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ABSTRACT: To determine whether NT pro-BNP levels are high in patients reporting pericardial diseases, as well as to investigate how they relate to diastolic dysfunction echocardiographic measures.
Twenty-five patients were split into two groups: 1) pericardial effusion (PE): 15 patients; 2) constrictive pericarditis (CP): 10 patients. A control group was made up with 30 individuals reporting no heart disease. Pericardial effusion was evaluated by bidimensional echocardiogram, with restriction evaluated by pulsed Doppler of mitral flow. CP diagnosis was confirmed by MRI. NT pro-BNP levels were measured by immunoassay and detected by electrochemiluminescence.
From the 15 PD patients, 14 reported relevant PD, and only 1, moderate PD. Log NT pro-BNP was shown to be higher in PD (p < 0.05), with log mean of 2.31 pg/ml and CP (p < 0.05), with log mean of 2.67 pg/ml, when compared to control group, log mean of 1.32 pg/ml. No difference was reported between PD and CP (p = 0.149). The NT pro-BNP log showed to be correlated to peak velocity of the E wave (r = 0.845; p = 0.001) and with E/A (r = 0.717; p = 0.003).
NT pro-BNP is shown to have increased in pericardial diseases, and is associated to diastolic dysfunction. It may serve as an additional method in quantifying restriction.
Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia 03/2006; 86(3):175-80. · 0.88 Impact Factor
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Carlos E Rochitte,
Paulo F Oliveira,
Joalbo M Andrade, Bárbara M Ianni,
José R Parga,
Luiz F Avila,
Roberto Kalil-Filho,
Charles Mady,
José C Meneghetti,
João A C Lima,
José A F Ramires
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ABSTRACT: We sought to investigate whether myocardial delayed enhancement (MDE) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could quantify myocardial fibrosis (MF) in patients with Chagas' heart disease (CHD), thus defining the severity of the disease.
Myocardial fibrosis secondary to ischemic disease can be imaged using MDE. Advanced CHD is characterized by progressive MF.
Fifty-one patients with CHD were enrolled: 15 seropositive asymptomatic participants in the indeterminate phase (IND); 26 patients with known clinical CHD; and 10 patients with known CHD and ventricular tachycardia (VT). Using a 1.5-T MRI system, we acquired left ventricular (LV) short-axis slices using cine-MRI (LV function) and inversion-recovery gradient-echo (MDE).
Myocardial fibrosis by MRI was present in 68.6% of all patients, in 20% of IND, 84.6% of CHD, and 100% of VT (p < 0.001). Quantified MF increased progressively across disease severity subgroups (0.9 +/- 2.3% in IND; 16.0 +/- 12.3% in CHD; and 25.4 +/- 9.8% in VT, p < 0.001) and New York Heart Association functional classes (I: 7.5 +/- 9.5%; II: 21.9 +/- 13.8%; and III: 25.3 +/- 9.9% of LV mass, p < 0.001). Left ventricular ejection fraction and MF had significant negative correlation (r = -0.78, p < 0.001), similar to the segmental MF and function: 4.9 +/- 15.1% of MF in normal function, 32.5 +/- 32.5% in mildly hypokinetic, 57.8 +/- 31.4% in severely hypokinetic, and 72.3 +/- 36.2% in akinetic and dyskinetic segments, respectively (p < 0.001).
In CHD, MDE by MRI quantifies MF that not only can be detected in the early asymptomatic stages but parallels well-established prognostic factors and provides unique information for clinical disease staging.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology 11/2005; 46(8):1553-8. · 14.16 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The patient was a 70-year-old female with antecedents of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, being followed up in the outpatient care clinic due to chronic anemia after corrective surgery for angiodysplasia of the proximal jejunum, in whom an image suggestive of left atrial myxoma was found on routine transthoracic echocardiography. Then multiplanar transesophageal echocardiography and 3-dimensional echocardiography were performed, showing the latter better anatomical details of the tumor. The patient underwent exeresis of the mass with anatomicopathological confirmation of the tumor. Three-dimensional echocardiography proved to be a technique that can provide additional contributions to the diagnostic investigation of structural heart diseases.
Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia 04/2004; 82(3):281-3. · 0.88 Impact Factor
