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B Pinamonti

Publications and source records attributed to B Pinamonti.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Clinical aspects and haemodynamics in the follow-up of dilated cardiomyopathy and myocarditis.

Many studies on the natural history of dilated cardiomyopathy show high probability of death or of cardiac transplantation in a large percentage of patients. These studies have several methodological limitations. Our prospective study, carried out from 1971, and which evaluated 120 patients, showed improved survival in more recent years. Survival 3 years after diagnosis changed from 30% (1971-6/1981) to 88.4% (7/1986-1/1989). Thirty patients were investigated by haemodynamic exercise test to assess their haemodynamic behaviour during exercise, to evaluate the effects of pharmacological treatment and to define parameters of prognostic value. Different haemodynamic behaviours were observed. Haemodynamic investigation during exercise is useful to assess the effect of treatment and may have prognostic value. Myocarditis presents a spectrum of clinical symptoms and echocardiographic abnormalities. In patients with congestive heart failure left ventricular dysfunction is common. Patients with atrioventricular block or chest pain usually have good left ventricular function. During follow-up, improvement is possible but persistent left ventricular dysfunction is associated with a high mortality rate. When left ventricular function is good at presentation and does not deteriorate during follow-up the prognosis is good.

Cardiomyopathy, Dilated↗
PubMed1991

Two-dimensional echocardiography in myocardial amyloidosis.

Two-dimensional echocardiography is the best means of identifying early cardiac amyloid infiltration and gauging its subsequent progression. The early asymptomatic phase is characterized on echocardiography by a mild-to-moderate increase in left ventricular and/or right ventricular wall thicknesses. The distinctive combination of low electrocardiography voltage and increase in left ventricular mass on the echocardiogram, both compatible with substantial amyloid infiltration, is valuable in diagnosis and appears to indicate the severity of the disease. Other ancillary but common findings are left atrial dilatation, a small pericardial effusion, thickening of cardiac valves, papillary muscles, and interatrial septum. Finally, there is a peculiar texture of myocardial walls, with highly refractile areas that are typical, although not specific, of myocardial amyloidosis and can also be quantitatively described by digital image analysis techniques. The echocardiographic appearance of amyloidosis can closely mimic several other diseases. Asymmetric hypertrophy of the septum due to amyloid deposition may occur, simulating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The granular sparkling of myocardial walls is also found in myocarditis with severe fibrosis, and it is quite common in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as well as in other infiltrative diseases of the myocardium. It is not uncommon that the echocardiographic examination represents a turning point in the work-up of the patient, briskly orienting the clinician towards the correct diagnostic pathway. However, the likelihood of the cardiologist-echocardiographer to successfully and prospectively identify myocardial amyloidosis is substantially higher if all the clinical and electrocardiographic information is reviewed at the time of the echocardiographic examination.

Amyloidosis↗
PubMed1991

[Cardiac magnetic resonance. Optimization of the parameters in the evaluation of right and left ventricular function].

MR imaging is the only non-invasive tomographic imaging modality capable of imaging the heart along planes that are parallel to each other and in any desired direction. Such reconstruction algorithms can thus be applied to MR images as the Simpson's rule which allows volume estimation of all cardiac cavities, although very irregular in shape, like the right ventricle. The authors optimized the technical parameters to obtain a set of multiphase double-angulated images on both the short and the long axes of the heart, in about 1-hour time. This technique was used to examine 31 patients suffering from several cardiopathies. The images allowed both end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes to be estimated, as well as the ejection fractions of both ventricles. In the left ventricle the area-length method and the Simpson's rule were applied, whereas only the latter was employed in the right ventricle. The correlation coefficients of US and MR data were, for the 3 parameters, r = 0.813, r = 0.920, and r = 0.879, respectively, in the first case, and r = 0.905, r = 0.923, and r = 0.890 in the second one. The time required to analyze the obtained data, which is done manually, is still considerably long.

Cardiac Volume↗
PubMed1989

Quantitative texture analysis in two-dimensional echocardiography: application to the diagnosis of myocardial amyloidosis.

Qualitative and subjective analysis of two-dimensional echocardiographic images of the myocardial wall allows one to identify amyloid heart disease; the quantitative analysis of regional image texture might be an accurate method to differentiate normal from amyloid myocardial structures. To test this hypothesis, two-dimensional echocardiograms of nine normal subjects and six patients with histologically documented amyloid heart disease were evaluated. Quantitative texture measurements of the first order (mean gray level, skewness, kurtosis, energy and entropy) overlapped between the two groups. Among the second order statistics variables, entropy was significantly and consistently higher in amyloid versus normal patient data (septum in parasternal long-axis view: 6.3 +/- 0.3 versus 5.9 +/- 0.4; septum in apical four chamber view: 6.2 +/- 0.2 versus 5.8 +/- 0.3). Therefore, amyloid-involved myocardial walls show ultrasound image texture alterations that may be quantified with digital image analysis techniques.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Left ventricular involvement in right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

The characteristics of left ventricular (LV) involvement in 31 patients with right ventricular cardiomyopathy (RVCMP) were studied by two-dimensional echocardiography (2D echo). Two groups were identified: in group 1 (19 patients) the LV appeared normal initially, but became abnormal in four patients during follow-up. LV involvement was present at diagnosis in the 12 patients of group 2; LV function worsened in one of them. In conclusion, LV involvement is frequent in RVCMP. At least in some cases the disease appears to be progressive.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Echocardiographic findings in myocarditis.

