Myocardial contractility in the stress echo lab: from pathophysiological toy to clinical tool.

ABSTRACT: Up-regulation of Ca2+ entry through Ca2+ channels by high rates of beating is involved in the frequency-dependent regulation of contractility: this process is crucial in adaptation to exercise and stress and is universally known as force-frequency relation (FFR). Disturbances in calcium handling play a central role in the disturbed contractile function in myocardial failure. Measurements of twitch tension in isolated left-ventricular strips from explanted cardiomyopathic hearts compared with non-failing hearts show flat or biphasic FFR, while it is up-sloping in normal hearts. Starting in 2003 we introduced the FFR measurement in the stress echo lab using the end-systolic pressure (ESP)/End-systolic volume index (ESVi) ratio (the Suga index) at increasing heart rates. We studied a total of

SUBMITTER: Bombardini T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3875530 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature