2011;97(1) – ABC CARDIOL

Case 4/2011 – 49-year-old man with pulmonary valve stenosis and atrial septal defect as residual lesions after correction of tetralogy of Fallot, which occurred 30 years ago

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Clinical Update

Noncompaction cardiomyopathy: a current view

Leonardo Vieira da Rosa et al. Vera Maria Cury Salemi Leonardo Machado Alexandre Charles Mady

Isolated non-compaction cardiomyopathy is a rare disease that is likely to develop in the embryonic period. It is caused by the intrauterine arrest of the myocardial compaction process in the beginning of the fetal development. It is characterized by prominent myocardial trabeculations and deep intertrabecular recesses, as well as the thickening of the myocardium into two distinct layers (compacted and not compacted). Even though this disease is said to be prevalent in the pediatric population or together with congenital heart disease, one can understand that this disease occurs in isolation, because the diagnosis is becoming more common in adult patients that have no other heart disease. The clinical manifestations vary greatly, because they range from absence of symptoms to congestive heart failure, arrhythmias and systemic thromboembolism. Echocardiography is the most widely used diagnostic procedure, but the little knowledge about this disease, its similarity to other myocardial diseases and the limitation of the echocardiographic technique used delay the diagnosis. The purpose of this review is to show that that other imaging techniques, such as MRI, CT and left ventriculography have emerged as diagnostic alternatives.

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Case Report

Stent implantation in surgical cavopulmonary conduit: report of two cases

Salvador André Bavaresco Cristóvão et al. Joaquim David Carneiro Neto Leandro Alencar Marques Maria Fernanda Zuliani Mauro … Adnan Ali Salman José Armando Mangione

Despite advances in Fontan surgery, obstruction in extracardiac ducts may occur and cause clinical deterioration. We report two cases of stent implantation for correction of stenosis in the Fontan surgery. Ascites was a common clinical sign; a patient was protein losing enteropathy. All procedures were angiographically and clinically successful.

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Case Report

Occlusive venopathy phenotype in hereditary pulmonary arterial hypertension

Sonia Meiken Franchi et al. Vera D. Aiello Antonio Augusto Lopes

A 33-year-old male with severe hereditary pulmonary arterial hypertension had a confirmed diagnosis of occlusive venopathy and microvasculopathy. He remained stable for three and a half years on oral sildenafil, 75 mg t.i.d. (six-minute walked distance of 375 m vs 105 m at baseline), but required addition of bosentan (125 mg b.i.d.), subsequently. Despite the fatal outcome at five years post-diagnosis, the observations suggest a potential usefulness of vasodilators as a bridge for lung transplant in selected cases with significant venous/capillary involvement. The occurrence of veno-occlusive and capillary lesions in the familial form of pulmonary arterial hypertension reinforces the difficulties with the current classification of the disease.

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Editorial

One decade of Stem cell therapy for bone marrow: what is missing?

Hans Fernando Rocha Dohmann

EDITORIAL

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Point of view

Undergraduate research, medical residency and clinical investigation

Max Grinberg et al. Antonio Carlos Bacelar Nunes Filho

POINT OF VIEW

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Artigo Original

Pulse wave vocity in young adults: study of Rio de Janeiro

Oswaldo Luiz Pizzi et al. Andréa Araujo Brandão Roberto Pozzan Maria Eliane Campos Magalhães … Elizabete Viana de Freitas Ayrton Pires Brandão

BACKGROUND: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) can be a marker of cardiovascular impairment, but there are few studies in young adults. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between blood pressure (BP), current anthropometric and metabolic variables and those obtained 13 years earlier, in childhood and adolescence, with PWV. METHODS: Sixty individuals were followed longitudinally and split into two groups according to the percentile of blood pressure (BP) obtained 13 years earlier: Group 1 (G1): BP percentile 95 percentile (n = 35, 19M, 25.4 years old). The individuals underwent clinical evaluation, laboratory analysis and measurements of PWV through the Complior method. RESULTS: G1 showed higher mean age; G2 showed greater mean weight, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), PWV and blood glucose, and lower mean HDL-cholesterol. SBP, MAP and heart rate (HR) obtained during childhood and adolescence significantly correlated with PWV. Current weight, height, waist-hip ratio, SBP, DBP, pulse pressure (PP), MAP and creatinine presented a positive and significant correlation with PWV. A comparison of the average PWV adjusted for SBP, DBP, SBP and DBP, MAP and PP showed no statistically significant difference between groups. CONCLUSION: The percentile of BP in childhood/adolescence related to arterial distensibility assessed by PWV 13 years later. Changes in PWV can be identified in young individuals suggesting that early vascular impairment may be present in this age group, also related to blood pressure, anthropometric and metabolic variables.

