Branislava Ivanovic

• MD, PhD
• Professor at University of Belgrade

Background Aortic valve stenosis (AS) is a common cause of left ventricular (LV) pressure overload and subsequent hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction. The extent of LV hypertrophy does not necessarily correlate with the severity of valve stenosis and excessive LV remodeling can be seen in moderate AS. Therefore aortic stenosis is the disease of v...

Background Degenerative aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common progressive valvular disease and it is followed by adaptive left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. LV hypertrophy is a compensatory mechanism aimed at reducing wall stress it also alters myocardial perfusion and impairs function and is tightly associated with heart failure with perserved e...

Introduction: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections in the world. Cardiac complications of the disease are usually in the form of endocarditis, and, to a lesser extent, in the form of myopericarditis. Case: We report the case of a 34-year-old female admitted with signs of fever, nausea, and headache. The patient came from Libya,...

Infective endocarditis is a rare disease with an increasing incidence and an unaltered high mortality rate, despite medical development. Imaging plays an integrative part in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis, with echocardiography as the initial diagnostic test. Research data in the utility of cardiac computed tomography (CCT) in the diagnost...

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare disease with a high mortality rate and rising incidence, requiring timely and precise diagnosis in order to choose appropriate therapy. Imaging of morphologic lesions is an integrative part of diagnosis. Artifacts and the patient's habitus make echocardiography difficult to visualize advanced-form...

Aims Cardiac device–related infective endocarditis (CDRIE) is a severe complication of cardiac device (CD) implantation and is usually treated by antibiotic therapy and percutaneous device extraction. Few studies report the management and prognosis of CDRIE in real life. In particular, the rate of device extraction in clinical practice and the mana...

Cardiac device–related endocarditis as a device-therapy complication is a growing problem due to higher life expectancy and the increasing number of abandoned leads and subclinical symptoms. We reported a case of a 47-year-old woman with an implanted pacemaker who was admitted to the clinic for cardiology due to the right-sided device-related infec...

Advanced cardiac imaging (ACI), including myocardial deformation imaging, 3D echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance, overcomes the limitations of conventional echocardiography in the assessment of patients with primary mitral regurgitation (MR). They enable a more precise MR quantification and reveal early changes before advanced and irrev...

This review summarizes current knowledge about echocardiographic modalities used to assess microvascular function and left ventricular (LV) systolic function in women with ischemia and no obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA). Although the entire pathophysiological background of this clinical entity still remains elusive, it is primarily linked to...

A comprehensive understanding of the cardiac structure-function relationship is essential for proper clinical cardiac imaging. This review summarizes the basic heart anatomy and physiology from the perspective of a heart imager focused on myocardial mechanics. The main issues analyzed are the left ventricular (LV) architecture, the LV myocardial de...

Infective endocarditis (IE) poses a large diagnostic and therapeutical challenge. An early diagnosis is necessary for a positive outcome. Echocardiography is initial diagnostic method when there is a possibility of IE presence. TTE and TEE are useful in detection, accurate localisation and estimation of vegetation size, and also in detection of par...

Introduction. Coronary artery aneurysms are rare disorders, especially left main coronary artery aneurysm. In literature there are number of reported cases with coronary artery aneurysms, various localization, size, clinical presentation and way of treatment. There is no unique consensus about the most adequate treatment in these patients; surgery...

Infective endocarditis (IE) was first described more than 350 years ago. It is a disease of the endocardial surface of the heart. Infection typically involves the cardiac valves (native or prosthetic) or an indwelling cardiac device. The cardiac manifestations could include valvular vegetation, abscess, periannular extension of infection. The clini...

Aortic dissection (AD) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are both serious and life-threatening conditions that rarely occur concomitantly. We report a case of a male patient with chronic aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism and decompensated cardiomyopathy with focus on the usage of computed tomography (CT) to ensure timely diagnosis and improve patient...

Objective: We sought to investigate the predictive value of right ventricular (RV) remodeling and 24-h blood pressure (BP) patterns on long-term cardiovascular prognosis in the initially untreated hypertensive patients. Methods: The current study included 505 initially untreated hypertensive patients who were consequently included in this study...

Echocardiography is essential for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE), treatment choice and follow-up. Prognosis in IE is multifactorial and includes both structural changes of the heart induced by IE and extra-cardiac IE complications. Aims Aims of the study were to analyse: 1) relation between embolic complications of IE and structural...

