Articles

Stress echo 2020: the international stress echo study in ischemic and non-ischemic heart disease

Stress echocardiography (SE) has an established role in evidence-based guidelines, but recently its breadth and variety of applications have extended well beyond coronary artery disease (CAD). We lack a prospe...

Authors: Eugenio Picano, Quirino Ciampi, Rodolfo Citro, Antonello D’Andrea, Maria Chiara Scali, Lauro Cortigiani, Iacopo Olivotto, Fabio Mori, Maurizio Galderisi, Marco Fabio Costantino, Lorenza Pratali, Giovanni Di Salvo, Eduardo Bossone, Francesco Ferrara, Luna Gargani, Fausto Rigo…

Identification of the main determinants of abdominal aorta size: a screening by Pocket Size Imaging Device

Ultrasound exam as a screening test for abdominal aorta (AA) can visualize the aorta in 99% of patients and has a sensitivity and specificity approaching 100% in screening settings for aortic aneurysm. Pocket ...

Authors: Roberta Esposito, Federica Ilardi, Vincenzo Schiano Lomoriello, Regina Sorrentino, Vincenzo Sellitto, Giuseppe Giugliano, Giovanni Esposito, Bruno Trimarco and Maurizio Galderisi

Accuracy of echocardiographic area-length method in chronic myocardial infarction: comparison with cardiac CT in pigs

We evaluated echocardiographic area-length methods to measure left ventricle (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF) in parasternal short axis views in comparison with cardiac computed tomography (CT) in pigs ...

Authors: Haitham Ballo, Miikka Tarkia, Matti Haavisto, Christoffer Stark, Marjatta Strandberg, Tommi Vähäsilta, Virva Saunavaara, Tuula Tolvanen, Mika Teräs, Ville-Veikko Hynninen, Timo Savunen, Anne Roivainen, Juhani Knuuti and Antti Saraste

Effects of nitroglycerine on coronary flow velocity before and during adenosine provocation

Transthoracic echocardiography-assessed coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) evaluates coronary microvascular arterial function. Coronary flow velocity measurements at baseline and during hyperemia are used t...

Authors: Ann Wittfeldt, Anders Jeppsson and Li-Ming Gan

Geographical predisposition influences on the distribution and tissue characterisation of eccentric coronary plaques in non-branching coronary arteries: cross-sectional study of coronary plaques analysed by intravascular ultrasound

We investigated the influence of geographical predisposition on the spatial distribution and composition of coronary plaques.

Authors: Hidenori Komiyama, Hitoshi Takano, Shunichi Nakamura, Masamichi Takano, Noritake Hata, Miyauchi Yasushi, Yoshihiko Seino, Kyoichi Mizuno and Wataru Shimizu

Left ventricular remodeling and the athlete’s heart, irrespective of quality load training

Regular physical exercise determines a progressive increase of the cardiac mass known as adaptive hypertrophy. Up to now, two morphological echocardiographic heart patterns of athletes have been described by M...

Authors: Giorgio Galanti, Laura Stefani, Gabriele Mascherini, Valentina Di Tante and Loira Toncelli

Quantitative evaluation of longitudinal strain in layer-specific myocardium during normal pregnancy in China

The myocardial wall of the left ventricle is a complex, multilayered structure and is not homogenous. The aim of this study was to determine longitudinal strain (LS) in the three myocardial layers in normal pr...

Authors: Juan Cong, Zhibin Wang, Hong Jin, Wugang Wang, Kun Gong, Yuanyuan Meng and Yong Lee

Clinical and echocardiographic predictors of mortality in acute pulmonary embolism

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of adding quantitative assessments of cardiac function from echocardiography to clinical factors in predicting the outcome of patients with acute pulmonary emb...

Authors: Talal Dahhan, Irfan Siddiqui, Victor F. Tapson, Eric J. Velazquez, Stephanie Sun, Clemontina A. Davenport, Zainab Samad and Sudarshan Rajagopal

Left ventricular diastolic function is strongly correlated with active emptying of the left atrium: a novel analysis using three-dimensional echocardiography

Increased left atrial (LA) dimensions are known to be a risk factor in predicting cardiovascular events and mortality and to be one key diagnostic tool to assess diastolic dysfunction. Currently, LA measuremen...

Authors: Johannes Scherr, Philip Jung, Tibor Schuster, Lars Pollmer, Gert Eisele, Franz Goss, Jens Schneider and Martin Halle

Modified mallampati classification in determining the success of unsedated transesophageal echocardiography procedure in patients with heart disease: simple but efficient

The transesophageal echocardiograhpy (TEE) has been studied worldwide. However, identifying additional factors on top of operator's experience and patient's cooperation which could influence the success of the...

