M J Roman

..Its application is substantially more challenging than is carotid imaging and remains largely a research technique that is not readily translated into routine clinical practice...

..005) and left ventricular hypertrophy (32% vs 5%, p < 0.005), supporting the possibility that chronic inflammation predisposes to premature cardiovascular disease in SLE...

..To determine the rate of atherosclerosis progression as well as the relationship of traditional risk factors, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-related factors, and treatment to atherosis progression in SLE patients...

..Data regarding the relative impacts of central and brachial pressures on left ventricular hypertrophy and geometry are limited...

..These findings support the utility of separate assessment of focal atherosclerosis and intimal-medial thickness in epidemiological studies, trials, and risk stratification protocols...

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..Our findings suggest that there is no threshold of systolic blood pressure below which regression of cardiovascular target organ damage cannot be achieved...

..These findings support prospective examination of use of central blood pressure as a treatment target in future trials...

..This study was designed to facilitate clinical use of central pulse pressure (PP). We sought to determine a value that might predict adverse outcome and thereby provide a target for assessment of intervention strategies...

..Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with increased morbidity and mortality because of cardiovascular disease, independent of traditional risk factors...

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..Relations between organs and body size are not linear but rather follow allometric (growth) relations characterized by their powers (exponents)...

..Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy on echocardiogram (ECG) strongly predicts coronary heart disease events, but the mechanisms linking increased LV mass to ischemic vascular events is uncertain...

..Although cardiac output (CO) plays the vital role of delivering nutrients to body tissues, few data are available concerning the relations of stroke volume (SV) and CO to body composition in large population samples...

..001). In conclusion, DM and SH each have adverse effects on LV geometry and function, and the combination of SH and DM results in the greatest degree of LV hypertrophy, myocardial dysfunction, and arterial stiffness...

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..38; P<0.001). Thus, in a population sample of adults without clinically overt coronary heart disease, elevated fibrinogen is an independent correlate of prognostically relevant cardiovascular target organ damage...

..Whether diabetes mellitus (DM) adversely affects left ventricular (LV) structure and function independently of increases in body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure is controversial...

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..e. higher than predicted by individual body size, sex and cardiac load [delta%LVM]) is associated with an increased rate of cardiovascular events, and whether values of LV mass lower than appropriate confer protection...

..These findings suggest that the associations of ischemia and left ventricular hypertrophy with carotid atherosclerosis may contribute to the increased incidence of coronary events in patients with carotid atherosclerosis...

..Although dilatation at the commissural attachment might be expected to predispose to an increase in aortic regurgitation, we did not detect such a difference in this population of healthy, asymptomatic individuals...

..We sought to determine the effect of diabetes mellitus (DM) on left ventricular (LV) filling pattern in normotensive (NT) and hypertensive (HTN) individuals...

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..004) and negatively to hemoglobin A1c (P<.01). Thus, higher LV midwall function is associated with female gender and more favorable profiles of hemodynamics, metabolic pattern, and arterial structure and function...

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..7), and cardiac output/height(1.83). CONCLUSIONS: IGT is associated with increased LV wall thickness, mass, and cardiac output independent of effects of relevant covariates...

..Vascular stiffness progressively increases with age, independent of change in mean pressure or resistance, possibly contributing to increased rates of cardiovascular events in older individuals...

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..The goal of this study was to identify the effect of body growth and aging, and normal limits of the relation of left ventricular endocardial and midwall shortening to wall stress...

..Whether MetS increases risk of CV events independently of presence of LVH has never been investigated. It is also unclear whether LVH predicts CV risk both in the presence and absence of MetS...

..This might be due to genotypic variations and/or measurement error...

..However, neither systolic nor diastolic BP variability was independently associated with carotid atherosclerotic plaque or LV mass...

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..Sinuses of Valsalva dilatation was associated with higher left ventricular mass and lower systolic function, which may contribute to higher cardiovascular risk in subjects with aortic root dilatation...

..The data suggest that physicians should evaluate blood pressure and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol as well as other cardiovascular risk factors without regard to whether a patient meets the criteria for the MS...

..It has been hypothesized that the level of end-systolic wall stress (sigma(m)) is a feedback signal that regulates the level of hypertrophy. Thus, low levels of sigma(m) may signify inappropriate hypertrophy...

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..In the presence of microangiopathy, we found that the atherothrombotic risk profile associated with LVH was independent of BMI and possibly reflected the association of LVH with a higher degree of endothelial dysfunction...

..MR is independently associated with female gender, lower BMI, older age, and renal dysfunction, as well as with prior myocardial infarction, mitral stenosis, and mitral valve prolapse. It is not related to dyslipidemia or diabetes...

..CONCLUSION: In patients with moderate hypertension and ECG LV hypertrophy, the levels of SV and pulse pressure/ SV, are associated with, and may be stimuli to different LV geometric phenotypes...

..Vascular geometry was altered consistent with the reduction in distending pressure resulting in vascular remodelling...

..However, it is also associated with lower body weight, blood pressure, and prevalence of diabetes; a more favorable metabolic profile and ventricular geometry; and better myocardial and renal function...

..It is not known whether deceleration time normalized for E-velocity or its inverse (deceleration slope) better predicts cardiovascular (CV) events compared with deceleration time or E-velocity alone...

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..10). Thus, progression to HTN in 38% of Strong Heart Study prehypertensive participants could be predicted by higher left ventricular mass and stroke volume in addition to baseline systolic blood pressure and prevalent diabetes mellitus...

