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Global longitudinal strain (GLS) is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the general population and incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in stroke patients, but the association between GLS and AF in the general population is less well established. A total of 1,303 individuals (

Measures of global electrical heterogeneity (GEH), such as spatial ventricular gradient (SVG) reflect cardiac electrophysiological substrate associated with sudden cardiac death. We hypothesized that SVG direction on ECG is associated with regional myocardial deformation, and that this association

Background: Abnormalities of regional function are known predictors of ventricular arrhythmia. We assessed whether measures of regional longitudinal deformation by speckle tracking echocardiography improve prediction of ventricular tachyarrhythmias over clinical, echocardiography parameters, or biomarkers. Methods: We studied 1064 patients enrolled in MADIT-CRT with speckle-tracking data available. Peak longitudinal strain was obtained for the septal, lateral, anterior and inferior myocardial walls. The endpoint was the first event of ventricular tachycardia (VT) or fibrillation (VF). Results: During the median follow-up of 2.9 years, 254 (24%) patients developed VT/VF. Patients with VT/VF had significantly lower LVEF (28.3% vs 29.5%, p Conclusion: In MADIT-CRT, assessment of regional longitudinal myocardial deformation in the inferior myocardial wall provided incremental prognostic information over clinical, conventional echocardiographic risk factors, or biomarkers in predicting ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Background: Only 30% of patients receiving an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for primary prevention respond appropriately to this therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) Echocardiography at predicting appropriate ICD therapy and cardiovascular mortality (CVD) in patients with primary prevention ICD. Methods: In total, 151 ICD patients meeting primary prevention criteria, with no history of ventricular arrhythmias were included. All participants were examined by conventional 2D echocardiography and TDI echocardiography. Longitudinal systolic (s’), early diastolic (e’), and late diastolic (a’) myocardial velocities were measured using TDI at six mitral annular sites and averaged to provide global estimates. Results: Forty patients experienced the combined endpoint of ventricular tachycardia (VT), fibrillation (VF) or CVD during a median follow-up of 2.3 years. Neither left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), global longitudinal strain (GLS), E/e’, global s’ nor global e’ were significantly impaired in patients who developed VT/VF/CVD (LVEF: 31 vs. 28 %, p=0.06; GLS: 9 vs. 9 %, p=0.85; E/e’: 16 vs. 16, p=0.80; s’: 3.8 vs. 3.7 cm/s, p=0.68; e’: 4.5 vs. 4.6 cm/s, p=0.61). In contrast, global a’ was significantly lower in patients with an unfavorable outcome compared to those without (5.7±1.8 vs. 4.8±2.0 cm/s, p=0.020). Global a’ remained an independent predictor of VT/VF/CVD after multivariable adjustment for age, gender, beta blocker therapy and deceleration time (HR=1.25 [1.02; 1.54], p=0.032). Regional analysis revealed that a depressed a’ in the inferior wall drives the predictive capability of a’ (Figure). Conclusion: Late diastolic velocity by TDI seems to be a superior echocardiographic predictor of VT/VF/CVD in ischemic cardiomyopathy. Additionally, impaired late diastolic velocity in the inferior myocardial wall seems to be a paramount marker of future VT/VF/CVD.

Introduction: Despite of Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) being an important diagnostic tool for early detection of reduced myocardial function, there is still not a clear consensus on the site of measurement. It is complicated by the fact that the velocities vary between sites even within healthy individuals. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of each mitral site along with the predictive value of the intraindividual variation between sites with respect to cardiac events. Methods: Cardiac function was evaluated by TDI in 2,064 participants within a large community-based population study. Peak systolic (s’), early diastolic (e’) and late diastolic (a’) velocities were obtained from 6 mitral annular sites. To assess global variation, two parameters were calculated using all 6 sites. One as their standard deviation divided by their mean, the other as their range divided by their median. To assess the variation within each apical projection, the difference between its two sites was divided by their mean. The end point was combined of admission with acute myocardial infarction, heart failure or cardiac death. Results: During a median follow-up of 10.9 years the endpoint occurred in 277 participants. In multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression adjusted for age and sex we found that a decrease in s’, e’ or a’ from any mitral site was associated with a significantly increased risk of the combined end point. However, neither the global variation nor the variation within each apical projection retained significant associations with the end point (Table). Conclusions: In the general population, systolic and diastolic TDI velocities at all mitral annular sites are important predictors of cardiac events. Along with the lack of association between intraindividual TDI variations and these events, it suggests that for the evaluation of cardiac prognosis the choice of site is of less importance.

