Cumulative effect of complete left bundle-branch block and chronic atrial fibrillation on 1-year mortality and hospitalization in patients with congestive heart failure. A report from the Italian network on congestive heart failure (in-CHF database).

BACKGROUND: Many clinical variables have been proposed as prognostic factors in patients with congestive heart failure. Among these, complete left bundle-branch block and atrial fibrillation are known to impair significantly left ventricular performance in patients with congestive heart failure. However, their combined effect on mortality has been poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether left bundle-branch block associated with atrial fibrillation had an independent, cumulative effect on mortality for congestive heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analysed the Italian Network on congestive heart failure (IN-CHF) Registry that was established by the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists in 1995. One-year follow-up data were available for 5517 patients. Complete left bundle-branch block and atrial fibrillation were associated in 185 (3.3%) patients. In this population the cause of congestive heart failure was dilated cardiomyopathy (38.4%), ischaemic heart disease (35.1%), hypertensive heart disease (17.3%), and other aetiologies (9.2%). This combination of electrical defects was associated with an increased 1-year mortality from any cause (hazard ratio, HR: 1.88; 95% CI 1.37-2.57) and sudden death (HR: 1.89; 95% CI 1.17-3.03) and 1-year hospitalization rate (HR: 1.83; 95% CI 1.26-2.67). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with congestive heart failure, the contemporary presence of left bundle-branch block and atrial fibrillation was associated with a significant increase in mortality. This synergistic effect remained significant after adjusting for clinical variables usually associated with advanced heart failure. We can conclude that this combination of electrical disturbances identifies a congestive heart failure specific population with a high risk of mortality.

Precipitating factors and decision-making processes of short-term worsening heart failure despite "optimal" treatment (from the IN-CHF Registry).

This study sought to prospectively assess which factors were related to short-term worsening heart failure (HF) leading to or not to hospital admission, in long-term outpatients followed by cardiologists. The subsequent decision-making process was also analyzed. The study population consisted of 2,701 outpatients enrolled in the registry of the Italian Network on Congestive Heart Failure (IN-CHF) and followed by 133 cardiology centers (19% of all existing Italian cardiology centers). Clinical and follow-up data were collected by local trained clinicians; 215 patients (8%) had short-term decompensation (on average 2 months after the index outpatient visit). Multivariate analysis showed that previous hospitalization, long duration of symptoms, ischemic etiology, atrial fibrillation, higher functional class (New York Heart Association classification III to IV), higher heart rate, and low systolic blood pressure were independently associated with HF destabilization. Poor compliance (21%) and infection (12%) were the most frequent precipitating factors, but a precipitating factor was not identified in 40% of the patients. Poor compliance was more common in women, but no other clinical characteristics emerged as being related with a specific precipitating factor. Fifty-seven percent of the patients with a short-term recurrence of worsening HF required hospital admission; infusion treatment with inotropes and/or vasodilators was necessary in 19% of them. Long-term therapy was changed in 48% of the patients. Thus, in ambulatory HF patients, short-term worsening HF can be predicted according to the clinical characteristics on an outpatient basis. Nearly 1/3 of precipitating factors can be prevented. Patient education and avoidance of inappropriate treatment may reduce the number of relapses.

[Improvement of postinfarct left myocardial contractile function after administration of diltiazem]. / Ripresa contrattile di asinergie miocardiche postinfartuali indotta dalla somministrazione acuta di diltiazem.

BACKGROUND: The impairment of intracellular calcium homeostasis is an important biochemical alteration in stunned and hibernating myocardium. These different forms of viable myocardium frequently occur after myocardial infarction and their recognition may modify the therapeutic program and prognosis. Experimental studies and experiences on male subjects have demonstrated that calcium-channel blockers exert a protective action on myocardial reperfusion injury and reduce infarct size. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of i.v. diltiazem (i.e. a calcium-channel blocker with negative inotropic effect) in enhancing the contractility of viable akinetic myocardium in patients after myocardial infarction. METHODS: Sixty patients (52 males and 8 females, age 57 +/- 10 years) with the first acute myocardial infarction were evaluated with dobutamine-echocardiography 9 +/- 2 days after admission and on the following day with diltiazem-echocardiography. Diltiazem was administered i.v. using repeated boluses of 0.25 mg/kg up to the maximum dose of 1 mg/kg. Before and during the infusion, left ventricular regional function was scored and the Wall Motion Score Index (WMSI) was calculated; ECG and arterial blood pressure were also monitored. Results were compared with low-dose dobutamine-echocardiography. In a subset of 13 patients who underwent myocardial revascularization (7 coronary artery by-pass graftings and 6 percutaneous transluminal angioplasties), post-procedure echocardiograms were performed to evaluate whether regional left ventricular function had improved. RESULTS: Low-dose dobutamine and diltiazem enhanced regional left ventricular contractility in 28 and 31 patients, respectively; both tests were positive in 26 cases. Conversely, dobutamine-test was negative in 32 patients and diltiazem in 29, with concordance in 27. A good correlation was found between diltiazem and dobutamine WMSI at the basal evaluation (r = 0.91; p < 0.000) as well as during the pharmacological test (r = 0.86; p < 0.000). In patients who underwent myocardial revascularization, the same good correlation was found between diltiazem-WMSI and WMSI evaluated after the procedure (r = 0.91; p < 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Acute i.v. administration of diltiazem about ten days after myocardial infarction may enhance the contractility of viable akinetic ventricular wall segments, as evaluated with echocardiography. The results of this study may have some physiopathological and therapeutical implications that could lead to reconsidering the use of calcium-channel blockers, particularly diltiazem, in selected patients after myocardial infarction.

