Right atrium compression by a renal cyst: a tomographic diagnosis.

OBESITY: A NEW PATHOLOGY TO PAY ATTENTION TO IN YOUNG PEOPLE

Obesity in young people is a form of malnutrition that is found more and more in industrialized countries known both for its association with obesity in adult age and the chronic-degenerate pathologies correlated to it. In 1998 in the United States the prevalence of obesity in 4-12 year olds was 22% for the Hispanics and Afro-Americans and 12.3% for the non Hispanic Caucasians Also in children as in adults, the consequence of obesity is hyperinsulinemia, in direct proportion to the body weight. In this review we discuss the effects of hyperinsulinemia and obesity in young people, and evaluated the difference of cardiovascular complication in young and in adults.

Evaluation of atrial function by 2D strain echocardiography in patients with atrial fibrillation

Abstract Objectives To evaluate atrial function by 2D strain in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and normal or slightly increased atrial size and to verify whether lower atrial strain is associated with more frequent AF recurrences. Materials and methods We studied 50 patients with AF, mean age 59.6 ± 13 years and 50 age-and gender-matched controls. We analyzed left atrial function through 2Dstrain imaging, after the re-establishment of sinus rhythm (SR) and we investigated about the recurrences of the arrhythmia. Results Atrial strain (AS) was lower in AF patients vs controls (LA p Conclusions The assessment of atrial function by strain imaging might help to identify patients who nee…

Atherosclerosis, inflammation and Chlamydia pneumoniae

Coronary heart disease is the single most common cause of illness and death in the developed world. Coronary atherosclerosis is by far the most frequent cause of ischemic heart disease, and plaque disruption with superimposed thrombosis is the main cause of the acute coronary syndromes of unstable angina, myocardial infarction, and sudden death. Atherosclerosis is the result of a complex interaction between blood elements, disturbed flow, and vessel wall abnormality, involving several pathological processes: inflammation, with increased endothelial permeability, endothelial activation, and monocyte recruitment; growth, with smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration, and matrix synthesis; …

A cardiac fibroma in a 7-year-old asymptomatic girl admitted for ECG anomalies

Noncompaction of the Right Ventricle

Noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium is a disease characterized by an increase of the ventricular trabecular meshwork caused by arrest of the normal endomyocardial morphogenesis (Figs. 1, 2, 3). In accordance with the normal human anatomy, the left ventricular wall is well compacted with a few thin trabeculae; on the contrary, the normal right ventricular wall is furrowed by many trabeculae (the trabecula of the marginal septum as well as other ones). For this reason, the term ‘‘noncompaction’’ usually refers to an exclusive or prevalent disease of the left ventricle [1–16]. Recently Song and Aragona et al. [1–3] reported two cases of isolated right-ventricular noncompaction. Accordi…