Objective: Tissue tracking (TT), obtained by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), can be utilized to assess the mitral annular longitudinal displacement (LD) during systole. However, the prognostic utility of regional LD in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is unknown. Methods: Transthoracic echocardiographic examinations from 911 patients with HFrEF were retrieved from a heart failure clinic’s database. The exams were performed from 2005 to 2013. The echocardiographic images were subsequently analyzed obtaining conventional echocardiographic measurements. Regional LD was obtained from the three apical TDI projections with sampling at six mitral annular sites located at the anterior, lateral, posterior, inferior, septal and anteroseptal myocardial walls. Results: During a median follow-up period of 40 months 150 (16.4 %) patients died. Patients that died had significantly lower LVEF (23.3% vs 28.3%, p Many conventional echocardiographic parameters presented as predictors of mortality (LVEF, LVMI, LAVI, E, E/e’, deceleration time and TAPSE). However, only LD at the septal and inferior annular sites remained independent predictors of mortality in cox proportional-hazards models after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, total cholesterol, heart rate, atrial fibrillation, non-independent diabetes mellitus and the aforementioned conventional echocardiographic predictors (Figure). In addition, the septal and the inferior sites had the highest Harrell’s C-statistic of all the echocardiographic predictors (0.70 and 72, respectively). Conclusion: In patients with severe heart failure, septal and inferior LD are independent predictors of all-cause mortality. Furthermore, septal and inferior LD proved to be superior prognosticators when compared to all the conventional echocardiographic parameters.

Two-dimensional (2D) speckle-tracking echocardiography has, in recent years, emerged as a new method for assessing left ventricular systolic and diastolic function.1 The technique measures the movement of nonrandom coherent speckles in 2D echocardiographic images. Speckle-tracking measures myocardial deformation through the heart cycle rather than volumetric changes between end-diastole and end-systole, the standard method for calculating left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), which is dependent on image quality, the ability to accurately trace the endocardial border, and geometric assumptions required to estimate volumes from a 2D image.2 See Article by Palmieri et al Assessment of global longitudinal strain (GLS), obtained by 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography, requires the presence of sufficient amount of speckles within the myocardial wall for tracking to work and is now present as a semiautomatic function in many ultrasound machines and in off-line devices. Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography has been shown to be a promising technique, and GLS provides an objective measurement of cardiac function, which has been demonstrated to be of prognostic value in the general population3 and in patients having a wide array of cardiac diseases, including patients with a myocardial infarction4 and patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced5 and preserved LVEF.6 Furthermore, myocardial deformation imaging has allowed for increasing recognition of subtle abnormalities of the LV function with a preserved LVEF. LV deformation is altered despite preserved LVEF in conditions predisposing to HF, including increasing age,7 hypertension,8 diabetes mellitus,9 stable angina,10 renal dysfunction,11 and obesity.12 Likewise, in patients with prevalent HF with preserved LVEF, longitudinal strain is impaired,13 despite a relative normal LVEF. These conditions are accompanied …

Cardiac time intervals (CTI) are prognostic above and beyond conventional echocardiographic measures. The explanation may be that CTI contain information about both systolic and diastolic measures; this is, however, unknown. The relationship between the CTI and systolic and diastolic function assessed by conventional, tissue Doppler (TDI) and speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) was investigated. CTI and echocardiographic measurements, including conventional, STE, and TDI echocardiography, were studied in 1088 type 1 diabetes patients without known heart disease randomly selected from the out-patient clinic at Steno Diabetes Center. The CTI were obtained by TDI M-mode through the mitral leaflet and included the isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), isovolumic contraction time (IVCT), and the myocardial performance index (MPI = (IVRT + IVCT)/ejection time). Standardized beta-values were assessed. Both systolic and diastolic measures associated with CTI. Conventional measures: left ventricular ejection fraction (stand. beta): MPI −0.34, IVRT 0.24, and IVCT −0.21, all p

