BACKGROUND: Increased left ventricular mass in patients with essential hypertension, coronary artery disease, chronic renal failure or in general population has been suggested as a useful predictor of increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Many studies have reported that left ventricular mass is correlated postively with body size. Thereafter normalization of left ventricular studies, but it is uncertain which is appropriate. This study was designed to determine the appropriate method for normalization of left ventricular mass to exclude influence of body size in normal adults. METHODS: We measured left ventricular mass 100 normal adults by M-mode echocardiogram using ASE cube method without(Devereux and Reichek's method) and with correction(Devereux and Alonso's method). Left ventricular mass were normalized for body weight, height, body surface area, body surface area1.5, height2.0 and height2.7 RESULTS: 1) Left ventricular mass by Devereux and Reichek's method correlated well with that by Devereux and Alonso's method(r=1.0,p<0.001). 2) Corrected left ventricular mass correlated well with weight(r=0.64, p<0.001), height(r=0.49, p<0.05), body surface area(r=0.53, p<0.01) and body mass index(r=0.58, p<0.001). 3) Correlation coefficients of left ventricular mass/weight with weight, of ventricular mass/height with height, of ventricular mass/height2.0 with height, of ventricular mass/height2.7 with height, of ventricular mass/body surface area with body surface area and of ventricular mass/body surface area1.5 with body surface area were 0.12, -0.05, -0.29, -0.42, 0.13 and -0.11 respectively. 4) Peak systolic wall stress correlated with age and left ventricular mass, but end systolic wall stress did not correlated with left ventricular mass. CONCLUSIONS: The current indexation method of left ventricular mass for height may reduce the variability associated with body size. Furthermore, it could be used reliably in normal Korean adults.
Adult* ; Body Height ; Body Size* ; Body Surface Area ; Body Weight ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Echocardiography ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Mortality

BACKGROUND: Patients who are considered for major pulmonary resection are generally evaluated by spirometry and clinical assessment to predict morbidity and mortality. Despite this, none has yet proved to be a convenient and reliable estimate of risk. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A retrospective analysis was performed in 167 patients who were diagnosed for lung cancer, bronchiectasis, pulmonary tuberculosis, and other benign pulmonary disease, and who underwent major lung resections. The relationship of 25 preoperative or postoperative variables to 19 postoperative events were classified into categories as operative mortality, pulmonary or cardiovascular morbidity, and other morbidity was assessed. Logistic regression analysis and x2 analysis were used to identify the relationship of the operative risk factors to the grouped postoperative complications. RESULT: The best single predictor of complications was the percent predicted postoperative diffusing capacity (pulmonary morbidity, p<0.009; cardiovascular morbidity, p<0.003: overall morbidity, p<0.004). CONCLUSION: The diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide was an important predictor of postoperative complications than the spirometry, and it usually should be a part of the evaluation of patients being considered for pulmonary resection.
Bronchiectasis ; Carbon Monoxide ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Lung ; Lung Diseases ; Lung Neoplasms ; Mortality* ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Spirometry ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

Failure in regression of fetal left common cardinal vein, commonly referred to as persistent left superior vena cava, is one of the most frequently encountered anomalies of the systemic venous return. We experienced a case of persistent left superior vena cava in a 60-year-old male who presented with exertional dyspnea and intermittent cough for 1 year. We found that the persistent left superior vena cava drained into right atrium via markedly dilated coronary sinus in transthoracic and contrast transesophageal echocardiography. The patient had also interruption of inferior vena cava, confirmed by venogram during right heart catheterization, so that the blood of inferior vena cava drained into left superior vena caba via hemiazygos vein. The patient improved with medical treatment and was discharged.
Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Coronary Sinus ; Cough ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Veins ; Vena Cava, Inferior ; Vena Cava, Superior

Internal impingement syndrome is characterized by the posterior shoulder pain when the arm is abducted and external rotated, and articular partial rotator cuff tear with posterosuperior labral fraying in throwing athletes. Osteochondral lesion of humeral head as an associated lesion is reported in some cases but, not considered to be a main origin of the symptoms. We found the similar features of osteochondral lesion on humeral head in three cases of internal impingement syndrome irrespective of conservative treatment for over three months and report good results obtained from arthroscopic debridement and microfracturing for these lesions with a review of the literatures.
Arm ; Athletes ; Cartilage Diseases ; Debridement ; Humans ; Humeral Head* ; Rotator Cuff ; Shoulder Pain ; Shoulder*

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that about one-sixth of all cerebral infarcts are due to cerebral embolism of cardic origin. But transthoracic echocardiographic examination(TTE) of patients with embolic strokes has made low yield for identifying the cause of cardiac or extracardiac source of embolism. Recently, transesophageal echocardiography(TEE) has been proved to be more sensitive than TTE for that purpose. We have studied to detect the potential sources of embolism and to asess the diagnostic yield of TEE in the patient with ischemic strokes. METHOD: Thirty-nine patients with recent cerebral ischemic events(19 men, 20 women, mean age 61), and thirty-eight control patients with other cardiac disease(14 men, 24 women, mean age 52) were examined by both TTE and biplane TEE. For detection of patent foramen ovale, transesophageal contrast echocardiography using 10 ml of agitated saline was performed in all patients. Thoracic aorta, arch of aorta, and ascending aorta were examined during pull back of esophageal probe. RESULTS: 1) TEE is superior to TTE for detection of potential sources pf embolism in the ischemic stroke patients(82 vs 21%, p < 0.001). 2) The potential sources of embolism diagnosed by TEE in the ischemic stroke patients were as follows : 18 aortic atherosclerotic plaque or clot, 11 left atrial(LA) spontaneous echo contrast, 8 LA appendage thrombus, 6 LA thrombus, 6 atrial septal aneurysm, 6 mitral stenosis, 3 patent foramen ovale and 1 prosthetic valve. 3) TEE is the unique procedure to diagnose aortic lesions, LA spontaneous echo contrast, atrial septal aneurysm and patent foramen ovale. 4) The incidence of the aortic lesions by TEE is significantly higher in the patients with ischemic stroke than in the controls(46 vs 11%, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Transesophageal echocardiography is useful for detection of potential cardiac and extracardiac sources of embolism compared with TTE and is a unique method for diagnosing aortic atherosclerotic lesion, left atrial spontaneous echo contrast, atrial septal aneutysm, patent foramen ovale and small left atrial appendage thrombus.
Aneurysm ; Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Atrial Appendage ; Dihydroergotamine ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Embolism ; Female ; Foramen Ovale, Patent ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intracranial Embolism ; Male ; Methods ; Mitral Valve Stenosis ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Stroke ; Thrombosis