Prognostic value of left atrial strain quantification from 2D ultrasound imaging in post-ischemic heart failure patients: evidence from the REMODEL-HF study.

Background: Left atrial (LA) function can be effectively assessed by measuring longitudinal LA strain (LAS) via two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE). Here, we test 2DSTE-based LAS as marker of different left ventricle (LV) remodeling patterns and as prognostic index in ischemic heart failure (HF) candidates to surgical ventricular reconstruction.

Methods: We retrospectively considered ischemic HF patients with anterior (group A, n=130) or posterior (group P, n=48) LV remodeling.

Elucidating the mechanisms underlying left ventricular function recovery in patients with ischemic heart failure undergoing surgical remodeling: A 3-dimensional ultrasound analysis.

Objective: The study objective was to elucidate the mechanisms of left ventricle functional recovery in terms of endocardial contractility and synchronicity after surgical ventricular reconstruction.

Methods: Real-time 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography was performed on 20 patients with anterior left ventricle remodeling and ischemic heart failure before surgical ventricular reconstruction and at 6-month follow-up, and on 15 healthy controls matched by age and body surface area. Real-time 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography datasets were analyzed through TomTec software (4D LV-Analysis; TomTec Imaging Systems GmbH, Unterschleissheim, Germany): Left ventricle volumes, ejection fraction, and global longitudinal strain were computed; the time-dependent endocardial surface yielded by 3-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography was postprocessed through in-house software to quantify local systolic minimum principal strain as a measure of fiber shortening and mechanical dispersion as a measure of fiber synchronicity.

Comparable outcomes between genders in patients undergoing surgical ventricular reconstruction for ischaemic heart failure.

Aims: Female sex and heart failure (HF) are considered poor prognostic factors for surgery. We aimed to investigate the association between sex and surgical outcomes in patients with ischaemic HF undergoing surgical ventricular reconstruction and coronary artery bypass grafting.

Methods And Results: From July 2001 to June 2017, 648 patients [111 women (17%) and 537 men (83%)] were referred to our centre.