ABSTRACT Continuous cardiac rhythm monitoring has undergone compelling progress over the past decades. Cardiac monitoring has emerged from 12-lead electrocardiograms being performed at the discretion of the treating physician to in-hospital telemetry, Holter monitoring, prolonged external event monitoring and most recently toward insertable device monitoring for several years. Significant advantages and disadvantages pertaining to these monitoring options will be addressed in this review. Insertable cardiac monitors have several advantages over external monitoring techniques and may signify a clinical turning point in the field of arrhythmia management. However, their role in the detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation after cryptogenic strokes has yet to evolve. This will be the main focus of this review. Issues surrounding patient selection, clinical relevance and determination of cost–effectiveness for prolonged cardiac monitoring require further studies. Furthermore, insertable cardiac monitoring has not only the potential to augment diagnostic capabilities but also to improve the management of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in clinical practice is generally diagnosed by imaging. Recognition of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction has increased interest in the detection and evaluation of this condition and prompted an improved understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different imaging modalities for evaluating diastolic dysfunction. This review briefly provides the pathophysiological background for current clinical and experimental imaging parameters of diastolic dysfunction, discusses the merits of echocardiography relative to other imaging modalities in diagnosing and grading diastolic dysfunction, summarizes lessons from clinical trials that used parameters of diastolic function as an inclusion criterion or endpoint, and indicates current areas of research.

The maximal left atrium (LA) size is a significant predictor of future atrial fibrillation (AF) however the minimal LA size, which better reflects LA function, may be superior in predicting future AF in the general population. In a large general population study, 2,200 participants underwent a

Several clinical prediction score models have been investigated for predicting mortality in patients with cerebral infarction. However, none of these include echocardiographic measures. Our objective was to evaluate the prognostic value of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) of the myocardium in patients with cerebral infarction. Two hundred forty-four patients with cerebral infarction and subsequent echocardiographic examination in sinus rhythm were identified. Using TDI in three apical projections, longitudinal mitral annular velocities were obtained in six segments. Cox regression models, C-statistics and reclassification analysis were performed for global and segmental e'. During a median follow-up of 3 years 42 patients died. Patients who died had significantly impaired systolic and diastolic function (determined by LVEF and E/e'). The risk of dying increased with decreasing global e', being approximately 13 times higher for patients in the lowest tertile compared to patients in the highest tertile (HR 13.4 [3.2;56.3], p < 0.001). Patients with significantly impaired global e' showed increased mortality after multivariable adjustment for: LVEF, E/e', age, gender, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, prior cerebral infarction, ischemic heart disease, cancer, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, carotid stenosis, mitral regurgitation, liver disease and thromboembolisms (HR 1.9 [1.1;3.2]), per 1 cm/s decrease, p < 0.05). Similar pattern was seen in segmental analyses of the e'. In contrast to e', no conventional echocardiographic parameters remained independent predictors of mortality after multivariable adjustment. Diastolic myocardial dysfunction determined as e' by TDI is a significant predictor of mortality in patients with cerebral infarction. Applying this parameter can aid the prognostic assessment after cerebral infarction.

Background: Omecamtiv mecarbil (OM) is a selective cardiac myosin activator shown to improve measures of LV structure and function. We assessed the effect of OM on myocardial strain (deformation). Methods: In the COSMIC-HF trial, 448 patients with chronic, symptomatic heart failure (HF) and left

Background: Following an ischemic event post systolic shortening (PSS) may occur. We investigated the association between PSS in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and the occurrence of cardiovascular events at follow

Background: Novel software allows for layer-specific evaluation of myocardial strain by speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE). However, the potential of layer-specific strain at rest for diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with suspected stable angina pectoris (SAP) remains

Background: The ratio of early mitral inflow velocity (E) to global diastolic strain rate (e'sr) is a significant predictor in various patient populations; whether it works as a prognosticator of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in a general population, is unknown. Method: In a general

Object: Myocardial strain deformation analysis (global strain) may be superior to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in predicting all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure. Methods: In this retrospective study transthoracic echocardiographic examinations were retrieved from Gentofte Hospital heart failure clinic’s database in 1061 patients. The echocardiographic images were subsequently analyzed and conventional echocardiographic parameters and strain data were obtained. Results: During a median follow-up of 40 months 177 (16.7 %) patient died. Mean LVEF was 23.7 % and mean global strain was -8.12.884 (83.3%) were patients alive at follow-up and mean LVEF was 28.2 % while mean global strain was -9.86 %. The risk of dying increased with decreasing tertile of global strain being approximately three times higher for the patients in the lower tertile compared to the highest tertile (1. tertile vs 3. tertile HR: 3.38 95% CI: 2.3 [[Unable to Display Character: –]] 5.1), p-value: 0.001. Many of the conventional echocardiographic parameters proved to be predictors of mortality. Global strain remained an independent predictor of mortality in cox proportional-hazards models after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, total cholesterol, heart rate, atrial fibrillation, non-independent diabetes mellitus and conventional echocardiographic parameters (p-value: 0.014, 95% CI: 1.04 [[Unable to Display Character: –]] 1.37) while ejection fraction proved to be insignificant adjusted for aforementioned characteristics (p-value: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.96 [[Unable to Display Character: –]] 1.05 Atrial fibrillation modified the relationship between GLS and mortality (p for interaction = 0.023). HR 1.08 (CI 0.97 to 1.19, p=0.150) and HR 1.22 (CI 1.15 to 1.29, p Conclusion: In male patients with systolic heart failure and without atrial fibrillation global strain is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality. Furthermore, global strain proved to be a superior prognosticator when compared to left ventricular ejection fraction.

