1997;69(6) – ABC CARDIOL

Artigo Original

Evaluation of left internal thoracic artery anastomosis with left anterior descending coronary artery by Doppler echocardiography

Adelaide Arruda et al. Orlando Campos Fº Expedito Ribeiro Antônia Petrizzo … José Lázaro Andrade Antônio Carlos C. Carvalho Enio Buffolo Eulógio Martinez Wilson Mathias Jr

PURPOSE: To study the value of Doppler echocardiography as a tool for the evaluation of left internal thoracic artery graft (LITAG) patency in patients who underwent coronary revascularization using minimally invasive bypass surgery without extracorporeal circulation. METHODS: The first 12 consecutive patients were studied after coronary artery bypass surgery using a 5MHz Doppler transducer. Doppler signals for the systolic and diastolic flow velocities were preferably obtained in the second intercostal space. All patients underwent coronary angiography while hospitalized. RESULTS: The exam was feasible in 93% of patients. Doppler flow pattern was predominantly diastolic (pattern A) in patients with patent anastomoses (6/7). In patients with occluded anastomoses (4/4) Doppler flow pattern was predominantly systolic (pattern B) (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: Internal thoracic artery flow pattern as measured by Doppler echocardiography after minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft surgery is an accurate method for identifying LITAG patency.

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Artigo Original

Heart failure medical treatment in a tertiary hospital of São Paulo

Antonio Carlos Pereira Barretto et al. Mauricio Wajngarten João Batista Serro-Azul Humberto Pierri … Amit Nussbacher Otávio Celso Eluf Gebara

PURPOSE: To study how patients with heart failure (HF) are treated in a tertiary hospital in São Paulo. METHODS: One hundred patients with HF during ambulatory care were analyzed. Seventy-six were men, and the average population age was 56.8 years old. All patients were submitted to echocardiogram, which identified ventricular diameters ranging between 48 and 89mm (average 65.9) and ejection fraction (EF) between 0.22 and 0.59 (average 0.43). The cause of HF was ischemic in 42 cases, dilated cardiomyopathy in 28, valvular heart disease in 12, Chagas’ disease in 10 and systemic hypertension in 8 patients. The prescribed treatment was analyzed, with attention to the prescription and dosage of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. We also analyzed whether the cause and/or the degree of HF influenced the treatment chosen. RESULTS: Eighty-seven patients received ACE inhibitors, 31 received doses below those recommended in the large trials. Digoxin was prescribed in 69 cases, diuretics in 85, and aspirin in 33. When dividing the patients according to EF, the group with EF below 0.45 was prescribed more often ACE inhibitors (91.5% vs 80.4%) and had more often usage of adequate doses (61% vs 48.7%). CONCLUSION:In this sample the majority of the patients were treated according to modern recommendations and tolerated well ACE inhibitors, however 1/3 did not receive ACE inhibitors in the recommended doses. Treatment based on betablockers or angiotensin II inhibitors were not routinely employed.

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Artigo Original

Study of the natural history of myocardial hypertrophy and its association with hyperinsulinism in infants of diabetic mothers

Paulo Zielinsky et al. Martha H. Leal da Costa Leandro Turra Oliveira Fernanda Paiva Bonow … Nilza Iracema Telles da Silva Lauro Luís Hagemann

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that myocardial hypertrophy is associated with increased serum insulin levels in children of diabetic mothers and to determine the frequency and timing of this spontaneous regression. METHODS: Seventy-two patients were studied (54 children of diabetic mothers and 18 controls). Diagnosis of myocardial hypertrophy was made by fetal echocardiography. Amniotic fluid insulin levels were obtained from a previous prenatal study on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, since the participation of the mothers was common to both projects. RESULTS: There were 10 cases of myocardial hypertrophy among children of diabetic mothers (18.52%). Septal thickness was significantly different between the 2 groups (children of diabetic mothers and controls) in the evaluation performed at the age of 1 month (p=0.04). Insulin levels were still increased in children of diabetic mothers until the age of 3 months. During this period insulin levels were significantly higher than those of controls (p=0.003 and p=0.001, at 1 and 3 months, respectively). The association between regression of ventricular septum thickness and the decrease of insulin levels occurred up to the age of 1 month. CONCLUSION: There was spontaneous regression of ventricular septum thickness in children of diabetic mothers during the first 6 months of life. The association between hyperinsulinism and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was present up to the first month of life.

