Sequoia 512

All tendons were examined with high resolution grey scale-ultrasound (US) and colour Doppler (CD), Acuson Sequoia 512, with 8-13 MHz frequency. The examinations were carried out in a sitting position, with the arm resting on a table, having 70-80 degrees of elbow flexion, and pronated wrist. CD was used to locate high blood flow. The same experienced doctor (HA) performed all US- and CD-examinations.

Transthoracic echocardiography was performed with the use of a high-resolution echocardiographic system (Sequoia 512; Acuson, Siemens, Germany) equipped with a 14-MHz linear transducer (17L5 probe; Acuson). The transducer was located overlying the chest to produce the optimal parasternal short axis two-dimensional images. A parasternal short-axis M-mode image at the papillary muscle level was acquired to measure the left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic posterior wall thickness (LVPWS) and left ventricular end-systolic posterior wall-depth (LVPWD). Left ventricular systolic function was also assessed from these measurements by calculating the left ventricle fractional shortening (LVFS) and the left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF). LVFS and LVEF were calculated as follows:
$\begin{array}{c}\text{LVFS}=\frac{\text{LVEDD}-\text{LVESD}}{\text{LVEDD}}\times 100\%\\ \text{LVFS}=\frac{\text{LV}\text{end-diastolic}\text{volume}-\text{LV}\text{end-systolic}\text{volume}}{\text{LV}\text{end-diastolic}\text{volume}}\times 100\%\end{array}$
The LV volume was calculated by the formula of Teichholz:
$V=[7/(2.4+D)]\times D^3$ where V is the LV volume and D is the LV dimension.18 (link)

The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS) is an ongoing follow-up study to access cardiovascular risk factors from childhood to adulthood. YFS is a prospective multi-center study initiated in 1980 with 3596 children and adolescents aged 3–18 years. The participants were randomly selected from areas of five university hospitals in Finland (Turku, Tampere, Helsinki, Kuopio and Oulu) and have been followed up for over 40 years. The present study is based on follow-up in 2007. CIMT measured in 2007 was used as proxy of subclinical atherosclerosis. An ultrasound imaging device with a high-resolution system (Sequoia 512, Acuson) was used for CIMT measurement by trained sonographers following a standardized protocol in the five centers. The measurements were taken for minimum of four times from posterior wall of the left common carotid artery ≈10 mm proximal to the carotid bifurcation. Traditional risk factors data was available from 2090 subjects (age:30–45 years, women:55%). Traditional risk factors, plasma ceramide and CIMT data are available for 2060 subjects (age:30–45 years, women:55%). The study complies with the Declaration of Helsinki, all participants gave written informed consent, and the study was approved by the local Ethics Committees (ETMK:68/1801/2017).