Purpose: Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) M-mode through the mitral leaflet is an easy, fast, and precise method to estimate the cardiac time intervals from one cardiac cycle (Figure). The aim was to evaluate the usability of the cardiac time intervals in predicting major cardiovascular events (MACE) in the general population. Methods: In a large community based population study, cardiac function was evaluated in 1,915 participants by both conventional echocardiography and by TDI. The cardiac time intervals, including the isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), isovolumic contraction time (IVCT), and ejection time (ET) were obtained by TDI M-mode through the mitral leaflet (Figure). IVCT/ET, IVRT/ET and the myocardial performance index (MPI=(IVRT+IVCT)/ET) were calculated. Results: During follow-up (median 10.8 years), 383 (20%) participants reached the combined endpoint MACE (ischemic heart disease, heart failure or cardiac death). After multivariable adjustment for clinical predictors and conventional echocardiography, only the combined indexes, including information on both the systolic and diastolic performance (IVRT/ET and MPI), remained significant prognosticators (IVRT/ET: Subdistribution Hazard Ratio (SHR) 1.16 (1.00-1.34), p = 0.047; MPI: 1.11 (1.03-1.23), p = 0.024). Adding IVRT/ET or MPI to a model already including all other echocardiographic parameters resulted in a significant increase in the Harrell’s c-statistics (p Conclusion: In the general population, the combined cardiac time intervals which include information on both the systolic and diastolic function in one index (IVRT/ET and MPI) are not only powerful and independent predictors of future MACE, but provide additional prognostic information to clinical and conventional echocardiographic measures of systolic and diastolic function.

Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) M-mode through the mitral leaflet is an easy and precise method to estimate the cardiac time intervals. The aim was to evaluate the usability of the cardiac time intervals in predicting major cardiovascular events (MACE) in the general population.In a large prospective community-based study, cardiac function was evaluated in 1915 participants by both conventional echocardiography and TDI. The cardiac time intervals, including the isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), isovolumic contraction time (IVCT) and ejection time (ET), were obtained by TDI M-mode through the mitral leaflet. IVCT/ET, IVRT/ET and the myocardial performance index (MPI=(IVRT+IVCT)/ET) were calculated.During follow-up (median 10.8 years), 383 (20%) participants reached the combined endpoint MACE (ischaemic heart disease, heart failure or cardiac death). After multivariable adjustment for clinical predictors and conventional echocardiography, only the combined indexes, including information on both systolic and diastolic performance (IVRT/ET and MPI), remained significant prognosticators (p0.05 for both). Adding IVRT/ET or MPI to a model already including all other echocardiographic parameters resulted in a significant increase in the c-statistics (0.76 vs 0.75 p0.01 for both). IVRT/ET or MPI improved reclassification significantly when added to the clinical predictors (p0.05 for both).In the general population, the combined cardiac time intervals that include information on both systolic and diastolic function in one index (IVRT/ET and MPI) are not only powerful and independent predictors of future MACE, but provide additional prognostic information to clinical and conventional echocardiographic measures of systolic and diastolic function.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if systolic myocardial function is reduced in all patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) or only in patients with albuminuria.Heart failure is a common cause of mortality in T1DM, and a specific diabetic cardiomyopathy has been suggested. It is not known whether myocardial dysfunction is a feature of T1DM per se or primarily associated with diabetes with albuminuria.This cross-sectional study compared 1,065 T1DM patients without known heart disease from the outpatient clinic at the Steno Diabetes Center with 198 healthy control subjects. Conventional echocardiography and global longitudinal strain (GLS) by 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography was performed and analyzed in relation to normoalbuminuria (n = 739), microalbuminuria (n = 223), and macroalbuminuria (n = 103). Data were analyzed in univariable and multivariable linear regression models adjusted for confounding factors including conventional risk factors, medication, and systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Investigators were blinded to degree of albuminuria.Mean age was 49.5 years, 52% men, mean glycated hemoglobin 8.2% (66 mmol/mol), mean body mass index 25.5 kg/m(2), and mean diabetes duration 26.1 years. In unadjusted analyses, GLS differed significantly between T1DM patients and control subjects (p = 0.02). When stratified by degrees of albuminuria, the difference in GLS compared with control subjects was -18.8 ± 2.5% versus -18.5 ± 2.5% for normoalbuminuria (p = 0.28), versus -17.9 ± 2.7% for microalbuminuria (p = 0.001), and versus -17.4 ± 2.9% for macroalbuminuria (p 0.001). Multivariable analyses, including clinical characteristics, diastolic and systolic dysfunction, and use of medication, did not change this relationship.Systolic function assessed by GLS was reduced in T1DM compared with control subjects. This difference, however, was driven solely by decreased GLS in T1DM patients with albuminuria. T1DM patients with normoalbuminuria have systolic myocardial function similar to healthy control subjects. These findings do not support the presence of specific diabetic cardiomyopathy without albuminuria.

