• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.308-326
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• 2024

A comprehensive evaluation of cardiac function includes information in relation to cardiac output and systemic venous return. The heart is composed of four chambers: two atria and two ventricles, each with its own unique mechanical function. These four cardiac chambers, their valves, and the pulmonary circulation system are inter-related as they preload or afterload on each other. Cardiac dysfunction is a failure of global cardiac function, resulting in typical clinical manifestations. To investigate the underlying cause of cardiac dysfunction, a step-by-step evaluation of cardiac blood flow tracks is necessary. In this context, imaging markers showing details of the cardiac structures have an important role in assessing cardiac function. An image-based evaluation allows for investigation of function in terms of individual cardiac components. Evaluation of cardiac function using cardiac CT has recently been validated. This review aimed to discuss cardiac CT-based imaging markers for comprehensive and detailed cardiac function assessment.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.321-328
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• 2011

This study divided a group of healthy adults aged 20 or older who had a health examination at J General Hospital in Gyeonggi Province into three groups according to the degrees of metabolic syndrome risk factors. They include the normal group (n=58), the pre-metabolic syndrome group (n=112) and the metabolic syndrome group (n=32). They were compared in exercise capacity and cardiac structure and function and impacts of exercise capacity on the cardiac diastolic function. All the groups took echocardiography to have their cardiac structures and functions examined and an exercise stress test to have their exercise capacity measured. The research findings were as follows: There were differences in exercise capacity, cardiac structure, and diastolic heart function among three groups. Between exercise capacity and diastolic heart function was found to be related. It turned out exercise capacity affected the cardiac diastolic functions. In conclusion, there were significant differences in exercise capacity between the normal group and the metabolic syndrome group and in the cardiac structure and function among the normal, metabolic syndrome, and pre-metabolic syndrome group. In addition, METs (metabolic equivalents) and heart rate recovery of exercise capacity turned out to affect cardiac diastolic functions.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to find out any difference and correlation between the cardiac structure and its function according to the level of obesity as evaluated by waist measurement and BMI (body mass index) in healthy adults. For research subjects, the study selected a final 519 subjects excluding 198 subjects aged 55 or over out of 717 subjects who received echocardiography through a medical checkup at J General Hospital. For the criteria for obesity, men were defined as being obese in case their waist measurement was over 90 cm, whereas women were defined as being obese in case their waist measurement was over 80 cm. Also, regarding the BMI criteria, in case a person's BMI was 30 kg/$m^2$, the subject was classified as belonging to an obese group, and in case a person's BMI was between 25 kg/$m^2$ and 30 kg/$m^2$, the subject was classified as belonging to an overweight group. Concerning the evaluation of cardiac structure and function, they were evaluated using two-dimensional, M-mode, doppler echocardiography. According to the stage of obesity in accordance with waist measurement and BMI, the cardiac structure showed both eccentric and centripetal changes, and the cardiac function was also discovered to show differences according to the stage of obesity. In addition, also in the overweight group, which is a prior stage to obesity, out of the criteria for obesity classification according to BMI, there were differences in the cardiac structure and function. Also, both the waist measurement and BMI were found to have a correlation with cardiac structure and diastolic function. Consequently, cardiac structure and function are correlated with BMI and waist measurement, which are anthropometrical variables, and obesity is assumed to induce not only structural change but also functional change of the heart.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1946-1963
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• 2021

Cardiac computed tomography (CT) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) can reveal the detailed anatomy and function of the tricuspid valve and right ventricle (RV). Quantification of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and analysis of RV function have prognostic implications. With the recently available transcatheter treatment options for diseases of the tricuspid valve, evaluation of the tricuspid valve using CT and CMR has become important in terms of patient selection and procedural guidance. Moreover, CT enables post-procedural investigation of the causes of valve dysfunction, such as pannus or thrombus. This review describes the anatomy of the tricuspid valve and CT and CMR imaging protocols for right heart evaluation, including RV function and TR analyses. We also demonstrate the pre-procedural planning for transcatheter treatment of TR and imaging of postoperative complications using CT.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.999-1005
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of low-intensity cardiac rehabilitation exercise on the cardiac function and the degree of fibrosis in an older white rat model. This study used male Sprague-Dawley white rats that were 50 weeks old. After the acute myocardial infarction induction, Twenty of the rats were randomly allocated into an experimental group and a control group, and each of the groups consisted of 8 rats. In the experimental group, the exercise was conducted for six weeks, 30 minutes a day, five days a week, using a Rotarod treadmill for animals. The degree of myocardial fibrosis was significantly repressed in the experimental group($13.69{\pm}1.90%$) and in the control group($15.67{\pm}1.54%$)(p<0.05). However, fractional shortening and ejection fraction did not show a significant difference. The results of this study suggest that cardiac rehabilitation with low intensity treadmill exercise repress the myocardial fibrosis.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2021

