Taniyel Ay

Assessment of myocardial blood flow using myocardial contrast echocardiography.

Advances over the past 10 years have enabled the widespread use of myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) to assess myocardial perfusion. This assessment is critical in evaluating the severity of coronary artery disease and the efficacy of pharmacologic, mechanical, or surgical interventions. MCE measures myocardial blood flow (MBF) by investigating flow velocity and myocardial blood volume. Although there are potential limitations to the use of MCE for determining MBF, its use is feasible in the experimental laboratory and in the clinical environment.

Usefulness of low-dose dobutamine echocardiography for selection of patients with severely depressed left ventricular function for coronary bypass grafting

P the beneficial effects of revascularization result from restoring blood supply to dysfunctional but viable myocardial regions with subsequent improvement in regional and global left ventricular (LV) function. During the past decade, delineation of viable from nonviable myocardium has been the focus of considerable attention and has fostered the development of several new modalities aimed at predicting the return of LV function after revascularization. Among these modalities, low-dose dobutamine echocardiography has recently emerged as a safe, noninvasive, and accurate means of identification of viable myocardium. Although existing data suggest that low-dose dobutamine echocardiography is useful in predicting outcome in patients with moderately depressed LV function, there are no data regarding the prognostic impact of this modality in patients with severe LV dysfunction (i.e., an ejection fraction 25%). Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of low-dose dobutamine echocardiography in patients with severely depressed LV function undergoing coronary bypass grafting (CABG).