1998;71(1) – ABC CARDIOL

Artigo Original

Single balloon versus Inoue balloon in percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty. Short-term results and complications

Edison C. Sandoval Peixoto et al. Paulo Sérgio de Oliveira Mário Salles Netto Ivana Picone Borges … Ronaldo A. Villela Pierre Labrunie Cláudia Brum Rodrigo T. Sandoval Peixoto Marcello A. Sena Marta Labrunie Ricardo T. Sandoval Peixoto Daniela M. Burello

PURPOSE: To assess short-term results and complications of percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty (PMBV) performed with Inoue balloon (IB) and single low profile balloon (SB). METHODS: We performed 390 PMBV procedures, 29 with IB and 337 with SB . There were no differences in age, sex, echocardiographic score distribution and echocardiographic mitral valve area (MVA). RESULTS: We performed 29 complete procedures with IB and 330 of 337 in SB group. Comparing IB and pre and pos-PMBV data we obtained: mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP) 36±15 and 39±14mmHg, p=0.2033, mean mitral gradient 17±6 and 20±7mmHg, p=0.0396 and MVA 0.9±0.2 and 0.9±0.2cm², p=0.8043 and pos-PMBV: MPAP 25±8 and 28±10mmHg, p=0.2881, gradient 5±3 and 5±4mmHg, p=0.2778 and MVA 2.2±0.2 and 2.0±0.4cm², p=0.0362. Mitral valve (MV) was competent in 26 patients in IB and in 280 in SB group and we had +/4 mitral regurgitation in 3 patients in IB and in 57 in SB group (p=0.3591) pre-PMBV respectively and pos-PMBV there was also no difference in MV competence (p=0.7439). CONCLUSION: Both techniques were effective. Hemodynamic data were also similar although MVA was greater in IB group after PMBV.

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Relato de Caso

Aneurysm of the arterial duct associated to aortic arch interruption

Paulo Zielinsky et al. Leandro Turra Oliveira

Aneurysm of the arterial duct is an infrequent finding, which is very rarely detected prenatally. A case of antenatal diagnosis in a pregnant patient (33 weeks) is reported. The fetus presented an aneurysmatic dilation of the arterial duct with uniformly enlarged diameter, inserting into the descending aorta, which was interrupted. The neonate was born by cesarean section and was kept on postaglandins till the 9th day of life, when he was sent to surgery. During the surgical procedure, the baby died as a result of biventricular failure. This is the first report of prenatal association of aneurysm of the ducts anteriosus with other cardiovascular malformations and emphasizes that this finding does not always have a benign course.

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Artigo Original

Heart failure in a large tertiary hospital of São Paulo

Antonio Carlos Pereira Barretto et al. Moacir Roberto Cuce Nobre Maurício Wajngarten Manoel Fernandes Canesin … Dalia Ballas João Batista Serro-Azul

PURPOSE: To study the incidence, main causes, aggravating factors and secondary diagnoses of heart failure (HF) during 1995 at the Instituto do Coração of São Paulo. METHODS: Data from hospitalized patients according to the PRODESP data base were analyzed. The following data were studied: age, sex, principal and secondary diagnoses, surgical procedures and mortality. To analyze the data, tables according to sex, age and main cause were built. Analysis of variance and t test were employed to verify differences between groups. RESULTS: In 1995, 903 out of 9620 patients were hospitalized due to HF. The majority were male (60.4%) and the patients’ age was between two days and 98 years old (mean 52.6). Ischemic (32.6), dilated (25.8%) and valvar heart disease (22%) were the main causes of HF. 32.1% were submitted to correction of the HF main cause, specially those with valvar heart disease (62.3%). There was greater incidence of multiple diagnoses in aged patients. The mortality was greater in patients younger than 20 and in those older than 80 years old. CONCLUSION: The incidence of HF at INCOR during 1995 was 9.38%. Ischemic myocardiopathy was the most frequent HF cause. The mortality was greater among children, probably because of heart disease complexity and, in the above-80 group due to the greater comorbidity.