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Artigo Original

Upregulation of mRNA myocardium calcium handling in rats submitted to exercise and food restriction

Mário Mateus Sugizaki et al. Ana Paula Lima Leopoldo Sandro José Conde Dijon Salome Campos … Ricardo Damato André Soares Leopoldo André Ferreira do Nascimento Silvio de Assis Oliveira Júnior Antonio Carlos Cicogna

BACKGROUND: Chronic exercise and food restriction (FR) have directionally opposite changes in transcription of molecular structures of calcium handling and thyroid hormone (TH) status. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the association of chronic exercise and FR on serum thyroid hormones and gene transcription of molecular structures of intracellular calcium transients and thyroid receptors in myocardium of rats. METHODS: Male Wistar Kyoto rats, divided into two groups: control (C, n = 7), FR (R50, n = 7), chronic exercise (EX, n = 7) and chronic exercise + FR (EX50, n = 7). FR was of 50% and exercise was swimming (1 hour/day, 5 days/week, during 12 weeks). Serum concentrations of T3, T4 and TSH were determined. The mRNA gene expression of the sarcoplasmatic reticulum calcium pump (SERCA2a), phospholamban (PLB), Na+/Ca+2 exchanger (NCX), calcium channel L-type (L-channel), ryanodine (RYR), calsequestrin (CQS) and HT receptor (TRα1 and TRβ1) of the myocardium was performed by PCR real-time. RESULTS: FR reduced serum levels of T4 and TSH and TRα1 mRNA and increased the expression of PLB, NCX and L-channel. Exercise increased the TRβ1 receptor, L-channel and NCX. The association of exercise and FR reduced plasma T4 and TSH, TRβ1 mRNA increase, SERCA2a, NCX and PLB, and there was a significant correlation of TRβ1 with CQS and NXC. CONCLUSION: Chronic exercise and food restriction increased the mRNA of transient Ca2+ proteins; however, TH-receptor axis cannot participate in the transcription of mRNA of myocardial calcium transient proteins.

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Artigo Original

Associated factors to total cholesterol: school based study in southern Brazil

Mauren Lúcia de Araújo Bergmann et al. Gabriel Gustavo Bergmann Ricardo Halpern Ricardo Rodrigo Rech … Cristine Boom Constanzi Lidiane Requia Alli

BACKGROUND: Evidence has suggested that a significant proportion of children and adolescents has high levels of total cholesterol. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and associated factors in 07-12 year-old school children. METHODS: School based cross sectional study of a random sample of 1,294 07-12 year-old school children from Caxias do Sul/RS, Brazil. The students answered an interview with information on socioeconomic status, food habits, and physical and leisure activities. Total cholesterol, cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass and height were measured to calculate body mass index. For the data treatment, univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyzes were used. RESULTS: The multivariate analysis identified that individuals from high socioeconomic level (OR: 1.70; CI: 1.05-2.75), of female gender (OR: 1.32; CI: 1.03-1.67), and overweight (OR: 1.40; IC: 1.10-1.77) had increased chances of having increased total cholesterol (> 3rd tercile). CONCLUSION: High total cholesterol levels on 07-12 year-old school children are associated with high socioeconomic level, female gender, and overweight. Encouraging an active life style and appropriate dietary habits can help control cholesterol levels and reduce risk factors.

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Artigo Original

Vascular alterations in high-fat diet-obese rats: role of Endothelial L-arginine/NO Pathway

Thiago Bruder Nascimento et al. Rafaela de Fátima Ferreira Baptista Priscila Cristina Pereira Dijon Henrique Salomé Campos … André Soares Leopoldo Ana Paula Lima Leopoldo Silvio A. Oliveira Júnior Carlos Roberto Padovani Antônio Carlos Cicogna Sandra Cordellini

