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Background: Hypothyroidism has a large number of adverse effects on the cardiovascular system such as impaired cardiac contractility. Left ventricular (LV) asynchrony is defined as loss of the simultaneous peak contraction of corresponding cardiac segments., Objective: To assess systolic asynchrony in patients with overt hypothyroidism., Methods: Asynchrony was evaluated in 31 patients with overt hypothyroidism and 26 controls. Clinical hypothyroidism was defined as serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) more than 4.2 microIU/mL with reduced free T4 less than 1.10 ng/dL. All the patients and controls were subjected to an echocardiographic study including tissue synchronization imaging (TSI). The time to regional peak systolic velocity (Ts) in LV via the six-basal-six-mid-segmental model was measured on ejection phase TSI images, and four TSI parameters of systolic asynchrony were computed. LV asynchrony was described by these four TSI parameters., Results: The demographic characteristics and conventional echocardiographic parameters of both groups were similar (except total and LDL cholesterol, TSH, free T3, and free T4). All TSI parameters of LV asynchrony were prolonged in hypothyroid patients compared to controls. The standard deviation (SD) of the 12 LV segments Ts was (53.5 +/- 14.1 vs. 29.3 +/- 15.5, P < 0.0001); the maximal difference in Ts between any 2 of the 12 LV segments was (154.5 +/- 37.3 vs. 91.9 +/- 45.2, P < 0.0001); the SD of Ts of the 6 basal LV segments was (47.9 +/- 15.9 vs. 27.1 +/- 16.4, P < 0.0001); and the maximal difference in Ts between any 2 of the 6 basal LV segments was (118.4 +/- 37.9 vs. 69.3 +/- 39.0, P < 0.0001). The prevalence of LV asynchrony was significantly higher in patients with hypothyroidism compared with controls (83.9% vs. 26.9%, P < 0.0001)., Conclusion: Patients with overt hypothyroidism show evidence of LV asynchrony by TSI.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess left ventricular (LV) function and the Tei index by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), and also to evaluate the relationship of thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count (TFC) with the Tei index and LV function in patients with slow coronary flow (SCF)., Methods: We prospectively evaluated 50 patients with SCF and 27 control subjects. Diagnosis of SCF was made by TFC. LV systolic and diastolic function was assessed by conventional echocardiography and TDI., Results: Early diastolic mitral annular velocity (Em), Em/Am, and peak systolic mitral annular velocity (Sm) were lower in patients with SCF than those in controls (13+/-2.8 cm/sec vs 15.2+/-2.8 cm/sec, P = 0.002; 0.88+/-0.22 vs 1+/-0.23, P = 0.03; and 14.1+/-3.51 vs 16.5+/-3.31, P = 0.005, respectively). In patients with SCF, the Tei index was significantly higher than that in controls (0.34+/-9.6 vs 0.29+/-9.5, P = 0.02, respectively). Mean TFC and RCA TFC were positively correlated with the Tei index (r = 0.3, P = 0.02 and r = 0.329, P = 0.02). Left circumflex (LCX) TFC was negatively correlated with Em/Am (r =-0.310, P = 0.03) only in patients with SCF., Conclusion: LV systolic and diastolic function is impaired in patients with SCF. TDI analysis of mitral annular velocities such as the Tei index, Em, Em/Am, and Sm is useful to assess LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction in patients with SCF. Mean TFC and RCA TFC were positively correlated with the Tei index and LCX TFC was negatively correlated with Em/Am. TDI may be better than conventional echocardiography in assessing LV function in patients with SCF.

Objective: The evidence of structural and functional cardiac abnormalities has been demonstrated by echocardiography in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study investigated whether left ventricular (LV) asynchrony is present in patients with CKD and normal QRS duration., Methods: Tissue synchronization imaging (TSI) was performed in 25 (56 +/- 14 years) patients with CKD and narrow QRS complexes and 25 (51 +/- 12 years) control subjects. LV asynchrony was identified on TSI images and the time to regional peak systolic velocity (Ts) in LV was measured by the six-basal-six-midsegmental model. Four TSI parameters of systolic asynchrony were computed when Ts was measured in ejection phase., Results: The standard deviation of Ts of 12 LV segments (33.6 +/- 17.8 vs 16.7 +/- 10 ms, P = 0.0001), standard deviation of Ts of the six basal LV segments (30 +/- 20 vs 17.6 +/- 9.6 ms, P = 0.008), maximal difference in Ts between any two of the 12 LV segments (102 +/- 45 vs 54 +/- 32 ms, P = 0.0001), and maximal difference in Ts between any two of the six basal LV segments (78 +/- 50 vs 46 +/- 22 ms, P = 0.007) were prolonged in patients with CKD compared with controls. The prevalence of LV systolic asynchrony was significantly higher in patients with CKD compared with controls (44% vs 12%, P = 0.01). The standard deviation of Ts of 12 LV segments were significantly associated with LV diameters, LV volumes, LV mass, blood pressure levels, and renal functions in univariate analysis., Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that LV systolic asynchrony may develop in patients with CKD.

