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Abstract The present study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of percutaneous treatment of aortic coarctation using self-expandable uncovered Nitinol stents. We conducted a retrospective clinical data review of all patients with aortic coarctation and treated with self-expandable uncovered Nitinol stents at our institution between 2009 and 2019. The gradient pressure across the coarctation site was measured using aortography. Follow-up echocardiography and computed tomography angiography were performed to assess possible stent complications. A total of 127 stents were successfully implanted in 125 patients (64.8% males) with a mean age of 35.36 ± 11.9 years. The gradient across the coarctation site decreased significantly from 67.48 ± 14.79 to 5.04 ± 3.01 mmHg (P

Introduction: Hypotension during dialysis is a common complication of hemodialysis and is associated with increased patient mortality and morbidity. Intradialytic hypotension is a decrease in systolic BP ≥20 mm Hg or a reduction in mean arterial pressure by 10 mm Hg along with clinical events and the need for correction. This study compares cardiac function, using transthoracic echocardiography with strain modality in patients with intradialytic hypotension with those without hypotension during dialysis. Methods: We studied 60 patients with chronic renal failure undergoing regular hemodialysis from April 2018 to February 2019. We compared thirty patients in the intradialytic hypotension group, with the remaining 30 patients in the control group. We did transthoracic echocardiography a day after hemodialysis using conventional, tissue doppler, and strain imaging. Results: Early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (e’) was lower in the intradialytic hypotension group in comparison with the control group which their difference was statistically significant (5.540±1.51 versus 6.920±1.98, P value:0.007) Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) was also significantly lower in the intradialytic hypotension group (51.07± 8.714 versus 59.43±4.133, P value

Background: Clinical education provides an opportunity for students to acquire necessary competency in the clinical education wards (CEWs) through applying knowledge in a controlled clinical setting. Different Studies have reported that from the students’ point of view, clinical teachers’ competence and virtues are the most important factors for facilitating clinical education. This study was conducted to understand the viewpoints and experiences of second-year occupational therapy students of a competent clinical teacher. Methods: In this study, a qualitative content analysis method was utilized. Focus groups were formed in two stages with the participation of five students. After focus group meetings and data analysis, individual interviews continued to acquire data saturation. ‏The codes were extracted based on meaning units. Results: Five hundred twenty-one open codes were extracted which were classified into 25 subcategories and three main categories. The interviewees enumerated many different characteristics for an effective clinical teacher. Conclusions: From the perspective of second-year undergraduate OT students, an effective clinical teacher has specific personal and professional characteristics. Proper planning in OT departments consistent with the goals and content of theoretical as well as clinical courses, plus selecting the right people with sufficient clinical experience who are interested in differ

PurposeInfective endocarditis (IE) remains a disease with high morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics and echocardiographic features of patients with IE.MethodsWe analyzed patients with either definitive or probable diagnosis of IE who were hospitalized in a teaching hospital in Mashhad, Iran between June 2011 and January 2020. Patients who survived were followed up by echocardiography for at least 6-month after hospital discharge.ResultsA total of 82 cases with IE were included of which 62 (75.6%) received definitive diagnosis. The mean age was 39.7 ± 18.7 years and 52 (63.4%) were male. The most common preexisting structural cardiac abnormality that predispose patients to IE were congenital heart diseases (28 %) of which bicuspid aortic valve was more common (n = 12, 14.6%), followed by ventricular septal defect (n = 9, 11%) and Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) (n = 2, 2.4%). Three (3.6 %) cases had rheumatic heart disease and 12 (14.6 %) were injecting drug users. The most common causative pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus, detected in 7 (19.4%) cases. Follow-up echocardiography revealed right or left ventricular failure in 10 (12.1%) cases. Cardiac complications occurred in 41 (50%) cases and systemic complications in 63 (76.8%). All-cause mortality was 41.5% (n = 34) and 6 (18.1%) patients died due to cardiovascular complications.ConclusionsThe short- and long-term prognosis in IE was poor and the predictors for in-hospital and 1-year mortality were defined as heart failure and septic shock. Congenital heart disease and intravenous illicit drug using (IVDU) were the most common predisposing condition which may necessitate a revision in the IE prophylaxis recommendations.