BACKGROUND: Mechanisms underlying vascular abnormalities in obesity remain to be completely clarified. OBJECTIVE: L-arginine/nitric oxide pathway was evaluated on vascular response of high-fat diet-obese rats, focusing on endothelial and smooth muscle cells. METHODS: 30-day-old rats were divided in two groups: control (C) and obese (OB, high-fat diet for 30 weeks). After 30 weeks, body weight, adiposity index, blood pressure, and metabolic and endocrine profiles of the animals were recorded. Curves to noradrenaline were obtained in absence and presence of nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (L-NAME, 3×10-4M) on intact and denuded thoracic aorta from C and OB rats. RESULTS: Body weight, adiposity index, leptin and insulin levels were increased in OB, while blood pressure was unchanged. Obesity also produced glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Reactivity to noradrenaline of intact aorta was similar in C and OB rats. L-NAME presence produced a similar increase in maximal responses, but a higher leftward shift of noradrenaline responses in intact aorta from C than in OB rats [EC50 (x10-7M): C = 1.84 (0.83-4.07), O = 2.49 (1.41-4.38); L-NAME presence C = 0.02 (0.01-0.04)*, O = 0.21 (0.11-0.40)*†,*p < 0.05 vs respective control, †p < 0.05 vs control plus L-NAME, n = 6-7]. None of the protocols altered the reactivity to noradrenaline of denuded aortas. CONCLUSION: High-fat diet-induced obesity promotes metabolic and vascular alterations. The vascular alteration involved an endothelial L-arginine/NO pathway improvement was probably correlated to diet-induced hyperinsulinemia and hyperleptinemia. The greater resistance to L-NAME effects in aorta of obese rats raises concerns about the lower cardiovascular vulnerability of obese individuals in the presence of associated pathologies that impair NO-system activity.

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Special Article

Rationality and methods: registry of clinical practice in high-risk cardiovascular patients

Luiz Alberto Piva e Mattos

BACKGROUND: To date, no Brazilian registry has been designed to document the clinical practice regarding assistance to patients at high cardiovascular risk in a large representative sample of research centers, including public and private hospitals nationwide. Thus, this study will identify gaps in the incorporation of interventions with proven benefit in our area. OBJECTIVE: To record information on the Brazilian clinical practice with regard to the patients at high cardiovascular risk. METHODS: Registry-type prospective observational study intended to document the current clinical practice applied to outpatients at high cardiovascular risk classified by the presence of one of the following variables: evidence of coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease in diabetics or non-diabetics; or in the presence of at least three of the following cardiovascular risk factors: hypertension, active smoking, dyslipidemia, age over 70 years, chronic kidney disease, family history of coronary artery disease and/or asymptomatic carotid artery disease. Patients will be collected in 43 centers across Brazil, including public and private hospitals, as well as in basic health care units, and clinically reviewed for one year after inclusion. RESULTS: The findings will be presented one year after the start of collection (September 2011), and consolidated after a meeting with the population to discuss the objectives sought. CONCLUSION: The analysis of this multicenter registry will design a horizontal perspective for the treatment of patients suffering from cardiovascular disease in Brazil.

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Artigo Original

Growth-differentiation factor-15: a novel biomarker in patients with diastolic dysfunction?

Wilfried Dinh et al. Reiner Füth Mark Lankisch Georg Hess … Dietmar Zdunek Thomas Scheffold Frank Kramer Rolf Michael Klein Michael Coll Barroso Werner Nickl

BACKGROUND: Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), a stress-responsive transforming growth factor-ß-related cytokine, is elevated and independently related to an adverse prognosis in systolic heart failure. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate plasma levels of GDF-15 in patients with preclinical diastolic dysfunction or heart failure with normal ejection fraction (HFnEF). METHODS: We evaluated 119 patients with normal ejection fraction referred for an elective coronary angiography, 75 (63%) of whom had coronary artery disease. Subjects were classified as having either mild left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD grade I, n = 61), HFnEF (LVDD grade II or III, n = 38) or normal diastolic function (controls, n = 20). In a subgroup of 20 subjects, changes in cardiac output (CO) were measured by inert gas rebreathing (InnocorTM) in response to an orthostatic hemodynamic test. RESULTS: Growth differentiation factor-15 levels in HFnEF [median 1.08, interquartile range (0.88-1.30) ng/ml] were significantly higher than in controls [0.60 (0.50-0.71) ng/ml, p = 0.003] and in patients with LVDD grade I [0.78 (0.62-1.04) ng/ml, p < 0.001]. In addition, GDF-15 was significantly elevated in patients with LVDD grade I compared to controls (p = 0.003). Furthermore, GDF-15 was correlated with echocardiographic markers of diastolic dysfunction and was correlated with the magnitude of CO response to the change in body position from standing to supine (r = -0.67, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Growth differentiation factor-15 levels are elevated in subjects with HFnEF and can differentiate normal diastolic function from asymptomatic LVDD. In addition, GDF-15 is associated with a reduced cardiac output response in the orthostatic hemodynamic test.

