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

Sinus node dysfunction and AV block constitute the underlying pathology for the majority of patients receiving permanent pacemakers. The predominate arrhythmia is bradycardia, and although rarely life threatening, patients may present with severe symptoms such as syncope or acute heart failure. In these situations, patients are admitted to the critical care or telemetry unit for monitoring and treatment. It is the responsibility of the critical care nurse to have an understanding of the clinical manifestations of sinus node dysfunction and AV block and to initiate appropriate interventions for symptomatic arrhythmias.
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PMID:Patients with sinus node dysfunction or atrioventricular blocks. 819 84

This review outlines the mechanisms of body temperature control and the validity of various sites of measurement of core temperature. The mechanism of fever in response to circulating endotoxins are discussed, and the roles of various peripherally generated pyrogenic cytokines are outlined together with the loci of their action in the brain. The cardiovascular consequences of exposure to heat, particularly the pooling of blood in the skin and the increase of heart rate due to heating of the sinoatrial node, are discussed. The consequences of blood pooling, such as syncope or diminished G tolerance, are very important. Heat exposure and exercise lead to complex circulatory interactions, such as a higher heart rate for a given exercise load in the heat compared with a cool environment. At high work loads there may be a relatively lower cardiac output in hot conditions. Blood lactate levels and rectal temperature tend to be higher in exercise in the heat than exercise in the cold. Fever causes a large renal vasodilation and hepatic vasodilation, which are humorally mediated and which effectively cause a splanchnic vascular shunt of some consequence if there is already heart failure or shock. Syncope during fever, endotoxin shock and the role of pyrogens in heat stroke are discussed.
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PMID:Some responses of the cardiovascular system to heat and fever. 819 89

The initiation of cardiac impulse is located in the sinus node, in the upper anterior part of the right atrium. The importance of the atrium is not only linked to the regulation of heart rate, but also to its haemodynamic function. Indeed, atrial depolarization leads to atrial contraction which can be responsible for up to 30% of cardiac output by way of ventricular filling. Supraventricular arrhythmias are related to one of the following mechanisms: abnormal automaticity, triggered activity, and reentry. Most of supraventricular tachycardias are due to a reentrant phenomenon (intranodal reentrant tachycardia, orthodromic circusmovement tachycardia, atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation). At the onset of a supraventricular tachycardia, the loss of efficacious atrial contraction as well as the increased heart rate may abruptly decrease ventricular filling. As a consequence, stroke volume is reduced, leading to a decrease in cardiac output and in arterial blood pressure, explaining that the patient may experience syncope. Usually, blood pressure reduction resumes within 30 seconds after activation of the autonomic adrenergic nervous system. In case of an underlying heart disease, the supraventricular tachycardia may lead to acute cardiac failure. When reentry is concerned, the tachycardia is going around a specific circuit. The existence of such a circuit in most of supraventricular tachycardias has led to the development of ablation therapy, the goal of which is to destroy a critical portion of the circuit hence making the recurrence of reentrant tachycardia impossible.
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PMID:[Atrial activity and its effects]. 823 2

In 17 patients (aged 78 +/- 9 years) with symptomatic atrial fibrillation and a slow ventricular response not related to drugs, a resting electrocardiogram and 24-hour Holter recording were obtained before and 5 to 6 days after administration of slow-release theophylline (700 mg/day), and successively every 3 months during the long-term phase. Fourteen patients had organic heart disease, and 13 complained of syncope or presyncope, and 4 of asthenia and easy fatigability. At the steady-state evaluation, theophylline significantly increased resting heart rate (HR) by 42%, mean 24-hour HR by 31% and minimal 24-hour HR by 34%. Cardiac pauses > 2,500 ms disappeared or markedly decreased. The daily number of wide QRS complexes increased. Serum theophylline level was 13 +/- 5 ng/ml. During the follow-up period (20 +/- 18 months), the mean daily theophylline dosage was 450 mg and the mean serum theophylline level 9 ng/ml. Seven patients died: 1 because of heart failure, and 6 because of noncardiac death. One patient complained of a syncopal episode during 1 visit. The drug markedly reduced asthenia and easy fatigability. During the long-term phase, HR increased spontaneously in 3 patients, and the treatment was interrupted. In 2 patients, theophylline had to be discontinued because of gastric intolerance. During long-term therapy, HR was similar to that observed at the steady-state evaluation, despite the reduction in daily dosage. The data suggest that theophylline is an effective therapy in most patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation and a slow ventricular response.
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PMID:Long-term effects of theophylline in atrial fibrillation with a slow ventricular response. 823 3