This study analyzes morphologic and functional alterations detected by M-mode and 2-dimensional echocardiography in 41 patients with histologically proven myocarditis and different clinical presentations: congestive heart failure (63%), atrioventricular block (17%), chest pain (15%) and supraventricular arrhythmias (5%). Left ventricular dysfunction was common (69%), particularly in patients with congestive heart failure (88%), often without or with minor cavity dilatation. Patients with atrioventricular block or chest pain had usually preserved ventricular function. Right ventricular dysfunction was present in 23%. Additional findings included asynergic ventricular areas (64%), left ventricular "hypertrophy" sometimes reversible (20%), hyperrefractile myocardial areas (23%), ventricular thrombi (15%) and "restrictive" ventricular filling (7%). It is concluded that echocardiographic features of myocarditis are polymorphous and nonspecific. The echocardiographic pattern can simulate alternatively dilated, hypertrophic, restrictive or "right" ventricular cardiomyopathy, as well as coronary artery disease. In an appropriate clinical context, echocardiography can be helpful in the diagnosis of myocarditis and in the selection of patients for endomyocardial biopsy.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

[Cardiac amyloidosis. Invasive and noninvasive diagnosis].

Aim of this study is the analysis of clinical, morphologic and haemodynamic features of cardiac amyloidosis. Cardiac amyloidosis was demonstrated histologically in 7 of our patients: in 6 by endomyocardial biopsy during cardiac catheterization, in one at autopsy. The clinical picture was characterized in every patient by signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure. The electrocardiogram showed several non specific signs: low voltage of the QRS complexes, both in peripheral (4/7) and precordial leads (7/7 cases); marked leftward and upward deviation of the QRS axis (6/7 cases); first degree A-V block (5/7); abnormal Q waves (7/7). M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiography invariably demonstrated a typical pattern: a non dilated left ventricle with thickened and hyper-refractile walls, and usually a slight-moderate diffuse hypokinesia. Other common features were a thickening of right ventricular walls, interatrial septum, and atrioventricular and semilunar valves. Computerized analysis of the M-mode tracings disclosed a marked impairment of the indexes of both systolic and diastolic ventricular function in all patients. By correlating electrocardiographic and echocardiographic data, we found in every case a striking disproportion between the low QRS voltage and the high muscle cross-sectional area (an echocardiographic index of left ventricular mass): this pattern appears to be highly suggestive of infiltrative heart disease. Cardiac catheterization (performed in 6 cases) showed an increase of left ventricular (6/6) and right ventricular (5/6) end-diastolic pressure, with a dip plateau pattern in some cases (4/6 of the left, 2/6 in the right ventricle). The cardiac index was decreased in 3/6 cases. Left ventricular angiography confirmed the echocardiographic data of normal volumes and a slight-moderate decrease of the ejection fraction. We conclude that cardiac amyloidosis usually mimics a restrictive cardiomyopathy (severe congestive heart failure with increased ventricular filling pressures, in the absence of severe systolic ventricular dysfunction). This disease can be suspected clinically by the correlation of the clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic data. The final diagnosis requires an endomyocardial biopsy.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Two-dimensional echocardiography during endomyocardial biopsy.

53 consecutive and unselected patients undergoing endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) had concomitant two-dimensional echocardiographic (2DE) and fluoroscopic control during 62 biopsy procedures (49 of the right, 13 of the left ventricle) in order to assess the capacity of 2DE to identify biopsy site, to allow a selective biopsy in different areas of the ventricles and to foresee a positive sampling. The echocardiographic documentation of a close contact of the bioptome tip with the ventricular wall was compared with the presence of endomyocardial tissue in the forceps of the bioptome. Contact of the bioptome tip with the endocardium was visualized in 86% of the right ventricular biopsies and in 85% of the left ventricular biopsies. Under 2DE monitoring it was possible to change the site of biopsy and selected areas were easily sampled. In a subgroup of 29 biopsies prospectively studied to assess the ability of 2DE to foresee positive sampling, the 2DE forecast was confirmed in 93% of the right and in 100% of the left ventricular samples. The apical view was more commonly used because it provides a good visualization of the bioptome tip and of intracardiac structures without interfering with concomitant fluoroscopic control. Our results suggest that 2DE monitoring during EMB may: 1) provide definite forceps position during the procedure in a large number of patients; 2) guide the bioptome to obtain samples from different and/or selected sites of the ventricles; 3) foresee a positive samples.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1985

Cardiac amyloidosis: five cases diagnosed by endomyocardial biopsy.

Between October 1974 and December 1985, 350 patients have been subjected to endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). Five of these subjects clinically presented restrictive cardiomyopathy symptoms. EMB revealed diffuse cardiac amyloidosis. Light-electron-microscopic and morphometric data have been reported. The role of EMB in the diagnosis of cardiac disease is also emphasized.

Amyloid↗