Introduction. There is a balanced relationship between the left ventricle (LV), the aortic valve and the aorta, the functioning of which is essential for optimal circulation. Associations between simultaneously assessed LV rotational mechanics and aortic valve annular (AVA) dimensions respecting the cardiac cycle have never been assessed in clinical circumstances in healthy individuals by three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (3DSTE). The present study aimed to perform an extensive investigation in order to clarify their possible associations. Methods. The present study comprised 111 healthy individuals (mean age 35.3 ± 12.0 years, 69 males). Results. With increase in end-diastolic AVA area, tendentious increase in apical LV rotation and consequential LV twist could be detected. Basal and apical rotations and LV twist were tendentiously higher in case of mean end-systolic AVA area compared to lower/higher than mean end-systolic AVA area. With increase in basal LV rotation, tendentious decrease in end-diastolic AVA dimensions could be detected. End-systolic AVA dimensions were tendentiously smaller in case of mean basal LV rotation compared to lower/higher than mean basal LV rotations. With increase in apical LV rotation, tendentious increase in end-diastolic AVA dimensions could be detected. End-systolic AVA dimensions were tendentiously higher in case of mean apical LV rotation compared to lower/higher than mean apical LV rotations. Conclusions. No obvious significant association could be detected between simultaneously assessed LV rotational mechanics and AVA dimensions respecting the cardiac cycle in healthy adults.

Objective: Radial arteries are increasingly used as grafts in coronary artery bypass surgery. The surgical preparation and intraoperative management of this conduit artery may affect its early and long-term patencies. We investigated the effects of the colloidal Biseko^® and 5% albumin solutions as well as the crystalloid physiological saline (0.9% NaCl) and Bretschneider solutions on the contractile and relaxing capacities of isolated human radial artery grafts. Method: Radial artery segments were harvested using the technique with an ultrasonic scalpel, and 2.5–3 mm rings were obtained from the proximal part of the artery. Arterial rings were stored in Biseko^® or 5% albumin solutions and in 0.9% NaCl or Bretschneider solutions for 45 min. Isometric tensions of radial arteries obtained from 26 patients were measured in isolated organ baths. Contractions were induced by 0.31 μmol L⁻¹ 5-hydroxytryptamine and 10 μmol L⁻¹ noradrenaline. Endothelium-dependent relaxations were induced by 10 μmol L⁻¹ acetylcholine and 1 μmol L⁻¹ bradykinin as well as the endothelium-independent relaxations by 10 μmol L⁻¹ glyceryl trinitrate and 100 μmol/l papaverine. Results: Contractions of radial arteries induced by 5-hydroxytryptamine were significantly lower following storage in Biseko^® solution (12.6 ± 4.4 mN) than in 5% albumin (37.9 ± 13.0 mN, p = 0.03) or in 0.9% NaCl solution (35.9 ± 11.9 mN, p = 0.04). Noradrenaline-induced contractions of the arteries were also diminished in Biseko^® solution compared to those stored in 5% albumin (32.9 ± 6.2 mN vs 49.2 ± 6.4 mN, p = 0.01). No significant differences in relaxations were obtained between the two crystalloid and the two colloidal solutions using endothelium-dependent and independent vasorelaxants. Conclusion: Our results suggest that storage of radial artery in Biseko^® colloidal solution before coronary artery bypass grafting decreases the sensitivity of the graft to vasoconstriction, thereby decreasing the risk of intra/perioperative graft failure.

Introduction: Mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) is a quantitative feature of left ventricular (LV) function that can be easily measured by M-mode echocardiography. The more recent LV strains represent LV contractility, and they can be determined for the three main directions in the radial (RS), longitudinal (LS), and circumferential (CS) directions. Three-dimensional (3D) speckle-tracking echocardiography (3DSTE) seems to be ideal for the simultaneous assessment of all LV strains from the same acquired 3D dataset. Their associations, however, have not been fully analyzed in clinical settings in healthy volunteers yet. Therefore, the present study aimed to find associations between MAPSE and 3DSTE-derived LV strains in healthy circumstances. Methods: The present study consisted of 106 healthy adult volunteers (mean age 28.1 ± 6.3 years, 48 men). Complete two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography with MAPSE assessment and 3DSTE-derived LV strain measurements were performed in all cases. Results: Tendentiously reduced LV volumes with preserved LV ejection fraction were present in the case of mean MAPSE as compared to decreased/increased MAPSE. Global and regional LV-RS and LV-CS did not differ if MAPSE was increased, mean or decreased. Global LV-LS was reduced in the case of decreased MAPSE, mainly due to tendentiously higher apical LV-LS. MAPSE did not differ if global LV-RS and LV-CS were increased, mean or decreased. MAPSE was tendentiously increased in the presence of increased global LV-LS. Conclusions: Only 3DSTE-derived global LV-LS and MAPSE are associated in healthy adults; LV global strains in other directions show no relationship with MAPSE.

