Determinazione mediante color kinesis delle alterazioni diastoliche e sistoliche del ventricolo sinistro in pazienti con cardiopatia ischemica

Dottorato di ricerca in fisiopatologia cardiorespiratoria. 10. ciclo. Coordinatore Armando DagiantiConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome; Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale - P.za Cavalleggeri, 1, Florence / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

Detection of left ventricular systolic and diastolic abnormalities in patients with coronary artery disease by color kinesis

BACKGROUND: Color kinesis (CK) is a recently developed echocardiographic technique based on acoustic quantification that automatically tracks and displays endocardial motion in real time and has been used in initial studies to improve the evaluation of global and regional wall motion. HYPOTHESIS: For further validation of the use of CK for analysis of segmental ventricular dysfunction, we assessed its sensitivity and specificity for detection of regional systolic and diastolic wall motion abnormalities in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: Two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiography and CK were used to study 15 normal subjects and 63 patients with technically good quality echocardiographic tracings, who underwent coronary arteriography within 1 month of echocardiography. Significant (> 70% luminal diameter stenosis) CAD was present in 50 patients (79%). RESULTS: Color kinesis tracked endocardial motion accurately in 93% of left ventricular segments. Wall motion score, systolic segmental endocardial motion (SEM), and the time of systolic SEM (tSEM) and diastolic (tDEM) segmental endocardial motion were calculated. Intra- and interobserver variability were within narrow limits. SEM and tSEM were significantly lower and tDEM was significantly higher in the patient population than in the control group (p < 0.001). Comparison between CK and 2-D echocardiography showed a correlation coefficient of 0.81 between the two techniques. The score was identically graded in 74% of segments, with concordance of 82% in diagnosing segments as abnormal. Interobserver concordance was 86% for CK (r = 0.85) and 81% for 2-D echocardiography (r = 0.80). The sensitivity and specificity of systolic and diastolic CK parameters for the detection of CAD were 88 and 92% and 77 and 85%, respectively. The positive predictive values were 93 and 96%, respectively, the negative predictive values were 63 and 73%, respectively, and the overall accuracy was 86 and 91%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that CK is a feasible and sensitive technique for identifying regional systolic as well as diastolic wall motion abnormalities in patients with CAD

Hidden in the heart a peculiar type of left ventricular remodeling after acute myocardial infarction

We reported an unusual case of left ventricular pouch, in a 72-year-old man who had an acute coronary syndrome treated with percutaneous revascularization. The echocardiogram showed a sort of pouch, delimited by epicardium and endocardium, confirmed by 3D echo. This finding appeared as an echo free area, with a really slight color flow inside. We consequently supposed it would be a dissecting hematoma, a rare complication of the ischemic disease, due to the rupture of the intramyocardial vessels among the spiral myocardial fibers. This would produce a hemorrhagic pouch contained by epicardial and endocardial layers, which could evolve into mural thrombi

Mid-term efficacy of beraprost, an oral prostacyclin analog, in the treatment of distal CTEPH: A case control study

BACKGROUND: Prostanoids are a well-established therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and observational studies suggest their efficacy even in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) patients. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of 6 months of treatment with beraprost, an orally-active prostacyclin analog, in patients with distal CTEPH and PAH. DESIGN: Case-control study. POPULATION: Sixteen patients with severe pulmonary hypertension (NYHA II-IV), eight with distal CTEPH matched with eight patients with idiopathic PAH for similar effort tolerance. METHODS: All patients were in stable clinical and hemodynamic condition for 3 months with maximal standard therapy. During the titration phase (4 weeks) beraprost was increased to maximal tolerated dose (mean daily dosage: CTEPH 275 +/- 47 microg, PAH 277 +/- 47 microg) in adjunction of standard therapy, patients were followed-up for 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: World Heart Organization (WHO) functional class, exercise capacity measured by distance walked in 6 min, and systolic pulmonary pressure (echocardiography), were evaluated at baseline, and at 1-, 3- and 6-month interval. RESULTS: At 6 months WHO class decreased significantly in both groups (CTEPH from 2.7 +/- 0.6 to 2.0 +/- 0.24, p < 0.05; PAH from 3.0 +/- 0.26 to 2.1 +/- 0.25, p < 0.05), similarly the 6-min walk distance increased significantly from baseline (CTEPH from 312 +/- 31 to 373 +/- 29 m, p < 0.003; PAH from 303 +/- 31 to 347 +/- 29, p < 0.0003). Systolic pulmonary artery pressure showed a trend toward lower value (CTEPH from 85 +/- 7 m to 81 +/- 6 mm Hg, p = NS; PAH from 89 +/- 7 to 82 +/- 5, p = NS). During the observation period we did not have any death. The drug was well-tolerated with minor side-effects. CONCLUSION: In patients with CTEPH beraprost had similar mid-term clinical and hemodynamic improvements than in patients with PAH

