletes with BAV and analyze the current literature on the influence of sports practice and how it imp…

Echocardiographic reference ranges for normal left atrial function parameters results from the EACVI NORRE study

International audience; Aims - To obtain the normal ranges for echocardiographic measurements of left atrial (LA) function from a large group of healthy volunteers accounting for age and gender. Methods and results - A total of 371 (median age 45 years) healthy subjects were enrolled at 22 collaborating institutions collaborating in the Normal Reference Ranges for Echocardiography (NORRE) study of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI). Left atrial data sets were analysed with a vendor-independent software (VIS) package allowing homogeneous measurements irrespective of the echocardiographic equipment used to acquire data sets. The lowest expected values of LA function we…

P1450Effect of overweight and obesity on left ventricular longitudinal multi-layer strain: a speckle tracking two-dimensional echocardiographic study

Chemical Proteomics-Guided Identification of a Novel Biological Target of the Bioactive Neolignan Magnolol

Understanding the recognition process between bioactive natural products and their specific cellular receptors is of key importance in the drug discovery process. In this outline, some potential targets of Magnolol, a natural bioactive compound, have been identified by proteomic approaches. Among them, Importin-β1 has been considered as the most relevant one. A direct binding between Magnolol and this nuclear chaperone has been confirmed by DARTS and molecular docking, while its influence on Importin-β1 translocation has been evaluated by in vitro assays.

Normal reference values of multilayer longitudinal strain according to age decades in a healthy population: A single-centre experience.

Aims Recent advancements in echocardiographic technology allow to analyse myocardial strain in multiple layers. Little is known about the impact of age on layer-specific longitudinal strain in healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of age on multilayer longitudinal strain and establish normal reference values of layer-specific strain according to age decades in a healthy population referring to our echo laboratory using 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography with layer-specific software. Methods and results Two-hundred sixty-six healthy, consecutive subjects (mean age = 39.2 ± 17.5 years, women/men = 137/129), free of cardiovascular risk factors, were enrolled. S…