Five patients, 3 months to 13 year old with atresia (4) or stenosis (1) of the left coronary artery underwent myocardial revascularisation at Marie Lannelongue Hospital. The preoperative symptoms were dominated in one case by cardiac failure due to myocardial infarction and in the other cases by effort angina with syncope. The operative technique of revascularisation in one case was angioplasty with enlargement of the left main coronary artery with a patch and, in the others, bypass graft of the left coronary artery with the left internal mammary artery. All 5 patients survived surgery and are asymptomatic with a follow-up of 6 months to 7 years. Control coronary angiography confirmed the patency of the different procedures of myocardial revascularisation. In 3 children, exercise electrocardiography was normal. Myocardial revascularisation of a child with a congenital stenotic abnormality of the left coronary network is possible, the technique of which depends on the diameter of the left main stenosis when the vessel is absent or atresic, left internal mammary artery bypass graft is the only solution. When the left main coronary is stenosed but patent, direct reconstructive surgery is an interesting alternative.
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PMID:[Atresia or congenital stenosis of the left coronary ostium. Myocardial revascularization in 5 children]. 825 68

Infundibular pulmonic stenosis with intact ventricular septum of primary origin is an uncommon condition. We report 15 such patients (nine males and six females, aged 7-36 years) who had undergone surgical correction for the anomaly during the period between 1975 and 1992. The occurrence of this clinical setting represents 0.19% (15/7826) of all cardiac operations and 0.46% (15/3222) of congenital heart diseases undergoing surgical correction during that period of time. The lesion was of discrete fibromuscular hypertrophy of the infundibulum in all 15 patients. The presenting symptoms of most patients were exertional dyspnea and syncope; however, five patients with severe obstruction were asymptomatic. The peak systolic pressure gradient across the infundibulum ranged from 71 to 230 mmHg. There was only one operative death; the remainder had remained well following the surgery over a mean follow-up period of 35 months. Surgical correction for infundibular pulmonic stenosis is rewarding in the absence of heart failure.
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PMID:Infundibular pulmonic stenosis with intact ventricular septum: a report of 15 surgically corrected patients. 828 34

Most diagnoses of cardiovascular disease are made in the office or at the bedside. For example, in pulsus alternans of the radial pulse, observed when first greeting a patient, alteration of intensity of the second sound and systolic murmur and a ventricular (S3) gallop are clinical pearls--often subtle--that diagnose cardiac decompensation. A faint gallop, ventricular (S3) or atrial (S4), might be overlooked in a patient who has an emphysematous chest and an increase in anteroposterior diameter if one listens over the usual areas of the precordium. However, the gallop might be detected easily by listening over the xiphoid or epigastric area. How do you tell the difference between an S4, a split first sound, and an ejection sound? The S4 is eliminated with pressure on the stethoscope, but pressure does not eliminate the ejection sound or the splitting of S1. The atrial sound (S4) is most frequently found in patients who have coronary heart disease, and it is a constant finding in patients who have hypertension. It does not denote heart failure, as does the S3 (ventricular) gallop. In some patients, both atrial (S4) and ventricular (S3) diastolic gallops may be present. This occurrence is common in patients with cardiac decompensation associated with coronary heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, and dilated cardiomyopathy. When these diastolic filling sounds occur in close proximity, a short rumbling murmur may be heard, which causes confusion of this sound with that of a valvular or congenital lesion. When both sounds occur exactly simultaneously, a single sound results. Often, this sound is louder than either the first or second sound and can be misinterpreted as either a valvular or congenital lesion. This, however, is a summation gallop, which is rare. For the most accurate timing of heart sounds and murmurs, the simple technique called "inching" is the best. Keeping the second sound in mind as a reference, the physician moves (inches) the stethoscope from the aortic area to the apex. An extra sound may be noted to occur in systole before the second sound, thereby diagnosing a systolic click. If the sound occurs after the second sound, however, it is an S3 or ventricular diastolic gallop. If a murmur appears before S2, it is a systolic murmur; if it appears after S2, it is a diastolic murmur. When the Austin-Flint murmur is heard, significant aortic regurgitation exists.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Cardiac pearls. 830 47

The most important technical improvements of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) of the latest generation comprise more sophisticated antitachycardia pacing options, stored intracardiac electrograms and biphasic shock capabilities which virtually always allow ICD implantation without thoracotomy. The present study summarizes the first clinical experience with these new devices. In 37 consecutive symptomatic (near sudden death 17, syncope 16, pre-syncope 4) patients aged 56 +/- 10 years with refractory ventricular arrhythmias (presenting arrhythmia: ventricular fibrillation 14, ventricular tachycardia 22, not documented 1), an ICD (Jewel PCD 7219, Medtronic) was implanted. Coronary artery disease was present in 21, dilated cardiomyopathy in 5, valvular heart disease in 2 and various conditions in 8 patients; the mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 43 +/- 18%. In 29 patients (78%), the ICD was inserted in a pectoral and in 8 (22%) in an abdominal position. A non-thoracotomy lead (NTL) configuration was successfully implanted in 36/37 patients (97%) (purely transvenous systems in 30, in combination with subcutaneous patch electrode in 6). Surgical complications comprised one pneumothorax, one hemorrhage and one death due to sepsis; during a mean follow-up of 5 +/- 3 months, another patient died of heart failure and 2 revisions (5.4%) for lead problems (1 connector, 1 SQ-patch) became necessary. In 23/37 patients (62%), the ICD was activated after 74 +/- 89 days post implant. 22 of these 23 patients (96%) received one or more appropriate shocks (9 +/- 22 shocks per patient). The actuarial survival was 95% at 6 months. In the present study, an ICD of the newest generation was successfully implanted without thoracotomy in > or = 97% and with purely transvenous systems in > or = 84%. Compared to older systems, this has made the implantation procedure remarkably easier and will most likely lead to a further reduction in mortality and morbidity. Despite the relatively short follow-up, the high incidence of appropriate ICD utilization underscores the high recurrence rate of arrhythmias in this population and suggests that the ICD may be very effective in preventing unnecessary rehospitalizations.
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PMID:[Initial clinical results with a novel implantable cardioverter-defibrillator: a prospective evaluation in 3 Swiss university hospitals]. 855 30