Cardiovascular complications including cardiac arrest and arrhythmias remain a clinical challenge in the management of acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Still, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the characteristics of arrhythmias in patients with acute traumatic SCI. The aim of this prospective observational study was to investigate the occurrence of cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac arrests in patients with acute traumatic SCI.As early as possible after SCI 24-hour Holter monitoring was performed. Additional Holter recordings were performed 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks after SCI. Furthermore, 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) were obtained shortly after SCI and at 4 weeks.Thirty patients were included. Bradycardia (heart rate (HR)50 b.p.m.) was present in 17-35% of the patients with cervical (C1-C8) SCI (n = 24) within the first 14 days. In the following 14 days, the occurrence was 22-32%. Bradycardia in the thoracic (Th1-Th12) SCI group (n = 6) was present in 17-33% during the observation period. The differences between the two groups were not statistically significant. The mean minimum HR was significantly lower in the cervical group compared with the thoracic group both on 12-lead ECGs obtained shortly after SCI (P = 0.030) and at 4 weeks (P = 0.041).Many patients with cervical SCI experience arrhythmias such as bradycardia, sinus node arrest, supraventricular tachycardia, and more rarely cardiac arrest the first month after SCI. Apart from sinus node arrests and limited bradycardia, no arrhythmias were seen in patients with thoracic SCI. Standard 12-lead ECGs will often miss the high prevalence these arrhythmias have.

Aims Mitral annular (MA) displacement reflects longitudinal left ventricular (LV) deformation and systolic velocity measurements reflect the rate of contraction; both are valuable in the diagnosis and prognosis of cardiac disease. The aim of this study was to test the agreement and reproducibility between motion mode (M-mode), colour tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), and two-dimensional strain imaging (2DSI) when measuring MA displacement and systolic velocity. Methods and results Using GE Healthcare Vivid 7 and E9 and Echopac BT11 software, MA displacement and velocity measurements by 2DSI, TDI, and M-mode determined in the septal and lateral walls in the apical four-chamber view were assessed in 50 control subjects and in 168 patients with various cardiac anomalies known to affect longitudinal displacement such as heart failure, mitral regurgitation, LV hypertrophy, and LV dilation. Intra- and inter-observer variability were tested using the Bland–Altman method in 125 patients. A relatively low bias between M-mode and TDI with respect to MA displacement (mean difference ± 1.96 standard deviation: 0.08 ± 0.35 cm) and a low bias between TDI and 2DSI with respect to MA peak systolic velocity (−0.13 ± 1.87 cm/s) were found. Reproducibility was acceptable for all methods with TDI having the lowest intra- and inter-observer variability. Conclusion LV function could be assessed in terms of MA displacement and systolic velocity using M-mode, TDI, and 2DSI. None of the measurement techniques are, however, interchangeable. Overall, TDI seems to be the most robust method, having the lowest observer variability.