Authors: Jureerat Khongkaew, Dujdao Sahasthas, Tharrittawadha Potat and Phatchara Thammawirat

Total average diastolic longitudinal displacement by colour tissue doppler imaging as an assessment of diastolic function

The current method for a non-invasive assessment of diastolic dysfunction is complex with the use of algorithms of many different echocardiographic parameters. Total average diastolic longitudinal displacement...

Authors: Martina Chantal de Knegt, Tor Biering-Sørensen, Peter Søgaard, Jacob Sivertsen, Jan Skov Jensen and Rasmus Møgelvang

Does the internal jugular vein affect the elasticity of the common carotid artery?

Arterial stiffness is an early marker of atherosclerosis. The carotid arteries are easily accessible by ultrasound and are commonly used for the evaluation of atherosclerosis development. However, this stiffne...

Authors: Michał Podgórski, Monika Winnicka, Michał Polguj, Piotr Grzelak, Maciej Łukaszewski and Ludomir Stefańczyk

Erratum to: ‘Modified transesophageal echocardiography of the dissected thoracic aorta; a novel diagnostic approach’

Authors: Wouter W. Jansen Klomp, Linda M. Peelen, George J. Brandon Bravo Bruinsma, Arnoud W. J. van’t Hof, Jan G. Grandjean and Arno P. Nierich

Noninvasive assessment of pulmonary arterial capacitance by pulmonary annular motion velocity in children with ventricular septal defect

We hypothesized that longitudinal pulmonary arterial deformation during the cardiac cycle reflects pulmonary arterial capacitance. To examine this hypothesis, we assessed whether tissue Doppler-derived pulmona...

Authors: Yasunobu Hayabuchi, Akemi Ono, Yukako Homma and Shoji Kagami

Limitations and difficulties of echocardiographic short-axis assessment of paravalvular leakage after corevalve transcatheter aortic valve implantation

To make assessment of paravalvular aortic leakage (PVL) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) more uniform the second Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC) recently updated the echocardiogra...

Authors: Marcel L. Geleijnse, Luigi F. M. Di Martino, Wim B. Vletter, Ben Ren, Tjebbe W. Galema, Nicolas M. Van Mieghem, Peter P. T. de Jaegere and Osama I. I. Soliman

Rotational method simplifies 3-dimensional measurement of left atrial appendage dimensions during transesophageal echocardiography

Not all echo laboratories have the capability of measuring direct online 3D images, but do have the capability of turning 3D images into 2D ones “online” for bedside measurements. Thus, we hypothesized that a ...

Authors: Chaim Yosefy, Yulia Azhibekov, Boris Brodkin, Vladimir Khalameizer, Amos Katz and Avishag Laish-Farkash

Prognostic value of new left atrial volume index severity partition cutoffs after cardiac rehabilitation program in patients undergoing cardiac surgery

Previous studies showed that left atrial enlargement is an independent marker of adverse outcomes in both primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention. However, no data are available on long-term outcomes i...

Authors: Davide Lazzeroni, Nicola Gaibazzi, Matteo Bini, Giacomo Bussolati, Umberto Camaiora, Roberto Cassi, Simone Geroldi, Pietro Tito Ugolotti, Lorenzo Brambilla, Valerio Brambilla, Paolo Castiglioni and Paolo Coruzzi

Evaluation of left atrial function in patients with iron-deficiency anemia by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography

Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is a global health problem and a common medical condition that can be seen in everyday clinical practice. And two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) has been re...

Authors: Jiaqi Shen, Qiao Zhou, Yue Liu, Runlan Luo, Bijun Tan and Guangsen Li

The efficacy of sonographic measurement of inferior vena cava diameter as an estimate of central venous pressure

Central venous pressure (CVP) and right atrial pressure (RAP) are important parameters in the complete hemodynamic assessment of a patient. Sonographic measurement of the inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter is a...

Authors: William Ciozda, Ilan Kedan, Devin W. Kehl, Raymond Zimmer, Raj Khandwalla and Asher Kimchi

Three-dimensional dynamic morphology of the mitral valve in different forms of mitral valve prolapse – potential implications for annuloplasty ring selection

Real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography has increased our understanding of the distinct pathomechanisms underlying functional, ischaemic or degenerative mitral regurgitation. However, pote...