..The presence of LVH detected by these indices predicts increased cardiovascular (CV) events. Whether different indexations of LVH differ in their ability to predict excess risk is unknown...

..We derived mean values for cardiac dimensions, volumes, function, and mass in a normotensive nonobese population free of cardiovascular disease...

..To test the hypothesis that in the presence of left ventricular concentric geometry the definition of 'normal' ejection fraction should be reconsidered, and normality should rather be considered to have a higher than usual lower limit..

..Further study of this approach is needed to identify optimal criteria for LVH based on the time-voltage area measurements from the 12-lead ECG...

..Therefore, abnormal LV geometry and function are related to the MS. Increased BP is the component of the MS most strongly associated with cardiac markers of preclinical disease, even in the absence of traditionally defined hypertension...

..The theoretically based practice of giving antihypertensive drugs to patients who have AR requires reexamination...

..Echocardiographic screening of family members with aortic root dilatation may identify other individuals predisposed to aortic dissection or rupture...

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..To investigate whether insulin-resistance influences echocardiographic markers of preclinical disease, independent of significant confounders...

..CONCLUSIONS: Wider PP was associated with a higher hazard ratio of CV mortality independent of traditional CV risk factors, LVH and reduced EF in adults without overt coronary heart disease...

..Possible implications of these findings for primary cardiovascular prevention should be tested in prospective studies...

..Our objective was to determine whether echocardiographic WM abnormalities predict subsequent cardiovascular events in a population-based sample...

..However, the prognostic significance of low or high E/A in older adults remains to be elucidated in population-based samples...

..Initial cardiovascular (CV) characteristics, associated with incident heart failure (HF) might explain the association of diabetes with incident HF...

..Accordingly, we designed this study to investigate the relation between heart rate, body size and LV dimensions in children, adolescents and adults over a broad age span...

..Gender-specific partition values for measures of LV systolic function may be necessary to detect abnormal contractility in clinical and epidemiologic studies...

..In conclusion, inappropriately high LV mass was associated with relevant, often preclinical, manifestations of cardiac disease in the absence of traditionally defined echocardiographic LV hypertrophy and concentric geometry...

..However, in this population, they are not associated with evidence of myocardial hypertrophy, systolic dysfunction, coronary or carotid atherosclerosis, or other vascular abnormalities...

..Risk stratification of these populations with multimarker models could enhance selection for aggressive medical or surgical approaches to prevention...

..This study sought to compare contrast-enhanced anatomic imaging and contrast-enhanced tissue characterization (delayed-enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance [DE-CMR]) for left ventricular (LV) thrombus detection...

..There are scant data on the correlates and prognostic value of MPI in a population without overt cardiovascular (CV) disease...

..The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of ADMA and homocysteine to subclinical vascular disease in patients with SLE...

..32 per 10-muV increment in STD; p <0.001). In conclusion, increasing STD in lateral precordial leads is strongly associated with increased risk of developing heart failure independent of other risk factors for new heart failure...

..We sought to compare systolic and diastolic function in American Indians with diabetes mellitus (DM) based on albuminuria status...

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..We evaluated the relationship between MAC, AV sclerosis, and first stroke events in a population-based cohort...

..Less is known about the predictive ability of anteroposterior LA diameter, a simpler measure of LA size obtained routinely during echocardiographic evaluation...

..To evaluate the relationship between arterial stiffness estimated by the pulse pressure/stroke index ratio (PP/SVi) and prognostically relevant abnormalities of left ventricular geometry and function...

..We sought to determine the heritability of left ventricular dimensions and mass in adult American Indians...

..It is unclear whether fibrinogen predicts cardiovascular events independently of echocardiographic cardiovascular abnormalities and traditional risk factors...

..However, the relations of valvular regurgitation to body composition and myocardial bioenergetic expenditure have not been previously investigated in a population-based sample...

..These findings support the value of combining Echo-LVH and ECG-STD to improve risk stratification. These findings require verification in other populations...

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..Moreover, there is emerging data that aggressive treatment with disease-modifying agents may reduce the incidence of atherosclerosis in these conditions...

..This study was undertaken to investigate whether RA is associated with underlying structural and functional abnormalities of the left ventricle (LV)...

..Whether SLE alters left ventricular (LV) structure and function in the absence of valvular and clinical coronary artery disease is unknown...

..These findings support the role of proximal CAA as a direct mediator of the increased stroke risk associated with MAC...

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..The epidemic of overweight is increasing the prevalence of both prehypertension and early-onset hypertension, but few population-based data exist on their impact on cardiac structure and function in adolescents and young adults...

..These data support the hypothesis that inflammation associated with RA and SLE contributes to accelerated atherosclerosis and argue that RA and SLE disease activity should be more aggressively managed...

..Reference values for aortic diameters in anatomically correct double-oblique short axis images have not been established with the use of electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated 64-detector row multidetector CT (MDCT)...

..To test the hypothesis that long-term survivors of low-risk Kawasaki disease (KD) have ongoing vascular inflammation and dysfunction and a higher risk of accelerated atherosclerosis than healthy control subjects...

..We sought to derive normative reference values for the thoracic great vessels using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in a healthy normotensive non-obese population free of cardiovascular disease...

..Other gene defects that cause isolated aneurysms, however, have not thus far been described...

..Adjusting for baseline cardiovascular risk factors, participants with elevated depression scores at baseline were >2 times as likely as those with no depressive symptoms to have carotid plaque...

..9 to 15). CONCLUSION: In a population-based sample, use of fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine, alone or in combination with phentermine, was associated with aortic regurgitation independent of aortic dilatation or fibrocalcification...