Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a well-recognized cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic implications of the restrictive left ventricular filling pattern (RFP) in dilated cardiomyopathy.Methods: Patients with DCM admitted to Ibn AL-Bitar Hospital for Cardiac Surgery, Baghdad-Iraq, from May 2006 to August 2008, underwent a full clinical evaluation and Doppler echocardiography study. Patients were classified into three groups: Group I had persistent restrictive filling pattern; Group II had reversible restrictive filling pattern; and Group III had nonrestrictive filling pattern. Results: The current study was conducted on a total number of 80 patients with DCM, fifty (62.5 %) were males and 30(37.5%) were females with a male to female ratio 1.6:1. Patients with restrictive filling pattern (Group I&II) were 51 (63.8%), while patients with nonrestrictive filling pattern (Group III) were 29 (36.2%). During follow up, patients with persistent restrictive filling pattern (30; 37.5%) had higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) class symptoms, low ejection fraction (EF) and higher mortality; 6 (20%) died within the first year, 6 (20%) died in the second year. Clinical improvement was significantly frequent in Group II and III than Group I.Conclusions: In patients with DCM, the persistence of restrictive filling at 3 months is associated with a high mortality the patients with reversible restrictive filling have a high probability of improvement and excellent survival.
Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common genetic cardiovascular disease. Its morphologically divided into asymmetrical septal hypertrophy, symmetrical concentric hypertrophy and apical hypertrophy,and physiologically divided into obstructive HCM and non obstructive HCM according to the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient at rest or with provocation. Several factors that increase risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), the more risk factors a patient has, the greater the chance that the patient is exposed to sudden death and sufficient to warrant consideration for interventional therapy.
Objective: The aims of the study are to evaluate the clinical presentations, risk strat
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Background: Duplex ultrasound is inexpensive, non-invasive and can provide functional and anatomical information about vessel stenosis and plaque morphology. Color duplex flow ultrasonography has thus become the most widely used noninvasive method of assessing extra cranial cerebrovascular occlusive disease.
Objectives:To find the relation of the severity of carotid artery stenosis, intima media thickness, and atheromatous plaque morphology with the size of cerebral infarction.
Patients and Methods: A prospective study, conducted from September 2010 to May 2011, in Department of Radiology in Baghdad Teaching Hospital. A total of 62 Patients with clinical & radiological (brain CT) diagnosis of acute stroke, (42 males & 20 fe
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Interleukin -33 (IL)-33 is among IL-1 cytokine superfamily , which shows promise as a biomarker predictive of mortality in diabetic and several cardiovascular disorders in vivo study.The objective of this study is to investigate the differences in the levels of IL-33 between healthy controls and patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic cardiomyopathy and to investigate the correlation of IL-33 with HbA1C (biomarkers of type 2 diabetes), hs-CRP and oxidant –antioxidant status. One hundred and fifty individuals (age 40-55) were enrolled in this study which was divided into three groups as follows: G1:50 healthy control,G2: 50 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus,G3: 50 patients with dia
... Show MoreBackground: liver diseases may not be recognized by clinicians, who can lead to a subsequent delay
in the initiation of effective therapies, the commonest presenting signs and symptoms of pediatric liver
diseases include hepatomegaly, jaundice, coagulopathy or elevation of the liver enzymes or waste
products as ammonia.
Objectives: To highlight the etiologies, pattern of presentations and the route of diagnosis of all liver
diseases in children less than 10 years referred to the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit in
Children Welfare Teaching Hospital over a six months period.
Patients and methods: A prospective study was conducted in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Unit in the Children Welfare Teaching Hospi
Background:
Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a hemodynamic and pathophysiological condition
defined as an increase in mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) ≥25 mmHg at rest as assessed by
right heart catheterization (RHC). Although there is some underestimation and overestimation of PAP
between transthoracic Doppler echo (DE) and RHC, Doppler echo remains an indispensable screening
tool for the assessment of PH.
Objective: clinical evaluation of patients with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) and assess
vasoreactivity testing to identify patients who may benefit from long term therapy with calcium channel
blockers (CCBs).
Patients and methods: This prospective study was performed in the cardiac catheterization
Background: A diverse group of bacteria live in biofilms in the oral cavity. On dental surfaces biofilms form plaque that is potentially involved in caries and periodontal diseases. Periodic studying of plaque microflora and their antimicrobial sensitivity patterns strongly affects the clinical practice in plaque-induced oral diseases. Materials and methods: Dental plaque samples were collected from 22 patients having ages ranged between 33 and 49 years with gingivitis that met the study criteria. Plaque, gingival and gingival bleeding indices (PI, GI, GBI) were measured for each patient. Laboratory procedures included microbiological examination of plaque samples followed by antibiotic sensitivity testing using disc diffusion method were
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Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction are considered to be an important risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in asymptomatic hypertensive
patients. At the bedside, left ventricular geometric remodeling and diastolic dysfunction in hypertension can not be diagnosed without echocardiography which is a useful adjunct to the medical history, physical examination, ECG, and chest radiography. Hence, it provides an opportunity for good management and prognosis of what appears to be preclinical hypertensive complication.
Subjects and Methods: 127 subjects with essential hypertension of either sex attending echo unit were subjected to medical history, clinical exa
Background: Cardiomyopathy (CM) is a cardiac muscle disorder that can lead to heart failure (HF). It has several phenotypes, including dilated, hypertrophic, and restricted. Pro-inflammatory cytokines play a crucial part in the development and advancement of CM. Objective: This study aimed to measure the concentration of certain cytokines [Interleukin- 1β (IL-1β), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-α)] in the serum of Iraqi patients with CM. Materials and Methods: Sixty CM patients and 30 healthy individuals with age ranged from 40 to 70 years old were enrolled in this study through their presence at Iraqi Center for Heart Diseases, Ghazy Al-Hariri Hospital for Surgical Specialties in the Medical City in Baghdad. The st
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