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by transient systolic dysfunction of apical and central parts of the left ventricle in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. Usually, it is triggered by intense emotional or physical stress. The prognosis tends to be good. Rare complications include heart failure, cardiogenic shock, left ventr...

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of aortic stenosis (AS) on right ventricular (RV) strain and particularly the importance of arterial hypertension on this association. This cross‐sectional study included 107 patients with moderate and severe AS (with and without hypertension) and preserved left ventricular ejection fr...

Secondary metastatic deposits in the heart are generally rarely diagnosed antemortem. Malignant tumors of gynecologic origin commonly spread to the bones, lungs, local cervical region and the supra-clavicular lymph nodes, while gynecologic metastases to the thoracic region are rarely seen in clinical practice. We present a case of squamous cervical...

Hypertension was thought to be more important cardiovascular risk factor in men than in women. However, studies showed that overall incidence of hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases is higher in women comparing with men and this is particularly valid in menopause when prevalence of hypertension and its complications sharply and suddenly ris...

OBJECTIVE: The influence of arterial hypertension on aortic stenosis severity is still controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of hypertension on LV strain in patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 115 patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis and preserved...

Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) represents a rare and serious complication of valve replacement associated with high morbidity and mortality, which significantly differs from native valve endocarditis (NVE). There are two major problems: establishing diagnosis and treatment of PVE. Diagnosis in PVE is challenging and often requires several imag...

The importance of right ventricular (RV) structure and function in cardiovascular and total morbidity and mortality has been confirmed previously. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of gender on RV structure and function in untreated hypertensive patients. This cross‐sectional study included 243 subjects who underwent 24‐hour a...

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of sex on left ventricular mechanics in hypertensive individuals. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 171 untreated hypertensive patients and 112 normotensive controls who underwent a 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and comprehensive echocardiographic examination i...

Intraoperative bradycardia (IOB) is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias observed in clinical anaesthetic practice. Controlled hypotension, as a strategy of lowering patient’s blood pressure during anesthesia has been practiced for decades in head and neck surgery. The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and the risk factors for i...

Background: The etiology of infective endocarditis (IE) is changing. More aggressive forms with multiple IE cardiac lesions have become more frequent. This study sought to explore the relationship between contemporary causative microorganisms and IE cardiac lesions and to analyze the impact of multiple lesions on treatment choice. Methods: In 24...

Objective: We sought to investigate left ventricular (LV) function and deformation, as well as heart rate variability (HRV), and their relationship, in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Methods: The study included 49 SSc patients and 38 age-matched healthy subjects. All patients underwent clinical examination, serological tests, 24-h Holte...

We aimed to determine left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) structure, function and mechanics, as well as heart rate variability (HRV), and their relationship, in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). The study included 41 SSc patients and 30 age-matched healthy volunteers. All the patients underwent clinical examination, serological t...

The authors aimed to investigate right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with white-coat hypertension (WCH) and sustained arterial hypertension. This cross-sectional study included 153 untreated patients who underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring and complete two-dimensional echocardiographic (2D...

We sought to compare left ventricular deformation in subjects with white-coat hypertension to normotensive and sustained hypertensive patients. This cross-sectional study included 139 untreated subjects who underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and completed 2- and 3-dimensional examination. Two-dimensional left ventricular multila...

The aim of this review article is to summarize the current knowledge about mechanisms that connect blood pressure regulation and hypercholesterolemia, the mutual interaction between hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, and their influence on atherosclerosis development. Our research shows that at least one-third of the population of Western Europ...

The aim of this study was to determine right ventricular (RV) and right atrial (RA) deformation assessed by two-dimensional echocardiographic and three-dimensional echocardiographic (3DE) imaging in patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This cross-sectional study included 47 untreated normotensive subjects with prediabetes, 57 rec...

The authors sought to investigate left ventricular (LV) mechanics and heart rate variability (HRV), and their relationship, in untreated hypertensive patients. A total of 63 untreated hypertensive patients and 45 healthy patients were included. All patients underwent 24-hour Holter monitoring and echocardiographic examination (two- and three-dimens...

Background Our aim was to investigate left ventricular (LV) mechanics estimated by two- (2DE) and three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) strains in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).Methods This cross-sectional study included 50 untreated normotensive DM subjects and 50 healthy controls similar by sex and age. All the subjects underwent...

