[Multiplane transesophageal echocardiography and adenosine in the study of coronary blood reserve]. / Impiego della metodica transesofagea omniplana con adenosina nello studio della riserva coronarica.

BACKGROUND: Coronary blood reserve is the capacity of coronary vessels to vasodilate and thereby to increase the blood flow, when the heart needs more energy. However, when a coronary stenosis occurs, the capacity to vasodilate is reduced or completely diminished. It is then necessary to use all the tools useful in evaluating the functional conditions of the coronary vessels. Above all, the intracoronary Doppler technique is used to measure the velocity of blood flow. Our purpose was to evaluate a non-invasive tool "Multiplane Transesophageal Echocardiography" in the study of velocity of the anterior descendent artery before and after adenosine infusion. METHODS: At first, we studied 28 patients (pts), which we divided in two groups: Group A, 18 pts 59.38 +/- 8.23 mean age, 15 M. and 3 F., with anterior descending disease; Group B 10 pts, 59.20 +/- 8.48 mean age, 7 M. and 3 F, without significant stenosis (> 75%). Echocardiography examinations were performed with a 5 MHz multiplane probe, connected to a 1000 Hewlett Parkard echocardiography. Before the test, Diazepam 1 mg i.v. and Lidocaine spray were administered to the patients. We introduced the transesophageal probe and after choosing the best position of the aortic short axis view, we studied the anterior descending artery and measured the maximum and mean diastolic and sistolic velocities (V.MAX D., V.MN.D., V.MAX S., V.MN.S.). RESULTS: Transesophageal echocardiography allowed us to study the anterior descending artery in 95% of pts. There were no side effects, except for one pt affected by severe bradicardia. In Group B there was an increase of the diastolic and sistolic velocity after adenosine infusion, resulting twice greater they the rest values. The adenosine/rest velocities ratios were statistically significant (V.MAX D. p < 0.02) (V.MN.D. p < 0.03). CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated an higher capacity of the Multiplane Transesophageal Echocardiography in studiing coronary blood reserve. We used adenosine, as a vasodilator drug, because of its short half-life and because it can be replatedly infused. The flow velocity values increased up to more than twice the rest values only in normal subjects.

[Neurological complications of the acute myocardial infarction (author's transl)]. / Le complicanze neurologiche nella fase acuta dell'infarto miocardico.

In a consecutive series of 750 patients with acute myocardial infarction, 11 (1.46%) suffered neurological complications. The pathogenesis of these neurological incidents (embolia or hypotension) remained uncertain in all the cases presented here. Neurological incidents (3 TIA, 8 strokes) were more frequent in elderly patients, in which they represented a very serious complication with high fatality. No clear relationship could be established with infarct size nor with the anticoagulant therapy.

[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.