Background Successful transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects (ASDs) requires the accurate assessment of defect size and morphology. Assessment of ASD anatomy may be difficult by two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography. The…
Background In complete transposition of the great vessels, a restrictive patent foramen ovale leads to inadequate circulatory mixing and severe cyanosis. Urgent balloon atrial septostomy (BAS) improves mixing and bridges…
Background To test the hypothesis that textural changes in the carotid intima-media complex (IMC) on visual inspection by B-mode ultrasound are associated with early atherosclerotic involvement in patients with heterozygous…
Background Intraoperative real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography has been shown useful in the evaluation of the mitral valve (MV) apparatus, and dedicated commercial software allows its quantitative assessment. The aims of…
Background Doppler-derived hemodynamic data for normal tricuspid mechanical valve prostheses are limited. Methods A comprehensive retrospective Doppler echocardiographic assessment of 78 normal St. Jude Medical Standard (St. Jude Medical, Inc.,…
Background Assessment of the functional significance of left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) stenosis of intermediate severity (50%–70% diameter stenosis) is challenging. The aim of this study was to compare…
Background The aims of this study were to detect subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and to determine the impact of arterial hypertension on LV systolic function using speckle-tracking echocardiography in…
Background In asymptomatic mitral stenosis (MS), the usefulness of peak exercise Doppler echocardiography (DE) values is acknowledged, but the role of values recorded during the first stage of DE remains…
Background Because of the shortage of donor hearts, the criteria for acceptance have been considerably expanded. Abnormal results on pharmacologic stress echocardiography are associated with significant coronary artery disease and/or…
CFR in Clinical Practice Myocardial ischemia is the metabolic derangement that results when myocardial blood flow is insufficient to meet demand. Epicardial coronary artery disease that is moderate to severe,…