To evaluate phasic function and deformation of the left atrium (LA) and right atrium (RA) in subjects with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This cross-sectional study included 50 untreated normotensive subjects with prediabetes, 60 recently diagnosed normotensive diabetic patients and 60 healthy controls of similar sex and age. All the sub...

Objective: To evaluate left-ventricular mechanics estimated by two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) speckle tracking analyses in patients with the metabolic syndrome. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 95 untreated patients with metabolic syndrome and 65 controls similar by sex and age. Metabolic syndrome was defined by the presence...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of the metabolic syndrome on the left ventricular geometry as well as on the early and mid-time outcome in patients with aortic stenosis who underwent aortic valve replacement. Methodology: The study included 182 patients who underwent aortic valve replacement due to aortic stenosis....

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between functional capacity and left ventricular (LV) and left atrial (LA) myocardial deformation, assessed by two- and three-dimensional (2DE and 3DE) strain analysis, in subjects with high-normal blood pressure (BP). Methods: This cross-sectional study included 64 subjects with optimal BP and 75 subjects...

The influence of arterial hypertension on functional capacity is poorly understood. Studies have shown that peak oxygen consumption has been reduced in hypertensive patients, but the mechanisms are unclear. Left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction, as well as left ventricular hypertrophy, are associated with lower functional capacity in...

Background: We sought to investigate the influence of the metabolic syndrome (MS) on new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF), and occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in a period of 3 years after isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. Methodology: The study included 460 patien...

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between increasing blood pressure (BP) and right ventricular (RV) and right atrial (RA) mechanics using two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) strain analysis and three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE). This cross-sectional study included 58 individuals with optimal BP, 57 individuals with hig...

The J-shaped relationship between blood pressure lowering and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has been the topic of debates in the last three decades, especially because it has been shown that this relationship is not the same in different populations of hypertensive patients. This phenomenon is very important from a clinical point of view b...

The J-shaped relationship between blood pressure lowering and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has been the topic of debates in the last three decades, especially because it has been shown that this relationship is not the same in different populations of hypertensive patients. This phenomenon is very important from a clinical point of view b...

Left atrial (LA) mechanics has been poorly investigated in women with subclinical hypothyroidism (SHT), and the effect of levothyroxine therapy on LA deformation and function is unknown. To investigate LA phasic function and mechanics assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) and speckle tracking in women with SHT, and to estimate the infl...

The purpose of this study was to investigate left ventricular (LV) mechanics in hypertensive patients by 2- and 3-dimensional (3D) speckle tracking imaging, and determine the relation between the LV mechanics and functional capacity in this population. This cross-sectional study included 51 recently diagnosed, untreated, hypertensive patients, 49 t...

To assess the presence of subclinical left ventricular myocardial dysfunction in subjects with high-normal blood pressure (BP) and untreated arterial hypertension, using three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography strain analysis. This cross-sectional study included 49 subjects with optimal BP, 50 subjects with high-normal BP, and 50 newly diagnosed un...

We sought to assess right-ventricular and right atrial deformation in patients with arterial hypertension by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging and three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE), and define the relationship between right-ventricular mechanics and exercise capacity in the study population. This cross-sectional study included recentl...

Background The aim of this study was to investigate left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) structure, function, and mechanics in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SHT), and to evaluate the effect of a 1-year levothyroxine treatment. Material/Methods We compared 45 untreated women with subclinical hypothyroidism and 35 healthy con...

PurposeThe aim of this study was to investigate the influence of metabolic syndrome (MS) on left ventricular (LV) structure and function depending on gender. Methods The study included 235 never-treated MS subjects and 138 controls. MS was defined as the presence of three or more National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III cr...

Metabolic syndrome represents a cluster of atherogenic risk factors including hypertension, insulin resistance, obesity, and dyslipidemia. Considering that all of these risk factors could influence the development of atrial fibrillation, an association between atrial fibrillation and the metabolic syndrome has been suggested. Additionally, oxidativ...

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Risk factors are rarely seen individually, and the 2 most common and most frequently associated risk factors are hypertension and dyslipidemia (DL). Studies conducted in different parts of the world uniquely point out insufficient efficacy of hypertension and DL treatment, which is r...

The aim of this study was to determine left ventricular and left atrial function in untreated hypertensive patients with different blood pressure (BP) patterns by using two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) and three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) speckle tracking analyses. This cross-sectional study included 147 recently diagnosed hypertensiv...