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Artigo Original

High dose amiodarone for the reversion of atrial fibrillation during the postoperative period of cardiac surgery

João Carlos Vieira da Costa Guaragna et al. Valério Martins Tatiana Marlowe Cunha Brunini José Luis Linhatti … Fábio Branco de Araújo Brauner Renan Canibal Pires Luiz Carlos Bodanese

PURPOSE: To report our experience using high dose oral amiodarone (1,800mg/day) for the reversion of atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm in patients submitted to cardiac surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the records of 80 patients who had atrial fibrillation during the postoperative period after cardiac surgery, initially divided in two groups: group A, 28 patients that used amiodarone, and group B composed of patients receiving digoxin. The latter group was divided further in a third group (C), with 21 patients in which amiodarone was associated with digoxin if there was no reversion of the arrhythmia after 48 hours of treatment. The observed differences were considered significant at P<0.05. RESULTS: Atrial fibrillation occurred in 19.4% of the patients submitted to surgery, predominating in males, 60 to 69 years-old. In group A there was reversion to sinus rhythm in 78.6% of the cases. In group B digoxin succeeded in 60%, and in group C 90% of the patients reverted to sinus rhythm. CONCLUSION: High dose oral amiodarone, alone or combined to digoxin, can be safe and effective for the treatment of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery.

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Artigo Original

Infective endocarditis in adolescents. analysis of risk factors for in-hospital mortality

Nádia Barreto Tenório Aoun et al. Francisco Manes Albanesi Fº Maurício Bastos de Freitas Rachid Luíz André Vieira Fernandes José Augusto da Silva Messias

PURPOSE: To study the epidemiological, clinical, therapeutic and evolutive aspects of endocarditis in a group of patients aging 12 to 20 years-old ( mean 15.5). METHODS: Thirty-three consecutive patients (14 males, 19 females) admitted with infective endocarditis were retrospectively studied. RESULTS: Infective endocarditismortality was 42%. Rheumatic heart disease was the predominant underlying condition in 63% of patients. Congenital heart disease (24%) and cardiac prosthesis (12%) were the other affections involved. The majority of patients (78%) were in functional class III and IV, with more deaths than the 22% who were in functional class I and II (p=0.01). Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated agent (42% of the positive blood cultures, followed by Staphylococcus viridans, 21%). Multivariate analysis identified total leukocyte count above 10,000/mm³ and functional class, both at admission (p=0.01 and p=0.004, respectively), and the occurrence of embolic complications (p=0.03) as independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: Rheumatic heart disease remains, as in adults, the main predisposing factor for infective endocarditis in adolescents, and S.aureus is, like in children, the leading agent. Mortality is high and functional class at hospital admission, embolic complications and leukocytosis are independent predictors of in-hospital mortality.

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Artigo Original

Athlete's heart in elite disabled athletes

Japy Angelini Oliveira Fº et al. Antonio Carlos Silva Edgar Lira Fº Bráulio Luna Fº … Silvia Helena Covre Flávio Antônio Ascânio Lauro Marcelo Aria Dias Danucalov Wagner Aparecido Leite Sérgio Tuffik José Lázaro Andrade Angelo Amato Vincenzo de Paola Eulógio Martinez Fº

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of the athlete’s, heart syndrome in elite disabled Brazilians athletes. METHODS: Seventy-five athletes, age 27.8±6.7 years, 56 men, with various disabilities (47 physical, 12 visual and 16 cerebral paralysis) underwent clinical, electrocardiographic, vectorcardiographic, ergometric and echocardiographic evaluations. RESULTS: Athlete’s heart signs occurred in 33% of the clinical evaluations, in 55% of the electrocardiograms, in 15% of the vectorcardiograms, and in 5% of the echocardiograms. At least one of these signs was presented in 51% of the athletes. There were 2 or more abnormalities in 46% of the athletes and 4 or more signs in 12%. Exercise test was considered not ischemic in 77% of the subjects. There was right bundle branch block in 23% of the tests. CONCLUSION: There were two or more athlete’s heart syndrome signs in 46% of Brazilian disabled athletes.

