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Query: UMLS:C0018799 (heart disease)
 34,133 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Clinical observation suggested an association between an increased cardiothoracic ratio (CT) and growth retardation (IUGR) in the premature neonate. To investigate this hypothesis, a case-control study was performed. Study subjects included 23 cases (IUGR) and 55 control (appropriate for gestational age [AGA]) premature infants with birthweights 2000 gm or less; Apgar scores greater than 5 at 5 minutes; no congenital heart disease; no polycythemia; no toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, or herpes infection. In random order, the first chest radiograph of each infant (less than 24 hours) was reviewed by a single radiologist, unaware of the infant's growth status. The CT ratio was computed after measuring the widest internal width of the bony thorax and the cardiac diameter. Mean birthweight (+/- 1 SD) of the IUGR infants was 1161 +/- 289 g and of AGA infants was 1401 +/- 401 g (p less than 0.002); the mean gestational ages (+/- 1 SD) were 33.2 +/- 2.8 and 30.8 +/- 2.5 weeks (p less than 0.001). Mean CT for IUGR infants was 0.57 +/- 0.07 (+/- 1 SD) versus AGA infants, 0.51 +/- 0.04 (+/- 1 SD), p less than 0.001. When the infants were stratified by growth status and CT ratio, 11 of 23 IUGR and 1 of 55 AGA infants had an increased CT ratio p less than 0.0001. When birthweight and gestational age were covaried, growth status remained the best predictor of CT, p = 0.005. There is a strong association of increased CT and growth retardation in premature infants with birthweights 2000 gm or less.
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PMID:Association of increased cardiothoracic ratio and intrauterine growth retardation. 198 63

Blacks, Hispanics, and whites were interviewed in a door-to-door survey assessing personal concern about AIDS relative to other health threats and willingness to attend in-home AIDS education programs. The survey consisted of three parts: (1) an open-ended inquiry regarding which health problems individuals wanted to learn more about, (2) ratings of concern about AIDS and nine other common health threats, and (3) assessment of willingness to participate in future neighborhood-based AIDS education programs. Usable data were obtained from 453 respondents. Sixty-seven health threats were mentioned in response to the open-ended inquiry; AIDS was mentioned by 50.7%, followed by cancer (19.9%). AIDS was mentioned more frequently by blacks (63.9%) than by Hispanics (42.5%) or whites (45.7%), X2(3) = 32.07, p less than .002. Participants also reported higher levels of concern about AIDS than any other health problem with the exception of cancer. Concern about AIDS was greater among blacks (M = 2.68) than among Hispanics (M = 2.33) or whites (M = 2.36), F(2,351) = 5.06, p less than .01. Differences as a function of ethnicity, gender, and/or age were observed with respect to concern about heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, drug abuse, colds and flu, and herpes. In general, blacks and Hispanics expressed more interest in participating in AIDS education programs than did whites. Concern about AIDS and other health threats was not consistently related to either disease prevalence or severity.
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PMID:AIDS and competing health concerns of blacks, Hispanics, and whites. 201 May 68

Viral respiratory infections are uncommon causes of pulmonary infiltrates in immunocompetent patients who undergo cardiothoracic surgery. In winter months, however, influenza can be acquired in the community preoperatively or in the hospital setting. The recognition of influenza cases is essential to prevent nosocomial transmission. Respiratory syncytial virus is also an important pulmonary pathogen in pediatric patients who undergo cardiothoracic surgery and may produce serious disease in children with underlying pulmonary or congenital heart disease. Viral infections of the respiratory tract are important causes of morbidity and mortality in heart and lung transplant recipients, especially cytomegalovirus (CMV). Other herpes viruses such as varicella zoster virus and herpes simplex virus may also occasionally involve the lung. Epstein-Barr virus has been incriminated in the pathogenesis of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, an uncommon but severe complication of transplantation. Except for Epstein-Barr virus, effective therapy exists for CMV and the other herpes viruses. Prophylaxis with ganciclovir is effective in preventing serious CMV infections in seropositive heart transplant recipients. However, better strategies are needed to prevent primary CMV infection in these patients.
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PMID:Viral pulmonary infections in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. 761 60