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Artigo Original

Tissue doppler echocardiography in the diagnosis of heart transplantation rejection

Marcos Valério Coimbra Resende et al. Marcelo Luiz Campos Vieira Fernando Bacal José Lázaro Andrade … Noedir A. Stolf Edmar Alcides Bocchi

BACKGROUND: Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is the gold standard method for the diagnosis of cellular rejection (CR) after heart transplantation (HT). OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) could detect CR > 3A and add diagnostic information compared to conventional Doppler. METHODS: Fifty-four HT patients underwent 129 EMB and a TDI echocardiographic study within 24 hours. We compared HT patients with CR > 3A versus HT patients with CR 3A in 39/129 (30.2%) EMB. The best isolated predictor for CR diagnosis was a’LAT, with a sensitivity of 76.3%, specificity of 73.8% (p = 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, a’LAT (p = 0.001), a’SEP (p = 0.002), e’/a’ LAT ratio (p = 0.006), e’Mitral/ e’LAT ratio (p = 0.014), SINF (p = 0.009) predicted CR > 3A. We obtained a score with a sensitivity of 88.2%, accuracy of 79.6% and negative predictive value of 92.9% to diagnose CR > 3A. Conventional Doppler (mitral and pulmonary venous flow) was not relevant to predict CR > 3A. CONCLUSION: TDI added diagnostic information to predict CR > 3A compared to conventional Doppler. A TDI-based model could become a potential method to detect CR > 3A after Heart Transplantation.

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Artigo Original

Exercise-induced left bundle branch block: prevalence and prognosis

Ricardo Stein et al. Michael Ho Cristiano Machado Oliveira Jorge Pinto Ribeiro … Kusum Lata Joshua Abella Harald Olson Jonathan Myers Victor Froelicher

BACKGROUND: Exercise-induced left bundle branch block (EI-LBBB) is an infrequent finding. Its prevalence and prognostic significance are not clear. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, in a longitudinal study, the prevalence and prognostic significance of EI-LBBB in American war veterans. METHODS: We evaluated 9,623 patients submitted to an exercise test (ET) in treadmill between 1987 and 2007. The outcomes were compared between those with normal TE, the ones with EI-LBBB and the ones with down-sloping ST-segment. Mortality and causes of death were identified while blinded to the ET results. RESULTS: In this prospective cohort, 6,922 individuals had normal ET results (57.2 ± 11.4 years), 1,739 had abnormal ST-segment depression (62.7 ± 9.8 years), and 38 had EI-LBBB (65.2 ± 11.9 years). The prevalence of EI-LBBB was 0.38%. After 8.8 years, there were 1,699 deaths due to all-cause mortality and 610 cardiovascular (CV) deaths; coronary artery disease and heart failure were more prevalent in patients with EI-LBBB. Patients with EI-BCRE had a hazard ratio of 2.37 (p = 0.002) for all-cause mortality, but it was not significant when adjusted for age or when the CV death was the assessed outcome. CONCLUSION: EI-LBBB is a rare clinical finding. Individuals with BCRE-EI have higher all-cause mortality when compared to those with normal ET results. However, this fact is explained by the fact that these patients are significantly older and have more associated cardiovascular diseases.

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Artigo Original

Heart failure: comparison between six-minute walk test and cardiopulmonary test

Eduardo Elias Vieira de Carvalho et al. Daniela Caetano Costa Júlio César Crescêncio Giovani Luiz De Santi … Valéria Papa Fabiana Marques André Schmidt José Antonio Marin-Neto Marcus Vinícius Simões Lourenço Gallo Junior

