Figure 1

Stress echo lab: contractility me too?. Blood pressure analysis. One investigator records all blood pressures at rest and during exercise during the study. The blood pressure recording is made using a manometer sphygmomanometer and the diaphragm of a standard stethoscope. Echocardiography is performed using 3-D or conventional 2-D echocardiography and left ventricular end-systolic volume is measured. The contractility is determined at each stress step as the ratio of the systolic pressure (cuff sphygmomanometer)/end-systolic volume index (end-systolic volume/body surface area). Modified from Bombardini T. Myocardial contractility in the echo lab: molecular, cellular and pathophysiological basis. Cardiovascular ultrasound 2005, 3:27 [11].