The original TORCH complex described clinically similar congenital infections caused by Toxoplasma gondii, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex virus, types 1 and 2. Cutaneous manifestations, including petechiae, purpura, jaundice, and dermal erythropoiesis, are commonly seen in toxoplasmosis, rubella, and cytomegalovirus infections. In herpes simplex virus infections, 80% of symptomatic infants show single or grouped cutaneous vesicles, oral ulcers, or conjunctivitis. Extracutaneous signs and symptoms are variable and can be severe. Significant clinical signs in congenital toxoplasmosis include diffuse intracerebral calcification, chorioretinitis, and microcephaly; congenital rubella can result in deafness, congenital heart disease, retinopathy, and brain calcification. Cytomegalic inclusion disease can include hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, paraventricular calcification, and intrauterine growth retardation. Localized or disseminated congenital herpes virus infection often involves the central nervous system and the eye. Diagnosis is confirmed by culture and identification of species-specific immunoglobulin M within the first 2 weeks of life. Histological examination contributes to the diagnosis in herpes simplex virus infection. Treatment for toxoplasmosis includes pyrimethamine with sulfadiazine or trisulfapyrimidine; congenital herpes simplex virus infection is treated with acyclovir. No specific therapy for congenital rubella or cytomegalovirus infections has been established, and so treatment is primarily supportive.
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PMID:TORCH syndrome. 764 Feb

The causes of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) are multiple, involving many different factors. Studies in humans and animals have shown that the maternal environment is the most important determinant of newborn weight, accounting for more similarity in birth weights of siblings than does genetic affinity. In addition to a direct relationship with the degree of maternal plasma volume expansion, many clinical factors are associated with IUGR. These factors include multiple gestation; fetal, genetic, and chromosomal anomalies (Down's syndrome and Turner's syndrome); infections such as TORCH syndrome (acronym for toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalic disease, and herpes); and various maternal disorders including anemia, severe chronic asthma, chronic renal disease, heart disease and hypertension. Maternal stress factors, including narcotic addiction, cigarette smoking and chronic alcoholism, are associated with IUGR. Placental anomalies including hemangiomas, placental infarcts, single umbilical artery, and small placental size are also associated with intrauterine growth retardation. Poor nutritional status of the mother at conception and inadequate energy and protein intakes during pregnancy can also result in IUGR. Because IUGR children are not a homogeneous group, they have a broad spectrum of growth, health, and developmental outcomes. In general they have higher rates of subnormal growth, morbidity, and neurodevelopmental problems. The biomedical mechanisms reflected in nutritional, infection-related, hormonal, and metabolic parameters are not likely to be independent causative factors of IUGR, but important mediating factors of a pathologic process set in motion by other agents and insults. This paper focuses mainly on the possible negative effects that a deficient maternal diet might have on fetal development and growth.
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PMID:Biological mechanisms of environmentally induced causes of IUGR. 951 Oct 16

During pregnancy, the future mother can develop several different diseases. Most of them have a benign prognosis. Cyanotic heart disease, at least when it is accompanied by significant pulmonary hypertension or induces a functional class IV represents a contra-indication to pregnancy. Pregnancy cardiomyopathy generally carries a poor prognosis and may be responsible for the mother's death. Herpes virus pneumopathy can also be extremely dangerous. Lupus erythematosus represents a factor of guarded prognosis for the outcome of pregnancy; discontinuation of the latter should be seriously considered. Hepatic steatosis which is a rare diagnosis must be distinguished from Hellp syndrome in which the maternal prognosis is much better. In this review, we shall briefly discuss various medical diseases which may have a deleterious influence on the evolution of pregnancy or on the foetus. These deleterious influences can be direct, i.e. due to the disease, or indirect, i.e. due to the therapy. We shall successively consider several neurological, cardiological, pulmonary, dermatological and digestive diseases. We shall not take into account viral infections or infections in general, diabetes mellitus or the various vasculo-renal syndromes.
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PMID:[Medical disorders which interfere with pregnancy]. 955 75

Helicobacter pylori is one of four organisms often investigated for ari association with ischaemic heart disease. The four, including Chlamydia pneumoniae, Cytomegalovirus and Herpes virus, cause low-grade, life-long infections that can produce a persistent inflammation, the kind that leads to heart disease. Several studies suggest an association, but others suggest none. Patients with poor access to medical care are more likely to become infected and also more likely to suffer from coronary artery disease. Although the literature data are provocative and interesting, the two things may not be related. Helicobacter pylori infection is quite prevalent among individuals without ischaemic heart disease and absent in many of those with ischaemic heart disease. Thus, more definite answers about whether there is any link between Helicobacter pylori and cardiovascular disease are needed. It would be essential to establish the specific mechanisms that possibly confer vulnerability or protection toward coronaropathy. But a definite answer could come from clinical trials designed to test whether antibiotics can prevent the disease. Until now, no randomised trial has suggested a positive effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication in reducing the incidence of cardiac events.
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PMID:Helicobacter pylori is an aetiological factor for ischaemic heart disease: the case against. 1097 58

