Cardiac auscultation simulator embedded in virtual learning environment to support medical teaching.

Heart auscultation remains as an important clinical tool in heart disease diagnostics. A prototype was developed, using an existing database of clinical and cardiac sounds of pregnant women [1]. The context for virtual learning is cardiac disease during pregnancy (Partum and Post Partum situations). Based on real histories, cardiac sounds, and complementary exams, this pilot presents the most frequent diagnosis of cardiac diseases during pregnancy.

Left ventricle diastolic dysfunction in diabetes: an update.

Diabetes mellitus, a disease that has been reaching epidemic proportions, is an important risk factor to the development of cardiovascular complication. Diabetes causes changes within the cardiac structure and function, even in the absence of atherosclerotic disease. The left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (VE) represents the earliest pre-clinical manifestation of diabetic cardiomyopathy, preceding the systolic dysfunction and being able to evolve to symptomatic heart failure. The doppler echocardiography has emerged as an important noninvasive diagnostic tool, providing reliable data in the stages of diastolic function, as well as for systolic function. With the advent of recent echocardiographic techniques, such as tissue Doppler and color M-mode, the accuracy in identifying the moderate diastolic dysfunction, the pseudonormal pattern, has significantly improved. Due to cardio-metabolic repercussions of DM, a detailed evaluation of cardiovascular function in diabetic patients is important, and some alterations may be seen even in patients with gestational diabetes.

Left ventricle diastolic dysfunction in diabetes: an update

Diabetes mellitus, a disease that has been reaching epidemic proportions, is an important risk factor to the development of cardiovascular complication. Diabetes causes changes within the cardiac structure and function, even in the absence of atherosclerotic disease. The left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (VE) represents the earliest pre-clinical manifestation of diabetic cardiomyopathy, preceding the systolic dysfunction and being able to evolve to symptomatic heart failure. The doppler echocardiography has emerged as an important noninvasive diagnostic tool, providing reliable data in the stages of diastolic function, as well as for systolic function. With the advent of recent echocardiographic techniques, such as tissue Doppler and color M-mode, the accuracy in identifying the moderate diastolic dysfunction, the pseudonormal pattern, has significantly improved. Due to cardiometabolic repercussions of DM, a detailed evaluation of cardiovascular function in diabetic patients is important, and some alterations may be seen even in patients with gestational diabetes.

O Diabetes Mellitus (DM), doença que vem atingindo proporções epidêmicas, é um importante fator de risco para o desenvolvimento de complicação cardiovascular. O DM leva a alterações cardíacas estruturais e funcionais, mesmo na ausência de doença aterosclerótica. A disfunção diastólica do ventrículo esquerdo (VE) representa a manifestação pré-clínica mais precoce da cardiomiopatia diabética, precedendo a disfunção sistólica e podendo progredir para insuficiência cardíaca sintomática. O Doppler ecocardiograma tem se mostrado uma importante ferramenta diagnóstica não-invasiva, fornecendo dados confiáveis dos estágios da função diastólica do VE, assim como da função sistólica. Com o advento de recentes técnicas de ecocardiografia, como o Doppler tecidual e o color M-mode, a acurácia em identificar a disfunção diastólica moderada, padrão pseudonormal, aumentou significativamente. Frente às repercussões cardiometabólicas do DM, é importante uma avaliação detalhada da função cardiovascular dos pacientes diabéticos, sendo que algumas alterações podem ser vistas até mesmo em pacientes com o diabetes gestacional.