Biomedical subjects

Caroline Weytjens

Publications and source records attributed to Caroline Weytjens.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Doppler myocardial imaging in adult male rats: reference values and reproducibility of velocity and deformation parameters.

AIM: Limited data are available about the use of Doppler myocardial imaging (DMI) in small animals. We intend to provide reference values for velocity, strain and strain rate in a large group of healthy rats and studied the reproducibility and repeatability of these parameters. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 33 male Wistar rats (503+/-41g) underwent baseline transthoracic echocardiography with DMI of the anterior and inferior wall in a short-axis view using a 13MHz linear probe. Adequate tissue Doppler measurements could be obtained in 30 rats. On average 10+/-4 consecutive cycles were studied in post-processing using dedicated software (SPEQLE). Mean radial peak systolic velocity, strain and strain rate were respectively -0.8+/-0.3cm/s, 38+/-8% and 9.1+/-2.0/s in the anterior wall and 3.1+/-0.6cm/s, 49+/-10% and 13.7+/-3.7/s in the inferior wall. The reproducibility and repeatability of the DMI measurements assessed in 10 rats was good. CONCLUSION: DMI is feasible and reproducible in healthy rats. Establishing reference values opens new perspectives towards the use of strain and strain rate imaging in small rodents in the assessment of myocardial diseases.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Tissue Doppler imaging does not show infraclinical alteration of myocardial function after contrast echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: It has been previously suggested that simultaneous exposure of hearts to contrast and ultrasound can damage the myocardium and produce a transient decrease of the contractility in animals. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is a useful tool to quantify the myocardial function with very high temporal resolution. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to test whether contrast echocardiography (CE) can cause alteration of the myocardial function by using tissue Doppler analysis. METHODS: Twenty-eight healthy patients (mean age: 44 +/- 22) underwent baseline echocardiography before and after 5 min of continuous intravenous infusion of Sonovue from the apical views, using an intermediate mechanical index (MI = 1). High frame rate images were acquired in tissue Doppler mode. Data were averaged over 3 cardiac cycles and analysed off-line before and after CE. RESULTS: There were no significant changes, before and after CE, in the peak systolic velocity (basal septum (BS): 6.2 +/- 2.2 vs 6.4 +/- 2.6; basal lateral (BL): 6.2 +/- 3.1 vs 6.4 +/- 3.3 cm/s), in the peak diastolic E velocity (BS: 5.4+/-1.8 vs 5.3+/-1.7; BL: 7.3+/-2.4 vs 7.7 +/- 3.2 cm/s), in the peak diastolic A velocity (BS: 6.3 +/- 1.9 vs 6.9 +/- 2.4; BL: 6.1 +/- 3.5 vs 6.2 +/- 2.5 cm/s), in the peak systolic strain (BS: 16 +/- 7 vs 17 +/- 7; BL: 12.6 +/- 5 vs 12.9 +/- 5%) and in peak systolic strain rate (BS: 1.3+/-0.6 vs 1.4+/-0.6; BL: 1.2+/-0.5 vs 1.21+/-0.51 1/sec). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that CE does not cause alterations in the myocardial function as assessed by tissue Doppler imaging. CE, even with high MI settings, usually used for left ventricular opacification, can be safely performed.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Treatment of Parkinson's disease with pergolide and relation to restrictive valvular heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Restrictive valvular heart disease has been reported in patients with Parkinson's disease treated with pergolide. However, few data are available on frequency, severity, dose dependency, and reversibility of pergolide-induced disease, nor on the pulmonary pressures of these patients. We aimed to clarify these characteristics in a large group of patients. METHODS: 78 patients with Parkinson's disease treated with pergolide and 18 never treated with an ergot-derived dopamine agonist (controls) were evaluated by echocardiography. A valvular scoring system was used, ranging from 1 (proven ergot-like restrictive valvular heart disease) to 4 (no disease). For the mitral valve, tenting areas and tenting distances were measured. Systolic pulmonary artery pressures were derived from the tricuspid regurgitant jet. FINDINGS: Restrictive valvular heart disease of any type was present in 26 (33%) patients in the pergolide group and none in controls (p=0.0025). Important disease (score 1 or 2) was present in 15 (19%) patients in the pergolide group and none in controls (p=0.066). Mean tenting distances and tenting areas of the mitral valve were 1.08 cm (range 0.55-2.66) and 2.39 cm2 (0.88-4.59) in the restrictive mitral valve group versus 0.63 cm (0.22-1.20) and 1.39 cm2 (0.39-3.23) in the non-restrictive group (p=0.003 and p<0.0001, respectively). Significant correlation was noted between cumulative doses of pergolide and tenting areas of the mitral valves (r=0.412, p=0.017). Mean systolic pulmonary artery pressures were 39.3 mm Hg (range 25-71) in the high-dose group versus 38.5 mm Hg (20-65) in the low-dose group (p=0.76) and 31 mm Hg (25-40) in controls (p=0.02 vs all patients given pergolide). In six patients, pergolide treatment was stopped because of restrictive valvular heart disease, in two of whom regression of disease was shown. INTERPRETATION: Restrictive valvular heart disease is not a rare finding in patients treated with pergolide. Clinicians should consider changing to a non-ergot drug if this disease is diagnosed.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Second harmonic transthoracic echocardiography: the new reference screening method for the detection of patent foramen ovale.

AIM: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is still considered as the reference method for the non-invasive detection of right-to-left shunts. Echocardiographic laboratories are spending most of their time performing TEE studies to exclude a thromboembolic cardiac disease. In a considerable proportion of these patients the question can be simplified to exclude a PFO. Replacing these TEE studies by TTE would result in a considerable gain in time and money. We evaluated the value of transthoracic echocardiography with second harmonic imaging (TTE) (SH) and peripheral intravenous agitated saline solutions in the detection of patent foramen ovale (PFO) in a large cohort of patients. METHODS: In 256 consecutive patients, TEE and TTE (SH) with the consecutive administration of three intravenous contrast injections of agitated saline injections before the release phase of the Valsalva manoeuvre were performed. Semi-quantification and timing of contrast passage were assessed during both imaging modalities. A shunt was present if at least one imaging modality showed microbubbles appearing in the left atrium. PFO was defined when these bubbles appeared early and arteriovenous pulmonary malformations were suspected if bubbles appeared late after the opacification of the right atrium. Shunts were considered important when >20 bubbles were present in one frame in the left atrium or left ventricle. RESULTS: From the 256 patients, 60 presented a passage of contrast from the right to the left atrium in at least one imaging modality. PFO was detected by TEE in 53 patients and by TTE in 55 patients (sensitivity: 90.5% and specificity: 96.5% if TEE is accepted as the golden standard) (p>0.05). Considering only the important shunts TEE detected 39 important shunts and TTE 46 important shunts (sensitivity: 89.7% and specificity: 94.6%) (p>0.05). AV pulmonary malformations were detected by TEE in 7 patients and by TTE in 10 patients (sensitivity: 85.7% and specificity: 98.3%) (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In this large cohort of patients TTE (SH) is as accurate as TEE for the detection of PFO and late right-to-left shunts. If the only purpose of TEE is the detection of PFO such as in young cryptogenic stroke patients and in divers, TEE can be replaced by TTE (SH).

Chi-Square Distribution↗