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for approximately 30% of all deaths worldwide and its prevalence is constantly increasing despite advancements in medical treatments. Cardiac remodeling and dysfunction are independent risk factors for CVD. Recent studies have demonstrated that cardiac structure and function are genetically influenced, suggesting that understanding the genetic basis for cardiac structure and function could provide new insights into developing novel therapeutic targets for CVD. Regular exercise has long been considered a robust nontherapeutic method of treating or preventing CVD. However, recent studies also indicate that there is inter-individual variation in response to exercise. Nevertheless, the genetic basis for cardiac structure and function as well as their responses to exercise training have yet to be fully elucidated. Therefore, this review summarizes accumulated evidence supporting the genetic contribution to these traits, including findings from population-based studies and unbiased large genomic-scale studies in humans.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.299-305
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• 2009

Purpose: Multiple studies have documented that high resting levels of cardiac vagal tone suggest higher levels of self-regulation. The aim of this study was to evaluate cardiac vagal tone as an indicator of autonomic nervous function in healthy newborn and premature infants. Methods: This study was conducted using a descriptive comparison design and a convenience sampling strategy. The participants were 72 healthy and 62 premature infants delivered in a university hospital. Continuous heart rate data recordings from the infant's ECG were analyzed and Mxedit software was used to calculate mean heart period and an index of cardiac vagal tone. Results: The healthy infants had significantly higher cardiac vagal tone than the premature infants, when the influence of gestational age was removed using analysis of covariance. However, there were no significant differences in heart rate and heart period between the two groups when the influence of gestational age was removed using analysis of covariance. Conclusion: The results of this study show that cardiac vagal tone may be used as an index for determining infant's autonomic nervous function. Nursing staff in pediatric departments can use cardiac vagal tone with ease, as this index can be calculated in a noninvasive method from the ECG.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.212-224
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the cardiac rehabilitation program(Phase III) on cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory function in the elderly (age, ${\geq}$ 60) who experienced acute myocardial infarction. Methods: The design of research was nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Subjects were 10 people in the experimental group and 10 in the control group. The intervention program was the cardiac rehabilitation program(Phase III), and was performed for 50 ~ 60 minutes, twice a week for 8 weeks. The dependent variables were the cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory function. Results: Significant differences were shown in RHR, RSBP, SRPP, SBS, BMI, PT of the experimental group after the intervention. As for the differences in the amount of changes, there were differences among groups in RHR, RSBP, SRPP, SBS, PMET, and PT of the experimental group. Conclusion: The cardiac rehabilitation program(Phase III) may be effective in improving cardiovascular function and enhancing cardiorespiratory function in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.7
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• pp.752-755
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• 2009

It is well known that hemodynamic load is one of the most important determinants of cardiac structure and function. Circadian variations in blood pressure (BP) are usually accompanied by consensual changes in peripheral resistance and/or cardiac output. In recent years, reduction in circadian variations in BP and, in particular, loss of nocturnal decline of BP were observed in hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The patients with only a slight or no loss of nocturnal decline of BP were considered "non-dippers". Regression of LVH was observed after prolonged antihypertensive therapy. Restoration of the circadian rhythm of BP was also observed. However, the classification of patients into "dippers" and "non-dippers" is arbitrary and poorly standardized and repeatable, and in the recent studies, most hypertensive patients with LVH were "dippers". Therefore, we should be particularly cautious about the conclusions drawn using this index. On the other hand, reduced activity of low-pressure cardiopulmonary baroreceptors and impaired day-to-night modulation of autonomic nervous system activity were observed in patients with only LVH. Therefore, alterations in cardiac structure may impair BP modulation. On the other hand, the reverse can also be trueprimary alterations in BP modulation, through a persistently elevated afterload, can increase cardiac mass. Thus, the interrelationship between cardiac structure and BP modulation is complex. Hence, new and more specific methods of evaluating circadian changes in BP are needed to better clarify the abovementioned reciprocal influences.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.59-63
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• 2018

Purpose: Cardiomyopathy is becoming the leading cause of death in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy because mechanically assisted lung ventilation and assisted coughing have helped resolve respiratory complications. To clarify cardiopulmonary function, we compared cardiac function between the home ventilator-assisted and non-ventilator-assisted groups. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy from January 2010 to March 2016 at Gangnam Severance Hospital. Demographic characteristics, pulmonary function, and echocardiography data were investigated. Results: Fifty-four patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy were divided into 2 groups: home ventilator-assisted and non-ventilator-assisted. The patients in the home ventilator group were older ($16.25{\pm}1.85years$) than those in the nonventilator group ($14.73{\pm}1.36years$) (P=0.001). Height, weight, and body surface area did not differ significantly between groups. The home ventilator group had a lower seated functional vital capacity ($1,038{\pm}620.41mL$) than the nonventilator group ($1,455{\pm}603.2mL$). Mean left ventricular ejection fraction and fractional shortening were greater in the home ventilator group, but the data did not show any statistical difference. The early ventricular filling velocity/late ventricular filling velocity ratio ($1.7{\pm}0.44$) was lower in the home ventilator group than in the nonventilator group ($2.02{\pm}0.62$. The mitral valve annular systolic velocity was higher in the home ventilator group (estimated ${\beta}$, 1.06; standard error, 0.48). Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy on a ventilator may have better systolic and diastolic cardiac functions. Conclusion: Noninvasive ventilator assistance can help preserve cardiac function. Therefore, early utilization of noninvasive ventilation or oxygen may positively influence cardiac function in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.