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate right ventricular (RV) and right atrial (RA) function and mechanics in untreated hypertensive patients with different blood pressure (BP) patterns by using two-dimensional (2DE) speckle tracking analyses and three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE). This cross-sectional study included 174 recently d...

The cluster of metabolic and hemodynamic abnormalities which characterize the metabolic syndrome (MS) is responsible for subclinical cardiac and extra-cardiac damage such as left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, carotid atherosclerosis and microalbuminuria. The development of different non-invasive imaging methods enabled a detail in...

Arterial hypertension and atrial fibrillation (AF) are very prevalent cardiovascular diseases, commonly seen together. Considering the fact that frequency of these medical conditions is constantly increasing due to human life extension, AF will be one of the major risks of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the future. Several pathophysiolog...

Abstract The aim of this study was to compare the right ventricular (RV) structure and diastolic function between normotensive and non-diabetic subjects with metabolic syndrome (MS), and new diagnosed diabetic and hypertensive patients. Study included 89 normotensive and non-diabetic subjects with MS which was defined by the presence ≥3 ATP-NCEP-II...

Objective: The aim of our study was to define the relationship between the metabolic syndrome (MS), nondipping pattern, and their interaction on right ventricular (RV) structural and functional changes in untreated hypertensive patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 318 recently diagnosed hypertensive patients. MS was defined by...

Background Hypotension is a common adverse effect of IV anaesthetics, especially during the induction of anaesthesia. The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and risk factors for intraoperative hypotension (IOH) in thyroid surgery, as well as to determine whether and to what extent IOH affects the occurrence of postoperative hypotension...

Introduction: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare disease which manifests in different ways. Case outline: We are presenting a female patient who was suspected of IE based on the presence of fever, accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, increased levels of C-reactive protein and echocardiographic findings of filamentous structures on the...

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of nondipping arterial blood pressure pattern and the metabolic syndrome (MS), as well as their interaction, on left ventricular (LV) structural and function remodeling. The study included 352 never-treated hypertensive patients with and without MS. Nondipping pattern and MS, separately, as well a...

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of metabolic syndrome (MS) on right ventricular (RV) remodeling in different genders. Methods: The study included 341 subjects (216 subjects with MS and 125 controls). MS was defined by the presence of ≥ 3 ATP-NCEP-III criteria. All subjects underwent complete two-dimensional echocardio...

Background We sought to investigate right ventricular (RV) and right atrial (RA) deformation obtained by three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) and two-dimensional (2DE) strain in subjects with the metabolic syndrome (MS). Methods This cross-sectional study included 108 untreated subjects with the MS and 75 controls similar by sex and age. The M...

Coronary artery disease is one of the risk factors for myocardial infarction and it is present in 40% of patients who are undergoing noncardiac surgery. Despite evidence of the benefit of the antiplatelet therapy in patients at risk of cardiac complications, aspirin treatment is often discontinued before surgery due to the risk of perioperative ble...

A patient presented with a large pericardial tumor of uncertain etiology. Five years earlier, she had been treated for myxoid liposarcoma of the thigh. For pre-surgical evaluation, conventional radiography, positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT of the heart, transthoracic echocardiography (T...

The aim of this study was to determine which risk factors have an influence on occurrence, clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of patients with idiopathic rupture of the chordae tendineae (RCT). The study included 149 patients with diagnosed RCT by transthoracic echocardiography: 90 (60.4%) patients with the idiopathic RCT and 59 (39.6%)...

Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a life threatening condition of unknown cause that occurs in previously healthy women. It is characterized by symptoms of heart failure due to left ventricular dysfunction that occurs in the last month of pregnancy or the first five months after delivery. We presented woman who underwent caesarean section due to preecla...

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors responsible for the development of target organ damage. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the increasing number of MS risk factors on left ventricular function assessed by noninvasive methods. The study included 204 subjects with MS and 76 controls with no MS...

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of a nondipping arterial blood pressure pattern on the right ventricular (RV) structure, diastolic, and global function in recently diagnosed hypertensive patients. This cross-sectional study included 189 recently diagnosed hypertensive patients. All participants underwent 24 h ambulatory blo...

Hyperthyroidism has many characteristic manifestations of various organ systems. Cardiovascular effects are frequent in these patients. A less known complication of hyperthyroidism is reversible right-sided heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. In the patient presented, the symptoms of atrial fibrillation and right-sided heart failure were the...

