ACE angiotensin converting enzyme BAL bronchoalveolar lavage CRT cardiac resynchronization therapy CT computed tomography 18 F-FDG fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose 67 Ga gallium-67 HRCT high resolution computed tomography ICD implantable cardioverter defibrillator MRI magnetic resonance imaging PET positron emission tomography sIL-2R soluble interleukin 2 recepter SPECT single photon emission computed tomography JCS GUIDELINES

Left ventricular structure and MR, as well as PCWP, could predict acute favorable effects on hemodynamics by ASV therapy in HF patients.

Circulation Journal Official Journal of the Japanese Circulation Society http://www. j-circ.or.jp that these parameters do not necessarily correlate with invasively measured LV filling pressure in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 2 severely reduced LV systolic function, 3 and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (EF). 4 Editorial p 1104Reasons for inaccuracies with tissue Doppler-derived parameters could include angle dependency and myocardial tethering, levated left ventricular (LV) filling pressure results in shortness of breath, which is both a major symptom and a prognostic predictor for heart failure. Therefore, noninvasive estimation of LV filling pressure is considered a goal of routine echocardiography. Recent recommendations encourage using tissue Doppler-derived early-diastolic mitral annular velocity (e´) as a parameter of LV relaxation and the ratio of early-diastolic LV inflow velocity (E) to e´ (E/e´) to indicate LV filling pressure. Background: Speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived parameters may have better correlation with left ventricular (LV) relaxation and filling pressure than tissue Doppler-derived parameters. However, it has not been elucidated which parameter -strain or strain rate -and which direction of myocardial deformation -longitudinal or circumferential -is the most useful marker of LV relaxation and filling pressure.

HF patients with D-HCM had higher mortality risk than those with DCM. Effective management strategies are critically needed to be established for D-HCM.

A uniform global input function can suppress LV spillover into the image-derived blood input function, resulting in improved precision for MBF quantification with 3D (82)Rb PET.