Reponse to ‘Estimating the autonomic function from heart rate variability in mechanically ventilated patients after spinal cord injury’

Heart failure is one of the leading causes of mortality in type 1 diabetes. Early identification is vitally important. We sought to determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics associated with subclinical impaired systolic and diastolic function in type 1 diabetes patients without known heart disease.In this cross-sectional examination of 1,093 type 1 diabetes patients without known heart disease, randomly selected from the Steno Diabetes Center, complete clinical and echocardiographic examinations were performed and analysed in uni- and multivariable regression models.The mean (SD) age was 49.6 (15) years, 53% of participants were men, and the mean duration of diabetes was 25.5 (15) years. Overall, 15.5% (n = 169) of participants had grossly abnormal systolic or diastolic function, including 1.7% with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 45% and 14.4% with evidence of long-standing diastolic dysfunction. In univariable models, clinical characteristics associated with abnormal myocardial function were: age (per 10 years), OR (95% CI) 2.1 (1.8, 2.4); diabetes duration (per 10 years), 1.7 (1.4, 1.9); systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg, 2.7 (1.9, 3.8); diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg, 1.8 (1.0, 3.1); estimated (e)GFR60 ml min(-1) 1.73 m(-2), 3.8 (2.5, 5.9); microalbuminuria, 2.0 (1.3, 3.0); macroalbuminuria, 5.9 (3.8, 9.3); proliferative retinopathy, 3.6 (2.3, 5.8); blindness, 10.1 (3.2, 31.6); and peripheral neuropathy, 3.8 (2.7, 5.3). In multivariable models only age (2.1 [1.7, 2.5]), female sex, (1.9 [1.2, 2.8]) and macroalbuminuria (5.2 [2.9, 10.3]) remained significantly associated with subclinical grossly abnormal myocardial function.Subclinical myocardial dysfunction is a common finding in type 1 diabetes patients without known heart disease. Type 1 diabetes patients with albuminuria are at greatly increased risk of having subclinical abnormal myocardial function compared with patients without albuminuria. Echocardiography may be particularly warranted in patients with albuminuria.

To review the current literature to reveal the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias and its relation to spinal cord injury (SCI).MEDLINE database, 304 hits, and 32 articles were found to be relevant. The relevant articles all met the inclusion criteria: (1) contained original data (2) on cardiac arrhythmias (3) in humans with (4) traumatic SCI.In the acute phase of SCI (1-14 days after injury) more cranial as well as more severe injuries seemed to increase the incidence of bradycardia. Articles not covering the first 14 days after injury, thus describing the chronic phase of SCI, showed that individuals with SCI did not have a higher incidence of cardiac arrhythmias compared with able-bodied controls. Furthermore, their heart rate did not differ significantly. Penile vibro-stimulation was the procedure investigated most likely to cause bradycardia, which in turn was associated with episodes of autonomic dysreflexia. The incidence of bradycardia was found to be 17-77% for individuals with cervical SCI. For individuals with thoracolumbar SCI, the incidence was 0-13%.Bradycardia was commonly seen in the acute stage after SCI as well as during procedures such as penile vibro-stimulation and tracheal suction. These episodes of bradycardia were seen more often in individuals with cervical injuries. Longitudinal studies with continuous electrocardiogram recordings are needed to uncover the true relation between cardiac arrhythmias and SCI.

Background The true frequency of AF in patients with cryptogenic stroke or TIA is not well defined. The aim was to estimate the frequency and burden of AF in patients with apparent cryptogenic minor stroke or TIA by long term monitoring providing complete data on arrhythmia occurrence. Methods Patients with minor stroke or DWI-positive TIA were included if stroke causation remained unknown during standardized work up including 24 hours telemetry. A Reveal XT®, an atrial fibrillation sensitive loop-recorder, was implanted subcutaneously allowing continuous monitoring for up to 3 years. Arrhythmia episodes were adjudicated by senior consultant cardiologist. Endpoints include episodes of AF, time and burden of AF. A total of 84 patients were included and had a minimum of three months of monitoring before final analysis. Five patients were explanted due to local infections or discomfort. (fig.2) Results In 13 patients (15.5 %) AF was documented by long term monitoring. The mean burden of AF was 2 hours pr day monitored, varying from less than a minute to 17 hours pr day monitored. (median 20 minutes pr day monitored) Kaplan Meier (fig.1) presents time from stroke onset to first AF event, mean time was 106,0 days (SD 47,9 days) Time from stroke onset to implantation was at a median of 56 days. (Mean 80 days, SD 74,9). Logistic regression analysis including all elements of CHADS2VAS found increasing risk of AF with an OR = 1.096 (p=0.015) with increasing age in years. CHADS 2 VAS score was 4.14 in the AF group vs. 3.24 (p=0.03). Conclusion Paroxysmal AF is frequent and brief in patients with cryptogenic stroke. Long term monitoring resulted in change of treatment in one out of 6 patients in this cohort.