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of echocardiographic parameters to predict response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). CRT reduces morbidity and mortality due to the proper selection of candidates for CRT. The 12-month trial was performed on 70 optimally medicated patients with standard inclusion criteria: NYHA class II...

The aim of our study was to determine clinical and echocardiographic parameters, which impacted the left (LV) and right ventricular (RV) diastolic and global function in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). The study included 50 SSc patients and 48 age-matched healthy volunteers. All the patients underwent clinical examination, serological tests...

The aim of the paper was to examine the correlation between the total risk of cardiovascular events, determined by the SCORE (Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation) system, and bone density in postmenopausal women. Examinees and method: The research involved 300 postmenopausal women. On the basis of bone density measurements, the participants were di...

Cogan’s syndrome (CS) is a rare inflammatory disorder characterized by interstitial keratitis and vestibuloauditory abnormalities often associated with various systemic manifestations. Involvement of cardiovascular system resembling systemic vasculitis may lead to severe complications and death. The present report describes a case of a female patie...

Dipping and nondipping blood pressure (BP) patterns are associated with different levels of target organ damage and cardiovascular risk. The aim of our investigation was to determine the relationship between different BP patterns (dipping, nondipping, extreme dipping and reverse dipping type) and cardiac structure, and function in hypertensive pati...

The impact of metabolic syndrome (MS) on the right ventricle (RV) is not clarified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of MS and its components on RV structure and function. The study included 265 subjects with MS and 118 controls adjusted by age. MS was defined by the presence of ≥3 ATP-NCEP III criteria. All subjects underwent la...

The metabolic syndrome (MS) represents a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors that act synergistically. The aim of this study was to determine which parameters were independently associated with the global left ventricular (LV) function in subjects with MS estimated with the Tei index. The study included 234 subjects with MS and 96 controls adjus...

The metabolic syndrome (MS) is associated with subclinical damage of different organs.The aim of this study was to determine which risk factors of MS were independently associated with left ventricular structure and function (diastolic and global). The study included 204 subjects with MS and 88 control subjects with no risk factors. The metabolic s...

Left atrial myxomas are a rare but well known cause of cerebrovascular accidents in young people. Cerebral embolism is the most common cause of cerebral ischemic stroke. The intracranial aneurysm is rarely associated with myxoma. We report the case of a patient who had an operation of PICA aneurysm due to subarachnoid hemorrhage ten months before t...

New-onset atrial fibrillation is the most common form of rhythm disturbance following coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG). It is still unclear which factors have a significant impact on its occurrence after this procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical predictors of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after myocardi...

Arterial hypertension is not an independent risk factor in cardiovascular complications in noncardiac surgery. Nevertheless, preoperative evaluation is necessary and includes estimation of arterial hypertension grade and possible damage of target organs. In patients with first and second grade of arterial hypertension postponement of elective inter...

In patients with valvular heart disease planned for any type of surgery preoperative evaluation and preparation are especially important for a successfull outcome of the surgery. Preoperative preparation and intraoperative treatment of patients with valvular heart disease are different de-Spending on the type of valvular disease: aortic stenosis, a...

Cardiomyopathies are myocardial diseases in which there is structural and functional disorder of the heart muscle, in the absence of coronary artery disease, hypertension, valvular disease and congenital heart disease. Cardiomyopathies are grouped into specific morphological and functional phenotypes: dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyop...

Preoperative evaluation of patients with thyroid land disease, in any kind of surgery, should include the possibility of difficult intubation caused by thyromegaly, the hormonal status (its disbalance), as well as the screening, and therapy of consequences of thyroid imbalance on specific organ systems, especially cardiovascular. It is necessary to...

Cardiac myxomas are benign tumors of endocardial origin. Symptoms might mimic heart disease as well as infectious disease, immunodeficiency, and malignant processes. We present the case of a 59-year-old female patient with a large right ventricular myxoma that was connected to the basal interventricular septum. Movement in systole provoked the obst...

Over half a century ago the process of prevention of infective endocarditis in patients with predisposed cardiac diseases was started. The application of prevention has been based on the fact that infective endocarditis is preceded by bacteraemia, which can be caused by some invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and whose development can...

Objective: The metabolic syndrome (MS) represents a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors which act synergistically. The aim of this study was to estimate the influence of gender, if any, on the relationship between MS and left ventricular (LV) diastolic function. Method: The study included 175 subjects with MS (57% women) and 89 controls (60% wom...