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Artigo Original

Contribution of the dynamic eletrocardiography by Holter monitoring in the evaluation of congenital long QT syndrome patients

Ivan G. Maia et al. Marcio L. A. Fagundes Fernando E. S. Cruz Fº Rosa Célia P. Barbosa Paulo A. G. Alves

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of ambulatory electrocardiogram as a clinical tool to assess ventricular repolarization in patients with the congenital long QT syndrome. METHODS: The study population comprised six patients and their data were compared to a control group of six patients matched in age and gender. The QT interval (ms), corrected by the heart rate, was measured in the first minute of each hour using two monitoring leads, with the mean of six consecutives complexes. The data obtained include the morphologic pattern of T wave, the mean 24-h QTc interval, relation between QT and cardiac cycle, QTc variability (assessed calculating hourly standard deviation of the interval and then obtaining the global 24-h mean), QTc dispersion (difference between the longest and shortest QTc interval). RESULTS: In all patients abnormal patterns of T waves were detected with frequent episodes of T wave alternans. Mean 24-h QTc – patients: 598.2±73.8ms; controls: 436.1±8.9ms (p=0.000). Linear correlation and regression between QT and heart rate – patients: r= 0.812; controls: r= 0.967 (p=0.000). QTc variability – patients: 36.9±17.2ms; controls: 14.7±2.1ms (p=0.01). QTc dispersion – patients: 168.3±70.2ms; controls: 53.3±8.1ms (p=0.000). CONCLUSION: The data showed increased hourly QTc variability, QTc dispersion and worse correlation between QT and heart rate. This data may reflect an abnormally augmented ventricular vulnerability.

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Artigo Original

Electro-echocardiographic correlation in the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy

Hamilton Domingos et al. Josane Couto Elias Luzio Gualberto Nogueira de Leles Leandro Sauer Luiz Alberto Ovando

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy of four electrocardiographic criteria: Sokolov, Gubner, Cornell and Romhilt indexes, in the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertensive patients. METHODS: LVH was analyzed in the eletrocardiogram of 30 ambulatory patients presenting with systemic arterial hypertension, classified as mild, moderate and severe, according to the following indexes: Sokolov >35mm, Gubner >22mm, Romhilt >5 points and Cornell >20mm for women and 28mm for men. Sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic accuracy and other diagnostic variables were determined. Mass index of the left ventricle, >98g/m² for women and >120g/m² for men, obtained by echocardiography, was considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of LVH. RESULTS: When electrocardiographic criteria were considered separately, the Sokolov index showed the highest accuracy, with a sensitivity of 40%, diagnostic accuracy of 50% and specificity of 100%; the second most accurate index was Gubner, and Romhilt and Cornell indexes followed. When at least one of the indexes was positive, the sensitivity was 52% and diagnostic accuracy was 57%. CONCLUSION: The four electrocardiographic indexes were not diagnostic of LVH, when analyzed either separately or together. Considering the high prevalence of this pathological condition, we conclude that a more accurate diagnostic method should be used in this diagnosis.

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Artigo Original

Catheter ablation of atrial flutter. Electrophysiological characterization of posterior and septal isthmus block

José Marcos Moreira et al. Sílvio Roberto Borges Alessi André Gustavo da Silva Rezende Luis Alberto Renjel Prudêncio Angelo Amato Vincenzo de Paola

PURPOSE: Evaluate the different types of conduction blocks obtained between inferior vena cava-tricuspid annulus (posterior isthmus) and between tricuspid annulus-coronary sinus ostium (septal isthmus) after radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation of atrial flutter (AFL) METHODS: In 16 procedures, 14 patients (pts), 9 male, with type I AFL underwent RF ablation. Atrial activation around tricuspid annulus was performed with a 10-bipole “Halo” catheter (H1-2; H19-20). In sinus rhythm, isthmus conduction was evaluated during proximal coronary sinus (PCS) and low lateral right atrium (H1-2) pacing, before and after linear ablation. According to the wave front of impulse propagation we assessed absence of block (bidirectional conduction); incomplete block (bidirectional conduction with delay in one front of impulse propagation) and complete block (absence of conduction). The PCS/H1-2 interval was measured before and after ablation. RESULTS: Complete isthmus block was achieved in 7 (44%) and incomplete block in 4 (25%) procedures. Conduction block was not achieved in 5 procedures. At a mean follow-up of 12 months, there were no recurrences in the pts with complete block, whereas AFL recurred in the 6 pts with incomplete or no conduction block (p<0.001). Pts with complete block had deltaPCS/H1-2 interval (74.0 ± 26.0ms) greater than incomplete (30.5 ± 7.5ms) or absent block (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The verification of complete isthmus conduction block with atrial multipolar mapping is an effective strategy to assess electrophysiological success and absence of late recurrence in common atrial flutter ablation.