BACKGROUND: Chronic heart failure (HF) is a syndrome characterized by reduced cardiac output in relation to the metabolic needs of the organism, as well as metabolic and neurohormonal axis abnormalities. Symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnoea are notorious and stress tests are widely used to assess functional capacity, prognosis and effectiveness of therapeutic interventions in this syndrome. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reproducibility of the six-minute walk test (6MW) in patients with HF and correlate the magnitude of the variables reached at peak exercise of the 6MWT with a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). METHODS: We studied 16 patients (12 men and 4 women) diagnosed with HF FC I-II (NYHA). The volunteers underwent two 6MWT (6MWT’1 and 6MWT’2) with 30-minute interval between them; then, they underwent a maximum CPET. RESULTS: All variables obtained in the two 6MWT’ proved to be significant with high correlations: distance walked (DW) (r = 0.93, p < 0.0001), heart rate (HR) (r = 0.89, p < 0.0001), oxygen consumption (VO2) (r = 0.93, p < 0.0001) and scale of perceived exertion (r = 0.85, p < 0.0001). In turn, all variables analyzed in the 6MWT' showed significant and moderate correlations with the variables obtained from the CPET, namely: peak HR (r = 0.66; p = 0.005); VO2 (r = 0.57; p = 0.02) and VO2 in the CPET and DT in the 6MWT'2 (r = 0.70; p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The 6MWT was reproducible in this group of patients with HF (NYHA – I-II) and correlated with the CPET. Therefore, it is a tool for reliable evaluation, and a suitable, safe and low-cost alternative for the prescription of aerobic exercise in patients with HF.

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Artigo Original

Swimming training attenuates contractile dysfunction in diabetic rat cardiomyocytes

Márcia Ferreira da Silva et al. Maria do Carmo Gouveia Pelúzio Paulo Roberto dos Santos Amorim Vitor Neiva Lavorato … Natália Pereira do Santos Luiz Henrique Marchesi Bozi Arlete Rita Penitente Daniel Luciano Falkoski Felipe Gomes Berfort Antonio Jose Natali

BACKGROUND: Experimental diabetes promotes contractile dysfunction in cardiomyocytes, but the effects of swimming in this disorder are not known. OBJECTIVE: To test the effects of a swimming training program (STP) on cardiomyocyte contractile dysfunction in rats with experimental diabetes. METHODS: Wistar rats (age: 30 days; mean body weight: 84.19 g) with diabetes induced by streptozotocin (60 mg/kg body weight; glucose > 300 mg/dl) were divided into sedentary diabetic rats (SD, n = 10) and exercised diabetic rats (ED, n = 13). Animals of same age and weight served as sedentary controls (SC, n = 10) and exercised controls (EC, n = 06). Animals and ED and EC underwent a STP (05 days/week, 90 min/day) for 08 weeks. Left ventricular (LV) myocytes were isolated and electrically stimulated at 3.0 Hz at room temperature (∼ 25º C). RESULTS: Diabetes reduced contractile function in cardiomyocytes of animals compared to controls (i.e., lower amplitude of contraction, longer duration of contraction and relaxation). The STP attenuated the reduced amplitude of contraction (SC, 11 ± 0.2% vs ED, 11.6 ± 0.2%), time to peak contraction (SC, 319 ± 5.8 ms vs ED, 333 ± 4.8 ms) and time to 50.0% of relaxation (SC, 619 ± 22.2 ms vs ED 698 ± 18.6 ms) of cardiomyocytes of diabetic rats. Diabetes reduced the size of cardiomyocytes, however, the STP minimized the reduction of cell volume and width, without changing length. CONCLUSION: The swimming training program attenuated the contractile dysfunction of the LV myocytes of rats with experimental diabetes.

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Review Article

C-Reactive protein and outcomes in acute coronary syndromes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Luís C. L. Correia et al. J Péricles Esteves

Despite the association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and recurrent events in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS), routine determination of this marker has not been recommended. In order to verify whether the current scientific evidence justifies the inclusion of CRP for risk stratification at hospital admission of patients with ACS, we carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of the studies indexed in MEDLINE, SciELO or LILACS, with the following inclusion criteria: prospective cohort design and assessment of the prognostic value of CPR, as measured using a high-sensitivity method at the moment of hospital admission of patients with ACS. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. In relation to the long-term follow-up, there was a consistent association between CRP and cardiovascular events, with an overall odds ratio (OR) of 4.6 (95% CI = 2.3 – 7.6) and overall multivariate OR of 2.5 (95% CI = 1.8-3.4). As for the short-term, nine studies were positive and six were negative, with an overall OR of 1.65 (95% CI = 1.2-2.3). The overall multivariate OR was not obtained for the short-term follow-up, because this measurement was described only in three heterogeneous studies. Only two short-term studies analyzed the incremental predictive value of CRP in relation to multivariate models, with contradicting results. In conclusion, the small number of assessments of the incremental value of CRP, in conjunction with controversial results regarding the independent predictive value of CRP for short-term events does not support the recommendation of the routine use of CRP for risk stratification at admission of patients with ACS.

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