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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The case of a sixty-year-old Nigerian with sickle cell anaemia is presented. His steady state haematocrit is 0.26 L/L. Haemoglobin F. and HbA2 measured 7.00% and 2.9% respectively. Bone pain crisis occurred very infrequently (one or less per year) but jaundice is always present. A right nephrectomy for haematuria was carried out in Dublin, Ireland, in 1954 when he had his first ever blood transfusion. He was hospitalised for the first time in Nigeria on 21/7/83 in anaemic cardiac failure with haematocrit of 0.14 L/L during which he had the second blood transfusion. Chronic leg ulcer, avascular necrosis of the femoral head and cholelithiasis were absent. He had led a fairly active life and recently retired (1986) as a bursar from a secondary school.
West Afr J Med
PMID:Sickle cell anaemia in a 60 year old Nigerian. 248 86

Cirrhosis is associated with several circulatory abnormalities. A hyperkinetic circulation characterized by increased cardiac output and decreased arterial pressure and peripheral resistance is typical. Despite this hyperkinetic circulation, some patients with alcoholic cirrhosis have subclinical cardiomyopathy with evidence of abnormal ventricular function unmasked by physiologic or pharmacologic stress. Florid congestive alcoholic cardiomyopathy develops in a small percentage, but the concurrent presence of cirrhosis seems to retard the occurrence of overt heart failure. Even nonalcoholic cirrhosis may be associated with latent cardiomyopathy, although overt heart failure is not observed. Tense ascites is associated with some cardiac compromise, and removing or mobilizing ascitic fluid by paracentesis or peritoneovenous shunting results in short-term increases in cardiac output. Cirrhosis also appears to be associated with a decreased risk of major coronary atherosclerosis and an increased risk of bacterial endocarditis. Small hemodynamically insignificant pericardial effusions may be seen in ascitic patients. The release of atrial natriuretic peptide appears to be unimpaired in cirrhosis, although the kidney may be hyporesponsive to its natriuretic effects.
West J Med 1989 Nov
PMID:Cardiac abnormalities in liver cirrhosis. 269 Apr 63

The frequency of surgical closure of a ventricular septum defect (VSD) in the first year of life has risen from 10% to 30% in the last seven years in West Germany. Whereas there was a decrease of mortality in older children, mortality has stagnated at 8% for correction at age 12 months or less (early correction). Development of an irreversible pulmonary hypertensive vasculopathy (PHVP) and recurrent heart failure with growth disorders are given as reasons for operation in the first year of life. In the last six years, we have operated on 31 infants for isolated VSD with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and closed the VSD. In approximately equal preoperative pressure in the two ventricles with a pressure ratio of 0.88 +/- 0.16, there was an immediate fall in pressure in the right ventricle with pressure ratios of 0.43 +/- 0.24. Three patients (9.7%) died perioperatively. In the same period, a primary VSD closure was carried out in 120 children even after over 12 months with three deaths (2.5%). Pulmonary tissue removed in this operation did not show any PHVP in four patients (13%), grades 0 to I and I to II in 10 patients each (total 33%) and a PHVP grade II to III in six patients (20%). This PHVP is capable of full regression. An irreversible PHVP does not develop up to the end of the first year of life in isolated VSD with PH, so that the correction can be safely postponed to the beginning of the second year of life provided that recurrent heart failure with growth disorders does not compel earlier correction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Pulmonary hypertensive vasculopathy--no indication for corrective operation of isolated ventricular septum defect in babyhood. 279 93

Maternal endoxin (digoxinlike substance) is proposed as arising in the fetal area of the fetal adrenal cortex. Its function may be to sensitize the uterus for labor, much as does cortisol in the sheep fetus. Because endoxin is a sodium-potassium-adenosine triphosphatase inhibitor, however, it may also induce maternal vasoconstriction. On our service, normal pregnant women have detectable endoxin after 35 weeks with increasing amounts at term. Specimens of cord blood often have "digoxin" in the therapeutic range. We find that about 40% of women in premature labor and 65% of pregnant women with hypertension have elevated levels of serum endoxin. Postdate gravid women sometimes have very low endoxin levels. Pregnant women with complications and elevated digoxin (endoxin) levels could have specific antidigoxin therapy if endoxin proves to be a modulator of their symptoms. Digoxinlike substances are also sometimes elevated in ill nonpregnant persons, such as those with renal, liver, or heart failure, or hypertension.
West J Med 1988 May
PMID:Fetal endoxins and complications of pregnancy. 284 75

Cardiac transplantation has evolved from an experiment to an accepted therapy for severe heart failure. Increasing competition for donor organs mandates a greater emphasis on selection and timing for transplantation and paradoxically forces more reliance on aggressive medical therapy for all patients after evaluation. The growth of recipient and donor pools may enhance the opportunity for assessing histocompatibility, for which distinguishing between autoantibodies and human leukocyte antigen-determined reactivity is important, and some general nonresponders may be detected. Therapy with cyclosporine has improved the outcome after transplantation, but further refinement is needed, perhaps with pharmacologic synergy, to minimize nephrotoxicity and maximize specific immunosuppression. Survival is more than 80% at 1 year, after which the incidence of acute rejection and infection declines and accelerated atherosclerosis becomes prominent. Although resuming employment is not always possible, the overall quality of life is excellent after cardiac transplantation.
West J Med 1988 Nov
PMID:Cardiac transplantation. Selection, immunosuppression, and survival. 307 57