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular outcomes in various populations; however, the prognostic significance of LVH in subjects from the general population with decreased estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) is unknown. From the Copenhagen City Heart

We sought to devise an echocardiographic risk model by examining well-established conventional and advanced echocardiographic predictors of outcome in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We prospectively included 373 STEMI patients, who had an echocardiogram performed 2 days after their

The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the myocardial performance index (MPI), assessed by color-coded tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) M-mode through the anterior mitral leaflet. Color TDI M-mode through the mitral leaflet is an easy, very fast, and precise method to estimate cardiac intervals and thus obtain the MPI, but the diagnostic and prognostic values of this parameter are unknown. In a large population study, cardiac function was evaluated in 1,100 participants by conventional echocardiography and TDI. MPI was calculated from pulse-wave Doppler analyses of left ventricular in- and outflow using standard procedures (MPI(conv)) and by color-coded TDI M-mode through the mitral leaflet in the apical 4-chamber view (MPI(TDI)). MPI(TDI) was increased in subjects with coronary heart disease (CHD) compared to controls, even after multivariable adjustment (p0.002). During follow-up (median 5.3 years), 90 participants died. MPI(TDI) was significantly associated with overall mortality, and risk of dying increased by 31% per 0.1 increase in MPI(TDI). In contrast to MPI(conv), MPI(TDI) provided independent prognostic information in a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model (adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, and CHD), with a hazard ratio of 1.18 (p = 0.01) per 0.1 increase in MPI(TDI). In conclusion, MPI(TDI) is a quick, simple, and reproducible measurement, which is increased in subjects with CHD and provides independent prognostic information in a low-risk population.

Assessment of home aids, adaptations and personal assistance received after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries, Denmark. Uptake area, 2.5 million inhabitants. Cross-sectional follow-up with retrospective data from medical files. Individuals with traumatic SCI before 1 January 1991, still in regular follow-up and with sufficient medical record. In all, 279 were included, and 236 answered the questionnaire (193 men and 43 women), with a response rate of 84.6%. Mean age at follow-up was 50.5 years, and mean follow-up time, 24.1 years. One hundred and twenty-six were paraplegic and 110, tetraplegic. Responders and non-responders were comparable. Most common aids or adaptations reported were commode/shower chair on wheels or a seat (69%), grab bar by the toilet (41%), electrical bed (44%), special mattress (28%), lift/hoist (20%), computers (39%) and kitchen tools or cutlery with special handles (14%). In all, 7.6% of the participants reported no aids. Eighty-two percent answered ‘Yes’ to the question ‘Have the aids, you currently or previously needed, been available to you?’ The majority reported that their source of information about aid had been various journals and magazines. Twenty-one percent had personal helpers, with 60 h per week in median (range 2–168). Thirty-three percent received domestic help with 2.5 h per week in median (range 0.5–37). Eight percent had a home nurse. A total of 98.7% were living in their own homes. This is the first study of a representative SCI population giving information on home aids. Individuals with SCI in Denmark seem to be sufficiently supplied with aids and personal assistance.

Introduction: Cardiac time intervals are sensitive markers of cardiac dysfunction. The usefulness of the systolic ejection time (SET) to predict incident heart failure (HF), however, is unknown. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that SET is a strong predictor of incident HF in a community based cohort free of HF. Methods: We studied middle-aged African-Americans from the Jackson cohort of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (n52,077) who underwent echocardiography between 1993 and 1995 and were free of heart failure. SET was measured by pulsed-wave Doppler. Results: The mean age of the participants was 59 years, 37% were men, 58% had hypertension, 22% diabetes and 4% prevalent coronary heart disease (CHD). SET ranged from 194 to 778 ms (mean 341 6 35 ms)(Figure 1). During median follow-up of 16.7 years, 394 (19%) had incident HF. In unadjusted analyses, the risk of incident HF increased with decreasing SET below the mean of the population (Figure 1); HF risk was approximately 40% higher for participants with a SET below the mean vs. above the mean (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.41 [1.16; 1.73], p50.001). Lower SET was also significantly associated with higher age, male gender, higher blood pressure (BP) and heart rate, lower fractional shortening (FS) and lower E/A-ratio (p for trend ! 0.001 for all). The SETwas similarly prognostic of FS and left atrium diameter (LAD) when assessed by c-statistics (0.58 for SET, 0.57 for FS and 0.59 for LAD). SET remained an independent predictor of incident HF after adjustment for age, gender, heart rate, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, CHD, systolic and diastolic BP and conventional measures of systolic and diastolic function (FS, LAD and E/A-ratio)(HR 1.06 [1.01; 1.11], p50.013, per 10 ms decrease). Conclusion: SET is an independent predictor of incident HF in a community based cohort and provides similar prognostic information on the risk of future HF when compared to conventional measures of systolic and diastolic function.

