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BACKGROUND: Cardioversion by direct current (DC) and other methods can cause atrial "stunning." There are case reports of acute pulmonary edema after DC cardioversion, but whether acute ventricular dysfunction is a general consequence of DC cardioversion is unknown. We have investigated whether DC cardioversion acutely affects myocardial velocity assessed by Doppler tissue imaging. METHODS: 40 patients (30 with atrial fibrillation and 10 with atrial flutter) undergoing elective DC cardioversion underwent transthoracic echocardiography with Doppler tissue imaging before and immediately after cardioversion, and after follow-up. Peak systolic velocity was derived for 6 ventricular segments using Doppler tissue imaging. RESULTS: Immediately after DC cardioversion of atrial fibrillation, peak systolic velocity decreased in basal lateral (4.3 +/- 2.0-3.3 +/- 1.7 cm/s, P <.001), mitral annulus-septal (3.8 +/- 1.0-3.5 +/- 0.9, P <.05), mitral annulus-lateral (4.9 +/- 1.6-4.1 +/- 1.7, P <.001), and tricuspid annular (7.8 +/- 2.0-7.0 +/- 1.2, P <.03) segments, even though left ventricular ejection fraction was unchanged. In contrast, for the atrial flutter group there were no significant changes in peak systolic velocity in any segment post-DC cardioversion. Follow up studies were performed after sustained in sinus rhythm in both atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter groups. For both groups, increased peak systolic velocity was found in all 6 segments on follow-up (all P <.05). CONCLUSIONS: DC cardioversion causes subclinical, acute reversible reduction in left ventricular peak systolic velocity in patients with atrial fibrillation. The causes of this reduction in myocardial contractile velocity and the circumstances in which acute dysfunction become clinically significant warrant further investigation.

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We report a case of partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage where the left upper and lower pulmonary veins drain into a separate posterior left atrial (LA) chamber before continuing as a vertical ascending vein. The vertical vein then joins the left innominate vein, which eventually drains into a normal right-sided superior vena cava. There was no fenestration or communication between this posterior chamber and the true LA. The true LA contained the fossa ovale and LA appendage. The right upper and lower pulmonary veins drain normally into the true LA. To our knowledge, this is the first case where the left upper and lower pulmonary veins drain into a separate posterior LA chamber before continuing into a vertical vein. The diagnosis was initially made with transesophageal echocardiography and confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging. The patient later underwent successful corrective operation.

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BACKGROUND: Doppler spectrum of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is used to noninvasively assess right ventricular (RV) pressure. With mild TR, the native (Nat) TR envelope may not allow accurate pressure evaluation. Proprietary contrast agents, such as Levovist (Lev) can be used to augment TR Doppler and opacify right-sided heart chambers, but they are expensive, and their efficacy has not been objectively evaluated in patients with difficult baseline studies or compared with less expensive saline (Sal) or colloid solutions, such as Gelofusine (Gel). METHODS: Twenty-five consecutive patients with poor quality Nat TR envelopes on transthoracic echocardiogram were reexamined after serial intravenous injection of 3 contrast agents (Sal, Gel, and Lev). Doppler signals for each agent recorded on video and digitally on optical disk were assessed for signal quality, estimated RV pressure, interobserver and intraobserver variation, and longevity of signal. Quality of right ventricular-right atrial (RV-RA) opacification was also determined for Sal and Gel. Of the 25 patients, 9 underwent percutaneous right-sided heart catheterization. We used the pressures obtained from the catheterization to independently evaluate the pressure estimates from echocardiography. RESULTS: All 3 contrast agents significantly improved the mean quality grade (grades 0-5) of TR envelopes (Nat 1.12, Sal 1.97, Gel 2.56, Lev 2.41, P <.001), decreased the number of uninterpretable envelopes (grade 0) (Nat 49%, Sal 12%, Gel 4%, Lev 12%, P <.0001 for comparison of each agent relative to Nat), and improved the correlation between echocardiographic and catheter-derived RV-RA pressure measurements (Nat r = 0.65, Sal r = 0.75, Gel r = 0.90, Lev r = 0.88). The persistence of enhanced Doppler signals of interpretable quality (> grade 1) was greater for Lev (15.8 seconds) and Gel (15 seconds) than Sal (7.6 seconds) (P =.002). Opacification of RV and RA, measured as mean luminosity score during 2-dimensional harmonic imaging, was significantly higher for Gel than Sal (92.84 +/- 31.2 vs 56.06 +/- 25.6, respectively; P =.0003). Sal, Gel and Lev, respectively, cost $0.10, $2.50, and $75.00 per study. CONCLUSION: Agitated colloid is a novel, effective, and inexpensive alternative to proprietary agents and saline for the assessment of pulmonary systolic pressure and right-sided heart opacification.

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