Introduction: In systole, when the left ventricle (LV) twists, the left atrium (LA) behaves like a reservoir, having a special wall contractility pattern opposite to that of the LV wall. Accordingly, the objective of the present study was to investigate the associations between LV rotational mechanics and LA peak (reservoir) strains as assessed simultaneously by three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (3DSTE) under healthy conditions. Methods: In the present study, 157 healthy adults (mean age: 33.2 ± 12.7 years, 73 men) were involved. Complete two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography with 3DSTE-derived data acquisition were performed in all cases. The 3DSTE-derived LV rotational and LA strain parameters were determined at a later date. Results: Global LA peak reservoir circumferential (22.7 ± 6.4% vs. 27.6 ± 6.8%, p < 0.05) and area (57.8 ± 20.0% vs. 66.0 ± 22.7%, p < 0.05) strains proved to be reduced in the case of the highest vs. lowest basal LV rotation; other LA peak reservoir strains were not associated with increasing basal LV rotation. Global LA peak radial strain was highest in the case of the lowest vs. highest apical LV rotation (−19.2 ± 9.4% vs. −13.0 ± 8.2%, p < 0.05). Global LA peak reservoir 3D strain was lowest in the case of the highest vs. lowest apical LV rotation (−9.9 ± 6.8% vs. −5.0 ± 4.2%, p < 0.05). Only apical LV rotation proved to be significantly reduced in the case of the highest vs. lowest global LA peak reservoir 3D strain (8.12 ± 3.23° vs. 10.50 ± 3.44°, p < 0.05). Other global LA peak reservoir strains were not associated with basal and apical LV rotations. Conclusions: In LV systole, LV rotational mechanics is associated with LA deformation represented by LA peak (reservoir) strains even in healthy circumstances. While basal LV rotation is associated with LA widening, apical LV rotation is associated with LA thinning, suggesting the close cooperation of the LV and LA in systole even in healthy adults.

Background/Objectives: The aortic valve has a prominent role in regulating blood flow and is of exceptional importance in clinical cardiological practice, as it can be affected by numerous abnormalities, so any clinical study that examines its physiological properties may be of significance. It is known that the dimensions of the aortic valve annulus (AVA) not only change during the cardiac cycle, but also undergo spatial displacement. Considering this, the question arises as to whether the AVA’s dimensions and their spatial displacement, represented by aortic annular plane systolic excursion (AAPSE), are related or not. Therefore, these parameters were simultaneously assessed using three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (3DSTE) in healthy adults. Methods: The present study’s cohort consisted of 148 healthy adults (mean age: 34.8 ± 12.4 years, 80 men). In all cases, two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography and 3DSTE were performed, the latter being used to assess the aortic valve. Results: In all subjects, end-diastolic and end-systolic AVA dimensions showed no association with an increase in AAPSE. In subjects with a greater end-diastolic AVA area (AVA-A), end-systolic AVA dimensions tended to decrease with increasing AAPSE; this trend reached statistical significance for end-systolic minimum AVA diameter, when comparing participants with AAPSE below versus above the mean. With increasing end-diastolic AVA-A, all other AVA parameters increased accordingly in all subjects and regardless of which AVA-A proved to be greater. In all subjects, and in those with a greater end-systolic AVA-A, the AAPSE proved to be similar regardless of the size of the end-diastolic AVA-A. In cases with a greater end-diastolic AVA-A, only one subject showed a very small end-diastolic AVA-A. With increasing end-systolic AVA-A, all other AVA dimensions were increased in all subjects and in cases with a greater end-diastolic or end-systolic AVA-A. AAPSE showed no significant differences between the subgroups examined, although it tended to be lower in cases with a greater end-diastolic AVA-A and the largest end-systolic AVA-A, and in subjects with a greater end-systolic AVA-A and the smallest end-systolic AVA-A. Moreover, individuals with a greater end-diastolic AVA-A and the smallest end-systolic AVA-A had a tendency for increased AAPSE. No correlations were present between AVA dimensions and AAPSE. Conclusions: 3DSTE-derived AVA dimensions showed no obvious associations with AAPSE in the same healthy adults.