Echocardiography
All patients underwent a clinically indicated 2D echocardiogram during
their admission according to published guidelines [7]. Standard
echocardiographic images in the parasternal, apical, and subcostal views
in the left lateral decubitus position were obtained by experienced
echocardiography technologists. RAVI was measured using the single plane
disc summation method in the four-chamber view, while LAVI was measured
using the biplane disc summation method in the four and two-chamber
views [7] (Figure 1). All studies were performed using the Philips
IE33 or Epiq 7CV (Philips Medical Systems, Andover, MA) or GE Vivid E9
Ultrasound (GE, Milwaukee, WI) systems and were analyzed and processed
using Enterprise Imaging (Agfa Healthcare N.V., Mortsel, Belgium).
Echocardiographic analyses were performed by two independent
investigators who were blinded to clinical outcomes.