Contrary to the present practice of measurement of cardio-vascular risk factors or inflammatory risk factors such as C-Reactive Protein (CRP) from a blood sample from the vein of one arm, by using the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test Resonance Phenomena between 2 identical substances, one can non-invasively detect the approximate location on the body of abnormally increased risk factors in just 2 minutes, by detecting the resonance with L-Homocystine, even when blood CRP failed to detect any abnormality. This is performed by projecting a 0.5 to approximately 5mW red spectral laser beam with 560-670nm wavelength, to at least 6 standard parts of the body, when one of the control risk markers placed next to the laser beam also exists in the part of the body tested. It is generally believed that CRP is increased in the presence of acute myocardial infarct, chronic rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, metabolic abnormalities such as often detected in diabetes, inflammation and underlying infection of the cardio-vascular system, and in some cancers. However, in our study, when the clinical significance of CRP and L-Homocystine was compared, we found that CRP often was not increased when there was extensive infection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis as well as asymptomatic infection by Cytomegalovirus, Herpes Simplex Virus Type I, Human Herpes Virus Type 6, Borrelia Burgdorferi, or Chlamydia Trachomatis in the heart (and other parts of the body), particularly when there was liver cell dysfunction such as an increase in ALT. In contrast, L-Homocystine was often increased in the presence of localized infections of the heart and other parts of the body. For screening of Cardio-Vascular diseases by this method, 0.5mg of L-Homocystine as a control marker was found to be the most sensitive and reliable, compared with most effective amount of CRP, 0.5ng, for detecting early Cardio-Vascular problems due to various localized infections. About 0.5ng of cardiac Troponin T and cardiac Troponin I were also useful for detecting early stages of heart disease but they are not as sensitive as L-Homocystine. Once the pathogenic factors were identified, the effective medication was given, and the Selective Drug Uptake Enhancement Method (originally discovered by the first author in 1990) was applied after the effective drug was administered, to selectively deliver the medication to the pathological area, while reducing drug uptake to the normal parts of the body. As a result, the therapeutic effect was markedly accelerated.
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PMID:2 minute non-invasive screening for cardio-vascular diseases: relative limitation of C-Reactive Protein compared with more sensitive L-Homocystine as cardio-vascular risk factors; safe and effective treatment using the selective drug uptake enhancement method. 1293 59

Several investigations showed that in addition to genetic factors also virological and chronic inflammatory aspects are relevant pathogenic mechanisms for the development of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Based on the etiopathogenic importance of viral persistence and chronic myocardial inflammation for disease progression, novel rational therapeutic strategies have been developed. The diagnosis of chronic myocardial inflammation and viral persistence has been a controversial issue for a long time due to diagnostic pitfalls. Detection of persistence of viral genomes with adequate sensitivity and specificity succeeded only by the establishment of sensitive molecular biological techniques such as in situ hybridization and nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR). By the use of these molecular biological methods, further viruses have been detected in DCM patients in addition to the classic cardiotropic viruses (entero- and adenoviruses), particularly parvovirus B19, human herpes virus type 6 (HHV-6), and Epstein-Barr virus. Considering these different cardiotropic viruses, viral persistence can be proven in > 50% of the DCM patients, consistent with the diagnosis of viral heart disease. This differentiated diagnosis enables, in addition to symptomatic therapy of heart failure, novel rational therapeutic regimens (e. g., beta-interferon) in the setting of randomized trials such as the BICC Study (Betaferon In Patients with Chronic Viral Cardiomyopathy).
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PMID:[Antiviral therapy in viral heart disease]. 1591 37

Congenital infections are among the most pressing health care problems. Congenital infections are not reason of congenital malformation and perinatal mortality only, but also pathologies that can be revealed during first year of life. Frequency for congenital viral infection displayed from birth varies between 23% and 92%. The aim of the study was the investigation of inherent infection consequences (citomegaloviral infection, herpes infection and chlamidia) in children in different age groups. Under our observation were 81 children with congenital infections. Among them 29 were with citomegaloviral infection, 17 with herpes infection; 15 chlamidia infection and 22 infections mix (citomegalovirus + herpes, citomegalovirus + chlamidia and chlamidia + herpes). In all observed children neurological simptomatic such as neuro-reflectory hyperexcitability syndrom, hypertension-hydrocephalic syndrom, musculary dystonia syndrom, hydrocephaly, retardation of psychomotor development etc. were present. After birth the worst prevalent are pathologies of cardiovascular system: functional cardiopathy, carditis, congenital heart disease (among them multivalvular disease), affection of hepatobilliar system, organs of vision and hearing etc are present also.
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PMID:[Aftereffects of congenital infections in infants]. 1726 90


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