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Artigo Original

Comparison of coronary heart disease extent and severity in patients with myocardial infarction and angina pectoris

Waldomiro Carlos Manfroi et al. Alcides José Zago Cristiane Bauermann Leitão Karen Gomes Ordovás … Letícia Weiss Ribeiro Josiane de Souza Luciana Kirschnick Rafael Henriques Candiago Rosana Cruz Alexandre Goellner Ilza Dias

PURPOSE: To compare the severity of the coronary heart disease and the presence of coronary risk factors between angina and myocardial infarction (MI) patients. METHODS: We studied 62 patients with MI and 129 with angina through coronary angiography to evaluate occlusion (lesion of 99% or 100%), extent (with a score of 0-5 derived by the number of vessels affected) and severity (3 groups of different stenosis degrees). Two experient observers blindly interpretated the angiograms. RESULTS: Patients with MI had more occlusions (50% vs 13.2% [p90% stenosis [p<0.02]) and more extent (2.0 vs 0.87 [p<0.001]), even when controlled for current coronary risk factors and disease duration. Smoking was the only independent risk factor related to MI (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Among the studied patients, coronary heart disease extent and severity was greater in the MI group, as well as the prevalence smoking.

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Artigo Original

Antihypertensive treatment. Prescription and cost of drugs. Survey in a tertiary care hospital

Daniela Akashi et al. Flávia K. Issa Alexandre C. Pereira Anna C. Tannuri … Daniele Q. Fucciolo Maurício L. Lobato Tatiana G. Galvão Isabela M. Benseñor Paulo A. Lotufo

PURPOSE: To study the most prescribed anti-hypertensive drugs, evaluating their agreement with established guidelines and drug cost. METHODS: One hundred and forty one (101 women, mean age = 53.3 years) hypertensive patients who searched spontaneous attention were interviewed in a tertiary-care hospital. The inclusion criteria were previous diagnosis of hypertension and non cardiovascular complaints. RESULTS: The majority of the 107 (75.9%) patients were on medical treatment. In those receiving monotherapy, thiazides were the most utilized drugs, followed by methyldopa, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel-blockers, and beta-blockers. The association with thiazides (26.3%) followed the same preference. The second most prescribed drug, methyldopa, was the more expensive. Fifty percent of the patients purchased the drugs at their own expense. CONCLUSION: A preference for prescription of expensive drugs for hypertension was detected in this sample in Brazil. This does not agree with major guidelines, mainly the V-JNC, which suggest thiazides and betablockers as first choice drugs for hypertensives with no complications or associated comorbidity.

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Artigo Original

Cardiovascular diseases observed during follow-up of a group of patients in undetermined form of Chagas' disease

Barbara Maria Ianni et al. Charles Mady Edmundo Arteaga Fábio Fernandes

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiovascular outcome in patients with the undetermined form of Chagas’ disease and whether or not it is related to the infectious disease in the long-term. METHODS: One hundred and sixty patients were prospectively followed-up at three month intervals for up to 177 months. RESULTS: Twenty and three (14.4%) patients developed hypertension complicated by ischemic stroke in two (1.2%) and symptomatic heart failure in one (0.6%). Cardiac arrhythmias occurred in four (2.4%) patients corresponding to isolated ventricular ectopic beats in two (1.2%), isolated supraventricular ectopic beats in one (0.6%) and an isolated episode of acute atrial fibrillation in another (0.6%). Two (1.2%) patients developed symptoms of coronary artery disease, one of them had one episode of acute chest pain diagnosed as myocardial infarction and the other had chronic chest pain diagnosed as angina. CONCLUSION: Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disease occurring in the long-term follow-up of patients with the undetermined form of Chagas’ disease. Cardiac rhythm disturbances and coronary artery disease were not more frequent than those generally found in a healthy population. These data confirm a favorable long-term prognosis in patients with the undetermined form of Chagas’ disease.

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