Authors: Astrid Apor, Anikó Ilona Nagy, Attila Kovács, Aristomenis Manouras, Péter Andrássy and Béla Merkely

Impact of a structured referral algorithm on the ability to monitor adherence to appropriate use criteria for transthoracic echocardiography

Many free-form-text referral requisitions for transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) provide insufficient information to adequately evaluate their adherence to Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC). We developed a stru...

Authors: Steven Promislow, Joseph G. Abunassar, Behnam Banihashemi, Benjamin J. Chow, Girish Dwivedi, Kasra Maftoon and Ian G. Burwash

Echocardiographic diagnosis of the different phenotypes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an inherited cardiovascular disorder of great genetic heterogeneity and has a prevalence of 0.1 – 0.2 % in the general population. Several hundred mutations in more than 27...

Authors: Vito Maurizio Parato, Valeria Antoncecchi, Fabiola Sozzi, Stefania Marazia, Annapaola Zito, Maria Maiello and Pasquale Palmiero

In-hospital measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction and one-year outcomes in acute coronary syndromes: results from the IMMEDIATE Trial

In patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is a known marker for increased mortality. However, the relationship between LVEF measured during index ACS hos...

Authors: Jayanta T. Mukherjee, Joni R. Beshansky, Robin Ruthazer, Hadeel Alkofide, Madhab Ray, David Kent, Warren J. Manning, Gordon S. Huggins and Harry P. Selker;

Modified transesophageal echocardiography of the dissected thoracic aorta; a novel diagnostic approach

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a key diagnostic modality in patients with acute aortic dissection, yet its sensitivity is limited by a “blind-spot” caused by air in the trachea. After placement of a...

Authors: Wouter W. Jansen Klomp, Linda M. Peelen, George J. Brandon Bravo Bruinsma, Arnoud W. J. van’t Hof, Jan G. Grandjean and Arno P. Nierich

Deformation pattern and predictive value of right ventricular longitudinal strain in children with pulmonary arterial hypertension

Right ventricular function has been identified as an important prognostic factor in children with pulmonary arterial hypertension. The aim of the study was to assess the deformation pattern and prognostic valu...

Authors: Iolanda Muntean, Theodora Benedek, Mihaela Melinte, Carmen Suteu and Rodica Togãnel

Erratum to: ‘Acceleration rate of mitral inflow E wave: a novel transmitral doppler index for assessing diastolic function’

Authors: Roya Sattarzadeh, Anahita Tavoosi, Mostafa Jabbari, Amir Farhang Zand Parsa, Babak Geraiely, Mohammad Saadat, Farnoosh Larti, Ali Pasha Meysamie and Mehrdad Salehi

Right ventricular dysfunction as predictor of longer hospital stay in patients with acute decompensated heart failure: a prospective study in Indonesian population

Hospital length of stay (LOS) is a key determinant of heart failure hospitalization costs. Longer LOS is associated with lower quality of care measures and higher rates of readmission and mortality. Right vent...

Authors: Paskariatne Probo Dewi Yamin, Sunu Budhi Raharjo, Vebiona Kartini Prima Putri and Nani Hersunarti

Acceleration rate of mitral inflow E wave: a novel transmitral doppler index for assessing diastolic function

We performed comprehensive transmitral and pulmonary venous Doppler echocardiographic studies to devise a novel index of diastolic function. This is the first study to assess the utility of the acceleration ra...

Authors: Roya Sattarzadeh, Anahita Tavoosi, Mostafa Jabbari, Amir Farhang Zand Parsa, Babak Geraiely, Mohammad Saadat, Farnoosh Larti, Ali Pasha Meysamie and Mehrdad Salehi

Ultrasonographic caval indices do not significantly contribute to predicting fluid responsiveness immediately after coronary artery bypass grafting when compared to passive leg raising

Appropriate fluid management is one of the most important elements of early goal-directed therapy after cardiothoracic surgery. Reliable determination of fluid responsivenss remains the fundamental issue in vo...

Authors: Dorota Sobczyk, Krzysztof Nycz, Pawel Andruszkiewicz, Karol Wierzbicki and Maciej Stapor

Coronary flow velocity reserve by echocardiography: feasibility, reproducibility and agreement with PET in overweight and obese patients with stable and revascularized coronary artery disease

Coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) measured by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography of the LAD is used to assess microvascular function but validation studies in clinical settings are lacking. We aimed to...