To compare the cosmetic outcome and acute cutaneous, cardiac, and pulmonary toxicity profile of accelerated hypofractionated and conventional whole breast radiotherapy (WBRT).This was a blocked randomized, clinical trial on women with early-stage node-negative invasive breast cancer after breast conservation surgery (BCS) with clear margins randomly assigned to receive WBRT either at a conventional dose of 50.0 grays (Gy) in 25 fractions (the conventional group) or at a dose of 42.5 Gy in 16 fractions (the hypofractionated group). Boost irradiation was permitted in both groups. Data were analyzed by SPSS V21.0 using Mann–Whitney U, independent-samples t- and Chi-Square/Fisher's exact tests at the level of P≤0.05.The median follows up was 16 months. Forty-one patients in the conventional WBRT arm and 45 patients in the hypofractionated WBRT group were enrolled. No significant difference was observed in terms of left and right ventricle systolic dysfunction and diastolic dysfunction. Pulmonary function tests after 6 and 12 months follow up, were comparable in both groups (P=0.2). Skin toxicity during and after treatment was acceptable in both groups. Breast size change in the conventional and the hypofractionated WBRT groups was 14.3% and 7.1%, respectively (P=0.6). Excellent or good cosmetic outcome was similar in both groups.The results of our study support the use of accelerated hypofractionated WBRT in women with invasive breast cancer less than five cm and node-negative after breast-conserving surgery, which provides a more convenient shorter course of radiotherapy with a comparable cosmetic outcome and cutaneous, cardiac, and pulmonary toxicity profile.

Abstract Background It is well recognized that cardio- vascular risk factors lead to histological and functional changes in aorta, and aortic stiffness is the best predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In this study we evaluated the relation of a less evaluated echocardiographic parameter of aortic stiffness, aortic propagation velocity (APV) with the presence and severity of CAD. Methods This cross sectional study was conducted from May 2015 to March 2016 in Imam Reza hospital, Mashhad, Iran. Seventy patients who were referred for elective coronary artery angiography were enrolled. Patients were divided into two sub-groups based on angiographic findings: patients with CAD (38 patients, 54.3%) and non-CAD (32 patients, 45.7%). Transthoracic echocardiography was performed using the conventional 2D and color M-Mode imaging. Aortic propagation velocity (APV), aortic strain (AS) and distensibility (AD) were measured. The presence and Severity of CAD (assessing by syntax score) and their relation with aortic stiffness indices were assessed. Results Aortic strain (6.23 ± 1.93% versus 11.66 ± 4.86%, P

BACKGROUND: Differentiating ischemic from non-ischemic functional mitral regurgitation‎ (FMR) in patients with cardiomyopathy is important in terms of the therapeutic decision-making and prognosis, but might be clinically challenging. In this study, the deformation of mitral valve (MV) indices in the prediction of the etiology of FMR was assessed using 2D transthoracic and tissue Doppler echocardiography.METHODS: This case-control study was conducted from April 2015 to January 2016 in Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. The participants consisted of 40 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and 22 with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) who referred to the heart failure clinic. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed using the conventional 2D and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). MV tenting area (TA), coaptation distance (CD), anterior and posterior mitral leaflet angles (AMLA and PMLA), and regional systolic myocardial velocity (Sm) were measured.RESULTS: There were no significant differences in echocardiographic indices between the two groups, besides Sm and PMLA which were significantly lower and higher, respectively, in ICM subjects in comparison with DCM patients (P = 0.002). PMLA ≥ 40 degrees and Sm ≤ 4 cm/second have a relatively high value for discriminating the ischemic from non-ischemic origin of functional MR in subjects with systolic heart failure (sensitivity: 80.0% and 70.0%, specificity: 73.0% and 77.3%; P = 0.001 and P < 0.001; respectively). Multivariable logistic regression identified PMLA and anterior Sm as major determinants for ischemic MR {Odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 0.89 (0.82-0.96), P = 0.003, OR (95% CI) = 0.29 (0.14-0.60), P = 0.001, respectively}.CONCLUSION: The present study showed that PMLA and Sm had an independent significant association with the mechanism of FMR. These findings are suggestive of the predictive role of mitral deformation echocardiographic indices in the determination of the etiology of FMR in systolic heart failure.

