Search results for "Echocardiography"
showing 10 items of 432 documents
Central obesity and hypertensionThe role of plasma endothelin
1996
Hypertension and central obesity are two conditions closely linked, but the mechanisms responsible for obesity-associated hypertension are still unclear. In the last few years, several studies addressed the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the development and maintenance of hypertension. This study was designed to evaluate plasma ET-1 in normotensive and hypertensive central obese subjects compared with a lean healthy group. Our final goal was to analyze the relationship between plasma ET-1, blood pressure, and left ventricular structure and function in central obese subjects (both normotensives and hypertensives). ET-levels have been assessed by the radioimmunoassay method in 20 lean normote…
Arrhythmia profile in acromegaly.
1992
In a controlled study, the cardiac involvement and arrhythmia profile of 32 patients with acromegaly were correlated with endocrine parameters (somatomedine C, growth hormone), clinical score and duration of the disease. Data were compared with those of 50 controls free of cardiac disease. Stress ECG, 24 h Holter monitoring and echocardiography were performed. Supraventricular premature complexes occurred no more often in acromegalics than in controls. Both prevalence and severity of ventricular arrhythmia, however, were significantly higher in patients compared to controls (P less than 0.01). 15/32 (48%) acromegalic patients had complex ventricular arrhythmias (Lown III-IV) as compared wit…
Evaluation of diastolic function by the Tissue doppler in children affected by non- compaction
2007
The Tissue doppler analysis is a new echocardiographic approach to evaluate the diastolic function. In this report we performed a Tissue doppler analysis in a series of 15 children affected by non-compaction. The bidimensional echo-cardiogram showed a systolic function which was reduced only in 8 patients. Alterations of the diastolic function were founded in 7 patients: in 2 cases, a reduction of the E tissue wave was present in all segments. In 3 patients the diastolic dysfunction was limited to apical and lateral segments. In the last 2 children a reduction of the E wave interested only the apical segments. There was a strong correlation between systolic and diastolic dysfunction: in fac…
Usefulness of abdominal ultrasonography in the analysis of endoscopic activity in patients with Crohn's disease: changes following treatment with imm…
2013
The objective of this study was to analyze the accuracy of abdominal ultrasonography (AUS) in the assessment of mucosal healing in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) receiving immunomodulators and/or biological treatment, with ileocolonoscopy as the reference standard.Thirty patients were included in a prospective longitudinal study. All patients underwent ileocolonoscopy and AUS before and after a minimum of one year of treatment. The Crohn's Disease Endoscopic Inflammatory Index of Severity (CDEIS) was used for endoscopic assessment whereas AUS was analyzed by means of bowel wall thickness, color Doppler grade and percentage of increase of parietal enhancement after contrast injection.In …
Cardiac disease in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis: presentation, diagnosis and management
2011
The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are inherited lysosomal storage disorders caused by the absence of functional enzymes that contribute to the degradation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). The progressive systemic deposition of GAGs results in multi-organ system dysfunction that varies with the particular GAG deposited and the specific enzyme mutation(s) present. Cardiac involvement has been reported in all MPS syndromes and is a common and early feature, particularly for those with MPS I, II, and VI. Cardiac valve thickening, dysfunction (more severe for left-sided than for right-sided valves), and hypertrophy are commonly present; conduction abnormalities, coronary artery and other vascular in…
Fragment reconstruction of coronary arteries using transesophageal echocardiography for coronary diagnostics
2008
Aims Ultrasound differs procedurally from the established methods for non-invasive coronary visualization and is therefore an interesting alternative for non-invasive diagnostics. In this study, fragment reconstruction of coronary arteries by transesophageal echocardiography (FRC-TEE) was investigated for the first time in a patient population being evaluated for coronary angiography. Methods and results Ultrasonic and angiographic findings were compared visually and using quantitative measurements in 50 patients. One hundred and seventy-one vessels were examined by FRC-TEE. The total lengths visualized were 9.6+ 1.7 cm for the right coronary artery, 7.0+ 1.1 cm for left circumflex, 3.9+ 1.…
Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography: usefulness in the assessment of postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease.
2013
Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to assess whether the contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) can increase the value of the ultrasonography in the study of postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease (CD). Materials and methods 60 patients with CD who had previously undergone ileocolic resection underwent prospectively both CEUS and colonoscopy within a 3-day period. The sonographic examination included evaluation of bowel wall thickness, transmural complications, colour Doppler grade and contrast-enhanced US. In addition a sonographic score was established. The capacity of CEUS to diagnose endoscopic recurrence, as well as its severity, was assessed by calculating the sensitivity, …
Left ventricular mass in hypertensive patients with mild-to-moderate reduction of renal function
2010
Aim: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between LV mass and mild-to-moderate renal dysfunction in a group of non-diabetic hypertensives, free of CV diseases, participating in the Renal Dysfunction in Hypertension (REDHY) study. Methods: Patients with diabetes, a body mass index (BMI) of more than 35 kg/m 2 , secondary hypertension, CV diseases and a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of less than 30 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 were excluded. The final sample included 455 patients, who underwent echocardiographic examination and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.…
Relationships between metabolic syndrome and left ventricular mass in hypertensive patients. Does sex matter ?
2008
Several studies documented an association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. However, only in a few of these studies the impact of MetS on left ventricular mass (LVM) was separately analysed by gender, with conflicting results. The aim of our study was to verify, in a wide sample of essential hypertensive patients, the influence of gender, if any, on the relationship between MetS and LVM. We enrolled 475 non-diabetic subjects (mean age: 46 +/- 11 years), with mild-to-moderate essential hypertension, of whom 40% had MetS, defined on the basis of Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) criteria. All the patients underwent a 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monit…
Absence of an independent association between serum uric acid and left ventricular mass in Caucasian hypertensive women and men
2013
Background and aim: Experimentally uric acid may induce cardiomyocyte growth and interstitial fibrosis of the heart. However, clinical studies exploring the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and left ventricular (LV) mass yielded conflicting results. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationships between SUA and LV mass in a large group of Caucasian essential hypertensive subjects. Methods and results: We enrolled 534 hypertensive patients free of cardiovascular complications and without severe renal insufficiency. In all subjects routine blood chemistry, including SUA determination, echocardiographic examination and 24 h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring were obtai…