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To investigate the characteristics and pathological features of primary cardiac tumors and to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity of echocardiography in primary cardiac tumors, all pathologic and echocardiographic records at the Chinese PLA general hospital and its satellite hospitals between January 1st, 1990 and January 1st, 2000 were reviewed to identify patients with a confirmed diagnosis of primary cardiac tumors. A total of 149 patients who had complete echocardiographic records and who were diagnosed with primary cardiac tumors were included in the study. Pathologic and echocardiographic records were reviewed retrospectively to evaluate the presence, location and histologic type of the tumors. The majority (n=118, 79.2%) of cases had been diagnosed with benign tumors. Myxoma was the most common histologic type accounting for 50.0% of total cardiac tumors. Lipoma was the second most common type of benign tumor. Among cases with malignant tumors (n=31, 20.8%), unclassified sarcoma (n=7), angiosarcoma (n=6) and rhabdomyosarcoma (n=6) were the common histologic types of primary malignant tumor. Non-myxomatous benign tumors were more likely to have occurred in the ventricle than myxomas (17/43, 39.5% vs. 7/75, 9.3%; P=0.00). The proportion of pericardium involvement in the malignant tumors (8/31, 25.8%) was significantly higher than that in the myxomas (0/75, 0%; P=0.00) and non-myxomas (2/43, 4.7%; P=0.01). The diagnostic sensitivity of transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography was 93.3% (139/149) and 96.8% (30/31), respectively. The study, using a relatively large sample, confirms that myxoma was the most common primary cardiac tumor. The locations of tumor involvement varied by types of tumor. Echocardiography may be a useful tool for early diagnosis of primary cardiac tumors.

To examine the relationship of the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and endothelial function and their associations with coronary artery calcification, lipid profile and cardiac changes.The analyses for serum lipids and CRP, echocardiography, spiral computed tomography scans and endothelial function assay were performed in 53 participants with a history of chronic cocaine use.There were no statistically significant differences in demographic characteristics and drug use between CRP normal (1.9 mg/l) and abnormal groups. The brachial artery diameter percentage changes in the third scan (immediately after deflation of cuff) and the fourth scan (90 s after deflation of cuff) were significantly associated with the CRP levels (the third: beta=-0.054, S.E.=0.027; P=0.028; the fourth: beta=-0.065, S.E.=0.026; P=0.016). The multiple regression models showed that CRP was the only significant predictor of artery diameter changes (%) in these two scans. The CRP abnormal group had more coronary artery calcification (calcium scores5, 16.7 vs. 0%; P=0.036) and more cardiac diastolic dysfunction expressed as deceleration time240 ms (16.7 vs. 0%; P=0.036).Elevated serum CRP levels are associated with endothelial dysfunction, coronary artery calcification and cardiac diastolic dysfunction in chronic cocaine users.

Only limited studies have been done on the effects of long-term cocaine use on the human heart, and the results remain controversial. In this study, we examined and compared the diastolic function of non-cocaine users and chronic cocaine users to reveal the impact of long-term cocaine use on the human heart.Two-dimensional echocardiogram and pulsed Doppler transmitral blood flow pattern were obtained from 138 recruited study participants with different cocaine histories. The indices of cardiac structure and function were measured from the echocardiogram of each participant. Student's t-test was used to compare the average echocardiographic measurements of the non-cocaine user group and the cocaine user group. Multivariate regression analysis was deployed to eliminate the effects of age, gender, blood pressure, and HIV infection on the functional measurements of the two groups.The cocaine user group had a significantly longer average deceleration time than did the non-cocaine user group (208.1 +/- 38.2 vs. 167.5 +/- 39.1 ms, P0.001). A linear association existed between the deceleration time and the log-transformed duration of cocaine use (beta=0.00351, S.E.=0.00104, P=0.001). Cocaine users in this study were approximately five times more likely to have an elongated deceleration time (200 ms) than were non-users (OR, 4.799; 95% CI, 1.000-23.044; P=0.05). No significant differences were observed in the other measured diastolic functional parameters, such as isovolumic ventricular relaxation time, E wave, A wave, and E/A ratio.Long-term cocaine use is linked to decline in diastolic function.