Introduction: Visceral adipose tissue is a known important risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). While some studies have suggested relationship between epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and CAD, there are no adequate studies for pericardial fat thickness (PFT). The aim of this study was to determine the association of EFT and PFT with CAD. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients who were candidates for elective coronary artery angiography, referred to Emam Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Iran during Jan 2014-2016. Demographic and laboratory data were collected. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed to determine average EFT and PFT at the standard parasternal long-axis view at end-systole for 3 cardiac cycles. SCA was performed on the same day. The patients were divided into two groups: CAD (n=59) and non-CAD (n=41) based on presence or absence of epicardial coronary artery stenosis of > 50%. Chi-square, independent T-test, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used by SPSS Version 16 for data analysis. Results: One hundred patients (44 women and 56 men) with an average age of 56.4 ± 9.9 years were studied. The two groups were not significantly different in demographic profile and cronary risk factors. While PFT was not significantly different between the two groups, EFT was significantly higher in CAD group (3.0 ± 3.69 vs. 1.2 ± 3.6, p

Introduction: Weight gain and obesity are two important public health problems, which are associated with many diseases such as cardiovascular disorders. Various policies such as bariatric surgery have been proposed for the treatment of morbid obesity. Methods: PubMed and Scopus were searched thoroughly with the following search terms (roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery) AND (ventricular function, OR cardiac risk factors OR heart)) AND (BMI OR body mass index) to find the articles in which the effect of roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery had been evaluated in severely obese patients.Result: Out of 120 articles which were found in PubMed, and 28 records which were found in Scopus, only 18 articles fully met the inclusion criteria. Out of 2740 participants in the included studied, 1706 were patients with body mass index (BMI) over 40 kg/m2 who had undergone RYGB surgery, and 1034 were control participants. Results of the studies showed that RYGB surgery could reduce BMI, and cardiac risk factors, and improve diastolic function, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and aortic function, postoperatively.Discussion: Obesity is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, impaired cardiac function, and hypertension. It is shown that RYGB surgery reduces the serum level of biochemical markers of cardiac diseases. Cardiac structure, parasympathetic indices of autonomic function, coronary circulatory function, hypertension, epicardial fat thickness, and ventricular performance improve after bariatric surgery.Conclusions: It is concluded that RYGB surgery is an effective strategy to improve ventricular function and cardiac risk factors in morbid obese patients.

The main predictors of Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) are increased systolic blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, and female gender. Heart Failure (HF) with reduced Ejection Fraction (EF) is associated with prior myocardial infarction and left bundle-branch block QRS morphology. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of diastolic echocardiographic findings on the outcome of patients with HFpEF. This systematic review was conducted via searching in databases such as Cochrane Library and MEDLINE until September 2015, and articles with available abstracts published in English were included in the study. Manual search was performed within the reference lists of the articles. Moreover, two reviewers independently assessed the inclusion criteria, quality and extracted data of the selected articles. In total, four articles were evaluated in this systematic review, with the earliest study published in 2007 and the most recent article published in 2015. According to the results of this review, Doppler echocardiography plays a pivotal role in the assessment of diastolic left ventricular filling dynamics. However, this technique is restricted by the confounding effects of the changes in the heart rate and loading conditions.