Dipyridamole echocardiography and 99mTc-MIBI spect dipyridamole scintigraphy for cardiac evaluation prior to peripheral vascular surgery.

Coronary artery disease accounts for most of the early and late mortality and morbidity associated with vascular surgery. Cardiac pre-operative evaluation is mandatory for the assessment of cardiac risk. The aim of this study is to compare dipyridamole scintigraphy with 99mTc-MIBI (MIBI-dipy) and dipyridamole echocardiography (ECHO-dipy) and to evaluate their capability in identifying cardiac risk for strong events such as death, unstable angina or myocardial infarction. METHODS. Sixty consecutive patients (mean age 67 +/- 7) were enrolled. 52 performed ECHO-dipy, 51 MIBI-dipy. 40 patients went to aorto-femoral or aorto-iliac graft replacement and 15 to vascular angioplasty. Five patients did not undergo surgery. RESULTS. Eighteen patients (30%) had stress defects and 9 patients also rest defects with MIBI-dipy. Six patients new asinergic areas at ECHO-dipy. Three pts died in the first year follow-up for a cerebrovascular event, a myocardial infarction and a sudden death respectively. Sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative predictive value were 100%, 69%, 16%, 100% for MIBI-dipy and 66%, 94%, 40%, 98% for ECHO-dipy. CONCLUSIONS. As other authors reported, stress scintigraphy is a pre-operative test showing high sensitivity but with no satisfying specificity. Stress echocardiography, in our population, can produce a good negative predictive value. It is a less expensive and widespread clinical tool useful in the evaluation of preoperative patients. Its positive predictive power is not satisfying but it is shared with all non-invasive pre-operative tests available now.

[Heart rhythm changes in patients with chronic obstructive bronchopneumopathies: effects of different methylxanthine drugs]. / Alterazioni del ritmo cardiaco in pazienti con broncopneumopatia cronica ostruttiva: effetto di differenti farmaci metilxantinici.

The present study was designed to assess effectiveness and safety and the proarrhythmic effects of two methylxanthine derivatives, doxofylline and aminophylline, in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associated with cardiac rhythm disturbances. Fourteen patients of both sexes (9 male, 5 female) with a mean age of 54 (range 43 to 66 years) with concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and high incidence of ventricular (VPB) and/or supraventricular (SVPB) premature beats were selected. The study was performed in a double-blind randomized cross-over trial. Following a proper wash-out period, in each phase patients were administered intravenously 400 mg b.i.d. of doxofylline or 480 mg of aminophylline b.i.d. (rate of infusion: 60 min) according to the cross-over design. A 24-hour Holter monitoring was carried out before the onset of the treatments and at the end of each venous infusion of methylxanthines. Spirometry for measurement of forced expiratory volume in one second and clinical parameters were also evaluated. Parametric variables were evaluated by analysis of variance. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to estimate non parametric variables. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We observed a significant reduction in the occurrence of VPB/24 h (p less than 0.05 vs basal value) and in the total number of beats (p less than 0.01 vs basal value and p less than 0.05 vs aminophylline) after doxofylline administration, whereas no changes from baseline in the incidence of premature beats and in the mean 24-hour heart rate were reported after aminophylline.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Atrial repolarization: its role in ST elevation.

In four patients, ectopic supraventricular rhythm (or beats) with cephalad anomalous atrial activation and, generally, a short PR, were always associated with an ST elevation in the leads with a negative P wave. An inverted Ta wave appears to be responsible for the ST elevation.

[The causes of death after acute myocardial infarction (author's transl)]. / Le cause di morte nell'infarto miocardico acuto.

Following a brief outline on problems concerning methodology, the cause of death is analysed in 110 patients dying from acute myocardial infarction during hospitalization. Autopsy studied were carried out in 78 cases. Of the various causes, the most frequent were forms of contractile insufficiency (EPA, shock, shock + EPA, biventricular congestive heart failure) which were responsible for 50.90% of cases; followed by cardiac rupture (considered in a single group with electromechanic dissociations of the patients not submitted to autopsy studies since in the experience of the Authors cardiac rupture almost always presents with this pattern) with a frequency of 29%. The frequency of arrhythmias, on the other hand, is very low, particularly in the coronary care unit where it is practically a negligible causa mortis 2.72%): even if sudden death, in patients who were not monitored, is included amongst the arrhythmias, the percentage is still only about 10%. Embolism (usually pulmonary, but systemic in one case) was the cause of death in 5 patients (4.54%). Three patients over 80 years of age died from ischemic cerebral episodes. Age, sex, and site of infarction, do not appear, in the present series, to have a determinant effect in the cause of death; a higher frequency of rupture in the female sex was not, for example, confirmed. On the basis of the observations in the present series, any relationship between cardiac rupture and anticoagulating therapy, steroid treatment, application of endocavitary stimulators, or early ambulation is excluded. It is also excluded that reanimation, as hypothesized by some Authors, may be responsible for rupture.

[Cardiovascular disorders in young military personnel. Treatment and readjustment]. / Le turbe cardiovascolari dei giovani alle armi. Trattamento e riadattamento

The vascular disturbances most commonly encountered in conscripts are examined and the features leading to their diagnosis and the consequent differentiation of organic heart diseases are described. Rhythm variations, auscultation abnormalities (systolic, diastolic and vascular murmurs, additional tones) and ECG alterations thus detected are seen as instances of functional disorders, of a non-dangerous nature that will regress or disappear in the course of time.