Authors: Rasmus Huan Olsen, Lene Rørholm Pedersen, Martin Snoer, Thomas Emil Christensen, Adam Ali Ghotbi, Philip Hasbak, Andreas Kjaer, Steen B. Haugaard and Eva Prescott

Echocardiographic markers of inducible myocardial ischemia at baseline evaluation preparatory to exercise stress echocardiography

Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) is a sensible and feasible method to detect longitudinal left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in patients with diabetes mellitus, hypertension or ischemic heart diseas...

Authors: Antonella Cherubini, Giovanni Cioffi, Carmine Mazzone, Giorgio Faganello, Giulia Barbati, Luigi Tarantini, Giulia Russo, Carlo Stefenelli, Franco Humar, Eliana Grande, Maurizio Fisicaro, Claudio Pandullo and Andrea Di Lenarda

Comprehensive left ventricular mechanics analysis by speckle tracking echocardiography in Chagas disease

Chagas disease (CD) is a frequent cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (CMP) in developing countries, leading to clinical heart failure and worse prognosis. Therefore, the development and evolution of this CMP has ...

Authors: Marcio Silva Miguel Lima, Hector R. Villarraga, Maria Cristina Donadio Abduch, Marta Fernandes Lima, Cecilia Beatriz Bittencourt Viana Cruz, Marcio Sommer Bittencourt, Mariana Callil Voos, Joao Cesar Nunes Sbano, Wilson Mathias Jr and Jeane Mike Tsutsui

Arterial adaptations to training among first time marathoners

Exercise training favorably alters arterial anatomy in trained limbs, though the simultaneous effects on passively trained arteries are unclear. Thus, brachial (non-trained limb), popliteal (trained limb) and ...

Authors: Nicole M. Hafner, Christopher J. Womack, Nicholas D. Luden and Mikel K. Todd

Long-term clinical and echocardiographic outcomes of extensive septal myectomy for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy in Chinese patients

There has been limited data addressing outcomes of extensive septal myectomy in Chinese patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). In this study, the objective was to evaluate the clinical a...

Authors: Lei Yao, Li Li, Xiong-Jun Lu, Yan-Ling Miao, Xiao-Ning Kang and Fu-Jian Duan

Reproducibility of a novel echocardiographic 3D automated software for the assessment of mitral valve anatomy

3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is superior to 2D TEE in quantitative anatomic evaluation of the mitral valve (MV) but it shows limitations regarding automatic quantification. Here, we tested the int...

Authors: Iolanda Aquila, Ariana González, Covadonga Fernández-Golfín, Luis Miguel Rincón, Eduardo Casas, Ana García, Rocio Hinojar, José Julio Jiménez-Nacher and José Luis Zamorano

Early changes in right ventricular longitudinal function in chronic asymptomatic alcoholics revealed by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography

Heart ventricular dysfunction has been characterized as reduced longitudinal function of the right ventricle (RV), and is associated with chronic alcohol abuse. This study investigated the use of two-dimension...

Authors: Sisi Meng, Lijuan Guo and Guangsen Li

Erratum to: ‘Left ventricular twist mechanics and its relation with aortic stiffness in chronic kidney disease patients without overt cardiovascular disease’

Authors: Samir Sulemane, Vasileios F. Panoulas, Klio Konstantinou, Athanasios Bratsas, Julia Grapsa, Frederick W. Tam, Edwina A. Brown and Petros Nihoyannopoulos

Strain-time curve analysis by speckle tracking echocardiography in cardiac resynchronization therapy: Insight into the pathophysiology of responders vs. non-responders

Patients with non-ischemic heart failure etiology and left bundle branch block (LBBB) show better response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). While these patients have the most pronounced left ventric...

Authors: Andrew C. Y. To, Rodolfo D. Benatti, Kimi Sato, Richard A. Grimm, James D. Thomas, Bruce L. Wilkoff, Deborah Agler and Zoran B. Popović

Combination of single quantitative parameters into multiparametric model for ischemia detection is not superior to visual assessment during dobutamine stress echocardiography

To evaluate if the combination of several quantitative parameters into a mathematical model would enhance the detection of myocardial ischemia during dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) when compared to c...

Authors: Jelena Čelutkienė, Greta Burneikaitė, Linas Petkevičius, Laura Balkevičienė and Aleksandras Laucevičius

Evaluation of right ventricular function in fetal hypoplastic left heart syndrome using spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC)

Postnatal outcome of fetuses with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is mainly determined by right ventricular function. In the present study we used spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC) to assess righ...