To improve risk prediction of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, we need sensitive markers of cardiac dysfunction; Echocardiographic Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) is feasible and harmless and may be ideal for this purpose.Within the community-based Copenhagen City Heart Study, 2064 participants were examined by echocardiography including TDI and followed (median 10.9 years) with regard to cardiovascular death, heart failure, or acute myocardial infarction (n = 277). Impaired systolic (s') and diastolic (e' and a') function according to age and sex as assessed by TDI was associated with increased risk of the combined end point, even in the subgroup of persons with a normal conventional echocardiographic examination [per 1 cm/s decrease: s': HR 1.32 (1.12-1.57), P0.001; e': HR 1.17(1.04-1.31), P0.01; a': HR 1.17 (1.06-1.30), P0.005]. Interestingly, reduced early diastolic myocardial velocity (e') was associated with risk of acute myocardial infarction, whereas reduced systolic (s') or late diastolic function (a') was associated with heart failure and cardiovascular death independently of traditional risk factors, plasma proBNP, and conventional echocardiographic measures. Combining information on early and late diastolic function by TDI provided incremental prognostic information and improved risk classification (net reclassification improvement: 27%; P0.001) and remained a significant predictor of the combined end point even in the subgroup with a normal conventional echocardiographic examination [per cm/s decrease: HR 1.18 (1.08-1.28), P0.001].In the general population, TDI identifies individuals with cardiac dysfunction and high risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality independently of traditional risk factors, even in persons with a normal conventional echocardiographic examination.

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic value of segmental Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) after an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Method: In total 391 patients were admitted with a STEMI. Echocardiography was performed median 2 days after the STEMI. The longitudinal systolic (s'), early diastolic (e') and late diastolic (a') myocardial velocities together with the maximal longitudinal systolic displacement (LD) were measured by color TDI at 6 mitral annular sites. Median-follow-up: 25 months. Primary endpoint: Death, heart failure or a new myocardial infarction. Results: Using the mean value of s', e', a' and LD at each of the 6 myocardial segments as cutoff, each segment was classified as high or low segmental s', e', a' or LD, respectively. Patients were stratified into three groups defined by having 4 segments with low s', e', a' or LD, respectively. Patients with >4 segments with low s', e' or LD had more than two times the risk of the combined endpoint, than patients with

Background— Two-dimensional strain echocardiography detects early signs of left ventricular dysfunction; however, it is unknown whether myocardial strain analysis at rest in patients with suspected stable angina pectoris predicts the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods and Results— In total, 296 consecutive patients with clinically suspected stable angina pectoris, no previous cardiac history, and normal left ventricular ejection fraction were included. All patients were examined by 2-dimensional strain echocardiography, exercise ECG, and coronary angiography. Two-dimensional strain echocardiography was performed in the 3 apical projections. Peak regional longitudinal systolic strain was measured in 18 myocardial sites and averaged to provide global longitudinal peak systolic strain. Duke score, including ST-segment depression, chest pain, and exercise capacity, was used as the outcome of the exercise test. Patients with an area stenosis ≥70% in ≥1 epicardial coronary artery were categorized as having significant CAD (n=107). Global longitudinal peak systolic strain was significantly lower in patients with CAD compared with patients without (17.1±2.5% versus 18.8±2.6%; P P =0.016] per 1% decrease). Area under receiver operating characteristic curve for exercise test and global longitudinal peak systolic strain in combination was significantly higher than that for exercise test alone (0.84 versus 0.78; P =0.007). Furthermore, impaired regional longitudinal systolic strain identifies which coronary artery is stenotic. Conclusions— In patients with suspected stable angina pectoris, global longitudinal peak systolic strain assessed at rest is an independent predictor of significant CAD and significantly improves the diagnostic performance of exercise test. Furthermore, 2-dimensional strain echocardiography seems capable of identifying high-risk patients.