Integration of DASH and ICS 3000 devices with Hospital Information System and REPACE central registry.

Paper describes the system that is developed by the authors and which allows interconnection of vital signs monitor DASH, implant control system ICS 3000, HIS (Hospital Information System) used at Mestská nemocnice Ostrava and REPACE the central registry of pacemaker implantations. This connection allows users to effectively create, store and visualize operation reports with patient's data. The new system is being developed using C# programming language within .NET environment. The developed application's title is ImplantSys.

Thyroid control of sarcolemmal Na+/Ca2+ exchanger and SR Ca2+-ATPase in developing rat heart.

Thyroid hormone (TH) levels increase in the postnatal life and are essential for maturation of myocardial Ca2+ handling. During this time, the sarcolemmal (SL) Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) function decreases and the sarcoendoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2) function increases. We examined the effects of postnatal hypo- or hyperthyroidism on NCX and SERCA2 in rat hearts. Animals were rendered hypothyroid by 0.05% 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil in drinking water given to nursing mothers from days 2 to 21 postpartum. Hyperthyroidism was induced by daily injections of 10 microg/100 g body weight of 3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine during this period. Ventricular steady-state mRNA and protein levels of NCX and SERCA2 were analyzed by Northern and Western blotting. These were compared with SL Na+ gradient-induced and SR oxalate-supported Ca2+ transports in isolated membranes. In hypothyroidism, NCX mRNA and protein were elevated by 66 and 80%, respectively, and SERCA2 mRNA and protein were reduced to 55 and 70%, respectively (P < 0.05 vs. euthyroid). Corresponding differences were observed in the respective Ca2+ transports. Conversely, reduced NCX (by 50%) and elevated SERCA2 (by 150%) activities were found in hyperthyroidism (P < 0.05). The levels of NCX and SERCA2 mRNA and protein were, however, unchanged in hyperthyroidism, indicating that functional changes are not due to altered NCX and SERCA2 expression. In this case, a decline in noninhibitory phosphorylated phospholamban is a likely explanation for the elevated SR Ca2+ transport. In conclusion, physiological TH levels appear to be essential for normal reciprocal changes in the expression and function of myocardial NCX and SERCA2 during postnatal development.

Protein profiling of the myocardium exposed to pressure overload from birth.

Aortic banding induced in 2-day-old (A2) and 6-day-old (A6) male rats increased the left ventricular (LV) weight after 60 days; right ventricular (RV) enlargement occurred in the A2 group only. The concentration of collagenous proteins in the LV was elevated in both experimental groups (more in the A2 rats) at the expenses of sarcoplasmic proteins. Aortic banding also affected the proportion of collagen types (lower collagen I, higher collagen III, V) and myosin light chains (higher LC1/LC2) in the LV. Similar changes of proteins in the RV were less pronounced.

[Diagnostic importance of QRS voltage]. / K otázce diagnostického významu voltáze QRS.

Voltage criteria of QRS are considered one of the signs of left ventricular hypertrophy. An increase of the R wave above the left precordium after a load is considered a manifestation of left ventricular ischaemia and evidence of coronary heart disease, but also a criterium of left ventricular function the volume of which increases as a result of altered haemodynamics. The voltage criteria of left ventricular hypertrophy are, however, of low sensitivity and specificity, as indicated by anatomical and echocardiographic investigations. The tracing of the electric field on the heart surface is not only influenced by the heart as a generator of electric energy but also by some other factors which are briefly discussed. Views on the change of voltage of the R wave after a load differ as regards its diagnostic impact, sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of coronary disease and the possibility to evaluate left ventricular function. From a review of the literature ensues that increase of the R wave after a load is due to a sufficient slower conduction in the ischaemic tissue but not as a result of enlargement of left ventricular volume which occurs as a result of altered haemodynamics induced by ischaemia.