Evaluation of Intra-Renal Stiffness in Patients with Primary Aldosteronism

Intorduction Aldosterone is known to play important role in developing cardiovascular, metabolic, renal damage in hypertensive patients. Aim Aim of study was to evaluate parameters obtained by eco-color Doppler study, as non-invasive and easly performed method in asyntomatic patients with Essential Hypertension (EH) and Primary Aldosteronism (PA), without overt organ damage. Methods From April 2019 to March 2020 we consecutively enrolled 73 hypertensive subjects (48 males, 25 women), distinguished in two groups: 30 EH patients (mean age 49.5 +/- 18.7 years) and 43 PA patients (mean age 53.1 +/- 11.6 years)] [23 with aldosterone-secreting adrenal adenoma (APA), 20 with idiopathic aldosteronism (IHA)]. Results PA group showed higher renal filtration rate and 24-h urinary excretion of albumin respect to EH; moreover, in PA we found higher Pulsatility Index, altered percentage of Renale Resistance Index, Atrophy Index, and reducted parietal thickness than EH. The correlation study showed that plasma aldosterone were positively correlated with pulsatility index in PA group (right r = 0.35; p < 0.05; left r = 0.36; p < 0.05). Conclusion parameters obtained through the intra-renal eco-color Doppler examination, easly performed and non-invasive, can be useful in the early-stage identification of subclinical microvascular alterations, especially in PA, condition characterized by increased risk of cardio-vascular remodelling and metabolic alterations

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and pheochromocytoma: Prevalence, clinical and cardiovascular aspects

The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of pheochromocytoma (PHEO) in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), and to analyze the behavior of some anthropometric and cardiovascular parameters. In 48 consecutive NF1 patients, urinary metanephrines and vanillylmandelic acid excretion were assessed. The body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), echocardiography and ultrasound carotid arterial wall evaluation were performed. In NF1 patients, 11 (29.3%) had arterial hypertension, 7 (14.6%) had a PHEO. Four (57%) NF1 patients with PHEO were symptomatic at the diagnosis. In PHEO-NF1 patients, we revealed a lower BMI and WC values with respect to NF1 patients without PHEO and normal subjects (NSs) (p < 0.05), respectively. The nocturnal non-dipping pattern at the ABPM was present in 40.4% of NF1 patients, and in particular this phenomenon was present in PHEO-NF1 patients (71.4%). Left ventricular mass index and intima media thickness were significantly higher in NF1 patients as compared to NS (p < 0.05), particularly in NF1-PHEO patients (p < 0.05). In conclusions, these findings revealed high prevalence of PHEO in NF1 patients and suggest that, in addition to blood pressure, humoral factors (increased sympathetic activity or neurofibromin), influence the pathogenesis of remodeling of cardiovascular system. © 2010 Springer-Verlag

Right ventricular concentric hypertrophy and clinical worsening in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension

BACKGROUND: Because the pathophysiology of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is an afterload mismatch, wall stress represents the most important feature affecting the overloaded right ventricle (RV). Thus, the RV mass/volume (M/V) ratio may reflect more adequately the suitability of the remodeling pattern in minimizing RV wall stress compared with the lone RV volume. This study investigated the prognostic effect of the RV M/V ratio in IPAH. METHODS: Enrolled in our center were 74 therapy-naïve IPAH patients who were prospectively monitored for the presence of clinical worsening (CW). Baseline evaluation included clinical, hemodynamic, and echocardiographic parameters. Cardiac magnetic resonance was used for RV M/V ratio determination. RESULTS:During 541 ± 283 days of follow-up, 31 of 74 patients (42%) presented with CW. Actuarial rates of CW were 14%, 28%, and 46%, at 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. The RV M/V ratio significantly improved the power of the prognostic model based on traditional clinical, hemodynamic, and imaging parameters (area under the curve: 0.74 vs 0.66, respectively; p = 0.01). When the cutoff values of the RV M/V ratio and cardiac index (CI) derived from receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were combined, patients with a low RV M/V ratio/low CI, low RV M/V ratio/high CI, and high RV M/V ratio/low CI showed a 28.8, 8.8, and 6.1 increase in the hazard ratio, respectively, compared with high RV M/V ratio/high CI patients (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The RV M/V ratio is an independent predictor of prognosis in IPAH and may allow clinicians to better stratify patients with normal CI, identifying at an early stage those patients at higher risk of right heart failure development before hemodynamic instability appears