Authors: Jing Zhang, Qichang Zhou, Yili Zhao, Qinghai Peng, Zheli Gong and Xiangdang Long

Respiratory influence on left atrial volume calculation with 3D-echocardiography

Left atrial volume (LAV) estimation with 3D echocardiography has been shown to be more accurate than 2D volume calculation. However, little is known about the possible effect of respiratory movements on the ac...

Authors: Mathias Sørgaard, Jesper J. Linde, Hafsa Ismail, Niels Risum, Klaus F. Kofoed, Jørgen T. Kühl, Benjamin Tittle, Walter B. Nielsen and Jens D. Hove

Left ventricular twist mechanics and its relation with aortic stiffness in chronic kidney disease patients without overt cardiovascular disease

Recent studies hypothesized left ventricular (LV) twist as a potential biomarker for evaluation of sub clinical myocardial disease, however its relationship with aortic stiffness has yet to be investigated. Ch...

Authors: Samir Sulemane, Vasileios F. Panoulas, Klio Konstantinou, Athanasios Bratsas, Frederick W. Tam, Edwina A. Brown and Petros Nihoyannopoulos

Reviewer acknowledgment 2015

The Editors of Cardiovascular Ultrasound would like to thank all of our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 13 (2015) and whose valuable support is fundamental to its success.

Authors: Eugenio Picano and Rosa Sicari

Clinical utility of transthoracic echocardiography for screening abdominal aortic aneurysm: a prospective study in a Japanese population

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical utility of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for screening abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and to identify important TTE indices associated with AAA...

Authors: Yoshihisa Matsumura, Michiko Wada, Daigo Hirakawa, Yuka Yasuoka, Norihito Morimoto, Hiroaki Takeuchi, Hiroaki Kitaoka, Kazumasa Orihashi and Tetsuro Sugiura

Echo-Doppler–derived indexes of ventricular stiffness and ventriculo-arterial interaction as predictors of new-onset atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients with heart failure (HF) and worsens their prognosis. Vulnerability to changes in loading is an important factor in the development of AF and is strongly influence...

Authors: Ji Hyun Yoon, Myung-Hyun Kim, Hyemoon Chung, Eui-Young Choi, Pil-Ki Min, Young Won Yoon, Byoung Kwon Lee, Bum-Kee Hong, Se-Joong Rim, Hyuck Moon Kwon and Jong-Youn Kim

Estimated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography predicts successful ablation in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with left atrial (LA) remodeling caused by pressure and/or volume (LAV) overload. Increased pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) represents LA pressure overload. We ...

Authors: Masanori Kawasaki, Ryuhei Tanaka, Taiji Miyake, Reiko Matsuoka, Mayumi Kaneda, Shingo Minatoguchi, Takeshi Hirose, Koji Ono, Maki Nagaya, Hidemaro Sato, Yoshiaki Kawase, Shinji Tomita, Kunihiko Tsuchiya, Hitoshi Matsuo, Toshiyuki Noda and Shinya Minatoguchi

Status and potential clinical value of a transthoracic evaluation of the coronary arteries

The growing need for coronary evaluation has raised interest in non-radioactive, non-invasive monitoring systems. In particular, radiation exposure during coronary investigations has been shown to be a possibl...

Authors: Fabien Labombarda, Samuela Castelnuovo, Dionysis Goularas and Cesare R. Sirtori

Impact of B-type natriuretic peptide level on the risk of left atrial appendage thrombus in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: a prospective study

The impact of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level on the risk of left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombus in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) has not been prospectively studied.

Authors: Rojina Pant, Mita Patel, Enrique Garcia-Sayan, Marwan Wassouf, Oliver D’Silva, Richard F. Kehoe and Rami Doukky

Quantitative evaluation of myocardial fibrosis by cardiac integrated backscatter analysis in Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease is an acute, systemic vasculitis that affects the coronary arteries. However, the relationship between myocardial fibrosis and Kawasaki disease has been completely unknown until now. We aimed ...

Authors: Lijian Xie, Renjian Wang, Min Huang, Yongwei Zhang, Jie Shen and Tingting Xiao

The potential clinical value of contrast-enhanced echocardiography beyond current recommendations

Contrast agents are used in resting echocardiography to opacify the left ventricular (LV) cavity and to improve LV endocardial border delineation in patients with suboptimal image quality. If a wider use of co...

Authors: Malin K. Larsson, Cristina Da Silva, Elif Gunyeli, Ali Akebat Bin Ilami, Karolina Szummer, Reidar Winter and Anna Bjällmark