ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To estimate echocardiographic measurements in patients with idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias originating from right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) before and one year after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) comparing with healthy volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study consisted of 30 patients (7 women, 34.9+/-15.2 years of age) with predominantly repetitive monomorphic ventricular ectopy and nonsustained ventricular tachycardias. Arrhythmia history was 4.6+/-3.5 years. The control group consisted of 20 healthy unselected subjects (5 women, 41.9+/-5.3 years of age) without left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. All consecutive patients with idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias underwent electrophysiology study and RFA. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed before, 2, 6 and 12 months after RFA. RESULTS: Significantly higher LV end diastolic volume and lower LV ejection fraction were observed in study group patients to compare with control group patients. LV function significantly improved in postablative patients during 1 year follow up. There were no found complications associated with RFA. CONCLUSIONS: Idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias originating from right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) could be a cause of arrhythmogenic LV remodeling. Successful ablation of the focal source of right ventricular ectopy resulted in normalization of LV function during follow up period.
Subject(s)
Arrhythmias, Cardiac/diagnostic imaging , Arrhythmias, Cardiac/therapy , Catheter Ablation , Ventricular Dysfunction, Right/diagnostic imaging , Ventricular Dysfunction, Right/therapy , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Echocardiography , Female , Heart Ventricles/diagnostic imaging , Heart Ventricles/physiopathology , Hemodynamics , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Ventricular Dysfunction, Right/physiopathologyABSTRACT
AIM: To perform ultrasound dopplerography (UD) investigation of severity and prevalence of atherosclerosis/calcinosis of the central and peripheral arteries in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF); to estimate correlation between the vascular lesions and cardiovascular risk factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: UD of major arteries and echocardiography were made in 46 patients with CRF: 10 patients with initial CRF (creatinine 1.4-2.2 mg/dl) and 36 patients with terminal CRF on hemodialysis. RESULTS: Calcinates and atherosclerotic plaques were registered in the carotid and femoral arteries of all the patients. Atherosclerotic lesion was more frequent than calcinosis in the carotid arteries. Calcinosis was more frequent in the femoral arteries. The popliteal and tibial arteries were affected only by calcinosis which occurred in 20% patients with initial and 44.4% patients with terminal CRF. Calcinosis severity increased with progression of CRF while atherosclerosis severity depended more on the patients' age than on severity of CRF. The pulse wave speed in the carotid and femoral arteries was higher in marked left ventricular hypertrophy, seven (19.4%) of these patients had reduced ejection fraction of the left ventricle < 40%. CONCLUSION: Compound atherosclerotic/calcinosis lesion of the vessels is registered at early stages of CRF and progress with progression of renal failure.
Subject(s)
Calcinosis/epidemiology , Calcinosis/pathology , Carotid Artery Diseases/epidemiology , Carotid Artery Diseases/pathology , Kidney Failure, Chronic/epidemiology , Atherosclerosis/diagnostic imaging , Atherosclerosis/epidemiology , Atherosclerosis/pathology , Carotid Artery Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Disease Progression , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Peripheral Vascular Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Peripheral Vascular Diseases/epidemiology , Peripheral Vascular Diseases/pathology , UltrasonographyABSTRACT
Transthoracic and transesophagal echocardiography (TT EChG and TE EChG) were performed in 43 patients with infectious endocarditis (IE). Sensitivity and specificity of TE EChG in detection of vegetations were higher (92 and 75%, 81 and 50% for TE EChG and TT EChG, respectively). Vegetations and thromboembolism were unrelated. With TE EChG, morphologically verified perforations of valvular cusps were revealed 3 times more frequently than with TT EChG. Along with detection of vegetations and dysfunction of the prosthetic valve, an essential diagnostic marker of IE of the artificial valve is visualization of paraprosthetic fistulas in 2 of 5 patients. Indications for TT and TE EChG and techniques of their performance are described. TT EChG is used in screening for IE. TE EChG is conducted in complications of IE.