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level is known to increase in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis. In this systematic review, we aimed to discuss the possible association between plasma BNP level and the success rate of percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched systematically, using the following key terms: “B-type natriuretic peptide” OR “BNP” AND “percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy” OR “percutaneous transluminal mitral commissurotomy” OR “PTMC” OR “percutaneous balloon mitral valvotomy” OR “PBMV”. The title, keywords and abstract of relevant articles were searched thoroughly. Among 27 articles found in these databases, 18 studies were excluded during different stages of article selection, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 333 patients were evaluated in the selected studies. Overall, 75 and 191 cases were male and female, respectively. Sex ratio was not specified in two studies, evaluating a total of 67 patients. The obtained results showed that BNP level may decrease after a successful PTMC. Furthermore, post-operative plasma levels of BNP and N-terminal proBNP could be considered as predictors of the success rate of PTMC. Based on the results reported in the evaluated articles, there may be an association between post-operative plasma levels of BNP family and the success rate of PTMC.

Adipose tissue surrounding the heart may contribute in the progression of coronary atherosclerosis due to its proximity to the coronary arteries. In addition, epicardial adipose tissue has paracrine and endocrine functions. It can secrete numerous bioactive molecules. Most previous studies examined the relation between coronary artery disease and epicardial adipose tissue have used echocardiography and have reported controversial results, probably due to differences in measurement techniques and study populations. This study aimed to give a brief review on the value of echocardiographic assessment of epicardial adipose tissue in the prediction of coronary artery disease severity.Epicardial adipose tissue, easily and non-invasively evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography, can be considered as an adjunctive marker to classical risk factors despite all the limitations. Moreover, it might be recommended as a useful quantitative screening examination for the prediction of the presence and the severity of coronary artery disease and the extent of atherosclerosis.

Adipose tissue surrounding the heart may contribute in the progression of coronary atherosclerosis due to its proximity to the coronary arteries. In addition, epicardial adipose tissue has paracrine and endocrine functions. It can secrete numerous bioactive molecules. Most previous studies examined the relation between coronary artery disease and epicardial adipose tissue have used echocardiography and have reported controversial results, probably due to differences in measurement techniques and study populations. This study aimed to give a brief review on the value of echocardiographic assessment of epicardial adipose tissue in the prediction of coronary artery disease severity.Epicardial adipose tissue, easily and non-invasively evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography, can be considered as an adjunctive marker to classical risk factors despite all the limitations. Moreover, it might be recommended as a useful quantitative screening examination for the prediction of the presence and the severity of coronary artery disease and the extent of atherosclerosis.

Background: Echocardiography is a key screening tool in the diagnostic algorithm of pulmonary hypertension (PH). In addition, tissue doppler imaging (TDI) is a promising method for the noninvasive estimation of pulmonary artery pressure (PAP). Objectives: The aim of this study was to validate the accuracy of measuring the time from the beginning of the right ventricular isovolumetric contraction time (RVIVRT) to the peak of the S wave in the TDI of the base of the RV free wall (time to peak or TTP), as an indicator for the non-invasive estimation of pulmonary hypertension. Patients and Methods: In this diagnostic test study, 60 consecutive patients referred for right heart catheterization (RHC) were enrolled. A pulse-wave TDI was performed before the cardiac catheterization, with a mean interval of 1 hour between the two mea- surements. The TDI variables, such as the RV IVRT, myocardial performance index (MPI), and the new “time to peak” parameter, were measured at the lateral basal RV free wall. The patients were divided into two sub-groups according to the RHC findings: no- PH (mean PAP < 25 mmHg) and PH (mean PAP > 25 mmHg) groups. Then, we calculated the specificity and sensitivity of the TDI parameters (including the TTP) for the diagnosis of PH. Results: In our study, the TTP showed a significant inverse relationship with the PAP. Based on our results, a TTP of less than 127 ms could be used to predict PH, with a sensitivity and specificity of about 70% (AUC = 0.746 ± 0.064). Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, we suggest the use of a novel “time from the beginning of isovolumetric contrac- tion to the peak of the S wave” (TTP) parameter in the TDI of the base of the RV free wall to predict PH with acceptable accuracy in comparison with RHC.