Background: Aortic stiffness is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events and mortality. The measurement of pulse-wave velocity (PWV) is the most simple, noninvasive, and robust method to determine aortic stiffness. Whether aortic stiffness contributes to aortic valve sclerosis (AVS) remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between PWV and AVS in subjects free of clinically evident atherosclerotic disease., Methods: We enrolled 62 patients (48 men; age 65 +/- 8 years) diagnosed with AVS and an additional 62 age-, hypertension-, diabetes mellitus-, and history of smoking-matched subjects without AVS. Applanation tonometry was applied to assess the augmentation index and aortic PWV. The subjects with symptomatic vascular disease were excluded from the study. AVS was defined by echocardiography as thickening and calcification of the normal trileaflet aortic valve without obstruction to the left ventricular outflow., Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the aortic PWV and augmentation index (11.7+/-3.3 vs 11.8+/-3.7, P=0.85; 28.0+/-9.4 vs 25.0+/-8.6, P=0. 17, respectively). The presence of AVS was significantly correlated with ejection fraction (r=0.211, P=0.011), male gender (r=0.362, P=0.0001), and age (r=0.200, P=0.026)., Conclusions: The lack of an association between the aortic PWV and AVS suggests that AVS is a complex phenomenon consisting of several distinct processes, related to both atherosclerotic and nonatherosclerotic processes.

Background: The Tei index reflects both systolic and diastolic ventricular function. The aim of this study was to assess the Tei index by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and also to evaluate the correlation with growth hormone (GH) and the Tei index and left ventricular (LV) function assessed by TDI in patients with acromegaly., Methods: We prospectively evaluated 25 patients with acromegaly and 27 control subjects. LV systolic and diastolic function was assessed by conventional echocardiography and TDI., Results: Peak E velocity and E/A ratio were lower in those with acromegaly than in those without (P = 0.01; P = 0.002, respectively). Deceleration time of the mitral E-wave (P = 0.01) and isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) (P = 0.01) were higher in acromegalic patients than those in controls (P = 0.006, P = 0.002). Em (P = 0.01) and Em/Am (P = 0.001) were lower in patients with acromegaly than in controls. In patients with acromegaly, the Tei index was significantly higher than that in controls (0.49 +/- 13.4 vs 0.39 +/- 5.2, P = 0.005). GH was positively correlated with the Tei index (r = 0.65, P = 0.041), Em/Am (r = 0.63, P = 0.021), and interventricular septum (IVS) thickness (r = 0.65, P = 0.008) only in patients with acromegaly. LV diastolic dysfunction was detected 36% by conventional echocardiography and 48% by the Tei index derived from TDI in acromegalic patients., Conclusion: TDI analysis of mitral annular velocities is useful to assess LV diastolic dysfunction in patients with acromegaly. GH was positively correlated with the Tei index and LV diastolic dysfunction. The Tei index may be superior to conventional mitral Doppler indices for identification of LV diastolic dysfunction in patients with acromegaly.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess left ventricular (LV) function and the Tei index by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), and also to evaluate the relationship of serum cortisol level with the Tei index and LV function in patients with Cushing's Syndrome (CS)., Methods: We prospectively evaluated 22 patients with CS and 23 control subjects. LV function was assessed by echocardiography. Early diastolic (Em), late diastolic (Am), peak systolic (Sm), mitral annular velocities, Em/Am, the Tei index, and E/Em were calculated by TDI. Mitral inflow velocities, color M-mode flow propagation velocity (Vp), relative wall thickness (RWT), and LV mass index (LVMI) were assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography., Result: Peak (E) velocity and the ratio of E to peak late (A) velocity (E/A) were lower in those with CS than in those without. Patients with CS had significantly higher RWT, IVRT, and LVMI than those controls. Vp was lower in the CS-patients than that in control subjects. Em and Em/Am were lower in patients with CS than those in controls. In patients with CS, the Tei index was significantly higher than control subjects., Conclusion: Serum cortisol level was positively correlated with the Tei index and E/Em ratio but negatively correlated with Em, Sm, and EF only in patients with CS. Serum cortisol level positively correlated with the Tei index and E/Em ratio but negatively correlated with Em, EF, and Sm. The parameters obtained from lateral mitral annulus by TDI can be used for identification of LV diastolic dysfunction in patients with CS.