A retrospective analysis of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy treated by left ventricular myotomy and myectomy from 1972 to 1994 is reported. There were 158 patients (81 male and 77 female) with a mean age of 50.2(+/-17.2) years (range 12 to 80 years). One hundred nine patients (69%) were 60 years of age or younger, and 49 patients (31%) were older than 60 years. The overall mean follow-up period was 6.1(+/-4.8) years (range 0.1 to 19.3 years) and was 94% complete with a cumulative total of 956 patient-years. Preoperative exertional dyspnea was present in 84%, chest pain in 70%, presyncope in 54%, syncope in 31%, and cardiac arrest in 5% of patients. Preoperative cardiac catheterization was done in 150 patients, with mitral regurgitation detected in 104 patients (67%). The average maximal provocable left ventricular outflow tract gradient was 118 (+/-46) mm Hg (range 25 to 250 mm Hg). The average preoperative echocardiographic gradient at rest was 64 mm Hg, 20 mm Hg in the early postoperative period and 10 mm Hg in the late postoperative period. The mean septal thickness was 2.2 (+/-0.6) cm, 1.9 (+/-0.7) cm in the early postoperative period (p < 0.05 vs preoperative) and 1.7 (+/- 0.5) cm in the late postoperative period (p < 0.05 vs preoperative). The overall 30-day operative mortality rate was 3.2% (5/158), and 0% for 109 patients 60 years of age or younger. Causes of death included myocardial infarction and left ventricular free wall rupture, myocardial failure from septal perforation, sepsis, cerebrovascular accident caused by thromboembolism, and delayed cardiac tamponade in one patient each. Concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in 22 patients (19.3% of patients > or = to 40 years of age) and mitral valve replacement in 5 patients (3.2%). One hundred nine patients (69%) are alive, 10 patients (6.3%) were lost to follow-up, and 39 patients died (24.7%), including operative deaths). Actuarial survivals at 1, 5, 10, and 15 years were 92.4% +/- 2.2%, 85.4% +/- 3.1%, 71.5 +/- 4.6%, and 46% +/- 9%, respectively. The overall linearized death rate for discharged patients was 1.9%/pt-yr, and for cardiac related deaths it was 1.7%/pt-yr. Thirty-nine (36%) of the 109 survivors received beta-adrenergic blockers, and 30 (28%) received calcium channel blockers. Ninety-four patients had improvement in New York Heart Association functional class, 10 had improvement in symptoms but not in functional class, and 5 had no improvement in functional class or symptoms. Neither preoperative hemodynamic values nor routine echocardiographic measurements significantly correlated with quality of postoperative results. Left ventricular myotomy and myectomy is a safe and reproducibly effective operative treatment for medically refractory hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, especially for patients 60 years of age or younger. Improvement in functional class and symptoms can be expected in nearly all patients 60 years of age or younger. Improvement in functional class and symptoms can be expected in nearly all patients. The results of myotomy and myectomy serve as a standard for comparison with other interventions for medically refractory cardiomyopathy.
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PMID:Long-term results of left ventricular myotomy and myectomy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 860 73

Fifty percent of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy die within 5 years of diagnosis. Syncope is known to be a predictor of poor outcome in patients with advanced heart failure. To assess the risk of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy with a history of syncope during standard medical treatment we compared this group to similar patients without syncope. Twenty-three patients with angiographically proven dilated cardiomyopathy and syncope were followed prospectively and compared to 201 patients without history of syncope. All patients showed a left-ventricular ejection fraction of less than 45%. Both groups did not differ in left-ventricular ejection fraction at baseline (30 +/- 7% in the syncope group, 30 +/- 8% in the no syncope group). Mean follow-up was 2.6 years in the syncope group and 2.4 years in the no syncope group. At baseline, syncope patients used more often amiodarone (p < 0.04), while there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the intake of digitalis, diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Twenty-six percent of patients in the syncope group and 20% in the no syncope group died during follow-up (non significant). The striking difference, however, was the type of death: 5 out of 6 patients in the syncope group died suddenly compared to 13 of 41 patients in the no syncope group (p < 0.025). Patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and a history of syncope are at high risk of sudden death.
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PMID:Syncope in dilated cardiomyopathy is a predictor of sudden cardiac death. 872 10


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