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Relato de Caso

Transient left ventricular systolic dysfunction after pericardial effusion drainage

Fábio Branco de Araújo Brauner et al. Cristine Erdmann Nunes Rogério Fabra Alberto Riesgo Luiz Gustavo Thomé

A patient with a thymoma and initially normal ventricular systolic function developed cardiac tamponade, which was relieved by pericardiocentesis. After four days, the tumor was removed and, one week after the relief of tamponade, she developed severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction, that recovered in three days with venous therapy.

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Artigo Original

Myocardial function during the transition from compensated left ventricular hypertrophy to failure

Antonio Carlos Cicogna et al. Kathleen G. Robinson Chester H. Conrad Robin Squire … Marina P. Okoshi Oscar H. L. Bing

PURPOSE: To investigate the participation of contractile state and relaxation in cardiac muscle dysfunction during the transition from stable hypertrophy to cardiac decompensation in aging spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). METHODS: Isolated left ventricular papillary muscle function was studied in SHR with heart failure (SHR-F), in age-matched SHR without evidence of heart failure (SHR-NF), and in nonhypertensive controls Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Muscles were analised in isometric and isotonic contractions in Krebs-Henseleit solution with calcium concentration of 1.25mM at 28ºC. RESULTS: Papillary muscles from SHR-F and SHR-NF demonstrated decreased active tension development and shortening velocity relative to normotensive WKY (p<0.05). SHR-F and SHR-NF did not differ. Compared with SHR-NF and WKY, muscle passive stiffness was increased in the failing SHR (p0.05). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the progression from stable hypertrophy to heart failure is associated with changes in the passive stiffness and is not related to depression of myocardial contractile function.

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Artigo Original

Prevalence of dyslipidemias in non-hospital laboratory tests of adults from Salvador, Brazil

Ines Lessa et al. João Lycio Conceição Mirabeau Levi Souza Viviane Oliveira … Joabe Carneiro Joamar Melo Joel Pinheiro Fábio Meireles Joaquim Netto Felipe Reis Rogério Gouvêa Marcelo Couto Silvânia Souza Marlene Rosa Oliveira

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of dyslipidemia in non-hospital laboratory tests of adults from Salvador, Brazil. METHODS: The study was carried out in subjects from a probabilistic sample of 25% of a total of 104 local laboratories that used the same enzymatic method for lipid analysis with the quality control as recommended by the Brazilian Society of Clinical Analyses. These represented 93% of all non-hospital laboratories of Salvador in 1995. The odd months of 1995 were selected for sampling in the present study. Criteria for dyslipidemias were: total cholesterol ³240; LDL ³160; HDL <35 and triglycerides ³200mg/dl. Prevalence rates and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) and chi² test were used in the analyses. RESULTS: Tests from two of the 26 laboratories were not used in the analyses due to file problems or refusal. 7,392 adults were screened, 65% female. We observed prevalence (95% CI) of hypercholesterolemia in 30.0 (27.8; 32.2)%, high LDL in 30.1 (30.8; 35.4)% and hypertriglyceridemia in 30.4 (29.0; 31.4)% of the females. As to the male subjects, prevalences were: 24.0 (20.5; 27.5)% for hypercholesterolemia, 26.1 (22.4; 29.3)% for high LDL, 27.6 (25.7; 29.5)% for hypertriglyceridemia. All gender differences were significant. Low HDL occurred in 15.9 (14.2; 17.8)% of males and in 8.0 (7.1; 8.9)% of females. CONCLUSION: Dyslipidemia is an important risk factor observed in non-hospital laboratory tests of men and women in Salvador. Our data may provide physicians and other health care professionals with objective information to encourage life-style changes.

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