In an 18-month period, 50 orthotopic cardiac transplantations were done in Utah in 48 patients with end-stage heart failure. The 12-month actuarial survival was 98%, indicating that successful cardiac transplantation can be done in a newly established program and that the intermountain West has an adequate supply of potential recipients and donors for a moderate- to high-volume program. Furthermore, the administration of cardiac transplantation in a setting of other treatment modalities of heart failure in a multi-institutional program that crosses private practice-academic barriers is feasible. Results such as these need to be considered by the federal government as it establishes eligibility criteria for centers to be approved for Medicare-funded cardiac transplantation.
West J Med 1987 May
PMID:Survival following cardiac transplantation--what are acceptable standards? 329 59

To compare diagnosis and treatment of heart failure among different European countries, an anonymous questionnaire was developed and sent to young AEMIE members all over Europe. 159 filled-in questionnaires were received: 30 p. 100 from France (F), 25 p. 100 from Great Britain (GB), 21 p. 100 from the Benelux countries (NL), 13 p. 100 from Italy (I) and 11 p. 100 from West-Germany (D). Baseline characteristics of the participating physicians (age, years of hospital training, available equipment, etc.) were comparable among the different countries. There was good agreement in the value of history, clinical examination, ECG and chest X-ray for the diagnosis of heart failure. In all countries breathlessness, basal crepitations and gallop rhythm were counted among the most important signs of left heart failure. Whereas the value of gated-blood-pool scanning and Holter monitoring as a first diagnostic approach was unanimously denied, the value of 2D-echocardiography in heart failure was discussed controversially: in I, F and D 50-80 p. 100 of the physicians thought echocardiography a first-hand diagnostic tool, whereas only 20-30 p. 100 of the physicians in GB and NL recommended echocardiography in the first place. Diuretics, sodium reduced diet and afterload reduction (in GB only) are the first therapeutic measures in GB, NL and F. However, in I and D digitalis is still the cornerstone of therapy (greater than or equal to 50 p. 100!). Physicians of all European countries with the exception of the physicians in D prefer pure digoxin as the first digitalis preparation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Diagnosis and treatment of heart failure in different European countries: a young AEMIE questionnaire. 376 90

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is uncommon and in its overt form is associated with heart failure, characterized primarily by abnormalities in diastolic function and preserved or nearly preserved systolic function. It may be associated with amyloidosis, hemochromatosis or endomyocardial fibrosis. We describe five patients with restrictive cardiomyopathy, ages ranging from 35 to 71 (mean 49), three of whom were men. Fatigue, dyspnea on exertion and chest pain were the most frequent symptoms. Only one patient had overt heart failure, and three had normal or near-normal hemodynamics at rest that became greatly abnormal with exercise. Four of the five patients are alive now 9 to 77 (mean 33) months following the onset of symptoms. Despite prior emphasis on specific causes, restrictive cardiomyopathy in this series had no definable cause. Moreover, the presence of a "latent" form of restriction (abnormalities only with exercise) suggests that the incidence of the disease may be higher than previously appreciated.
West J Med 1986 Mar
PMID:Clinical, hemodynamic and endomyocardial biopsy findings in idiopathic restrictive cardiomyopathy. 396 91

Hypertension is the most common chronic disease in the West Indies, and is a major health problem today being among the 10 most common causes of death in the English-speaking territories of the region. Most patients have essential hypertension. Renal failure, stroke, and cardiac failure are the most common complications, myocardial infarction being relatively uncommon in black patients. While an earlier report from the Caribbean suggested that beta-blockers were not effective for treating black hypertensives, recent experience with these drugs show that they are useful particularly when administered along with a diuretic. Beta-blockers may be required in higher doses than those commonly recommended for patients in Europe and North America, but even small doses of thiazide diuretics are effective in lowering the blood pressure of West Indian hypertensives. West Indians show a combination of personalistic, naturalistic, and modern medical beliefs, which need to be understood in order to mount effective programmes for the management of hypertension in the community.
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PMID:Hypertension in the West Indies. 664 70

Hypophosphatemia is a common laboratory abnormality that occurs in a wide variety of disorders. When severe and prolonged, it may be associated with rhabdomyolysis, brain dysfunction, myocardial failure and certain defects of erythrocyte function and structure. Other disorders ascribed to hypophosphatemia, including platelet dysfunction and thrombocytopenia, liver dysfunction, renal tubular defects, peripheral neuropathy, metabolic acidosis and leukocyte dysfunction are less well documented. In quantitative terms, the most severe phosphate deficiency is seen in patients who consume a phosphate-deficient diet in conjunction with large amounts of phosphate-binding antacids, in persons with severe, chronic alcoholism and in patients with wasting illnesses who are refed with substances containing an inadequate amount of phosphate. When severe hypophosphatemia occurs in such a setting, the clinical effects appear to be much more pronounced. While there have been some advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of phosphate depletion and hypophosphatemia, much remains to be learned. Treatment of hypophosphatemia is controversial; however, there is little question that it is indicated in alcoholic patients and those with severe phosphate deficiency.
West J Med 1981 Jan
PMID:Hypophosphatemia. 701 Jul 90


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