Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Sciré

Publications and source records attributed to A Sciré.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Long-term survival and risk stratification in patients with angina at rest undergoing medical treatment.

In order to determine those factors which influence long-term prognosis in patients with angina at rest associated with transient ST-segment changes, 217 patients undergoing medical treatment were followed for a mean of 39 months. All patients underwent coronary arteriography. Univariate analysis identified 12 variables significantly related to prognosis. These were disease of the left main coronary artery; the number of diseased vessels; left ventricular end-diastolic pressure; ejection fraction; baseline electrocardiogram; presence of prior myocardial infarction; ST-segment depression and ventricular arrhythmias during pain; disease of the proximal anterior descending coronary artery; crescendo angina; hypertension; and age. Use of the Cox regression model for survival analysis revealed only 3 variables which were independent predictors of prognosis. They were disease of the left main coronary artery; the number of diseased vessels and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. The model allowed stratification of patients into 3 groups. Survival at 3 years was 98% in the low risk group; 82% in the intermediate risk group; and 58% in the high risk group. These data indicate that disease of the left main coronary artery, the number of diseased vessels and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure are the independent predictors of prognosis in angina at rest. These variables may allow stratification of patients into groups having different long-term survivals.

Adult↗

Clinical significance of mitral regurgitation in patients with recent myocardial infarction.

The prognostic implications of the presence of mitral regurgitation (MR) in patients with recent myocardial infarction has not been clarified yet. In March 1983, we undertook a prospective study in patients surviving a first episode of acute myocardial infarction. Over a 4-year period, 266 patients entered the study. Left ventriculography documented the presence of MR in 51 patients, while 215 did not have angiographic evidence of MR. The presence of MR was associated with larger infarcts, as shown by greater values of peak CK (P less than 0.05) and by the prevalence of Q-wave vs non-Q-wave infarctions (P less than 0.05). Transient left ventricular failure during hospitalization was more frequent in patients with MR (P less than 0.05), while the occurrence of early post-infarction angina was similar in the two groups of patients. No difference was found in the extent of coronary disease, yet patients with MR had higher values of left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) (P less than 0.005) and a lower ejection fraction (EF) (P less than 0.001). Patients with MR had a reduced exercise capacity (P less than 0.005), but signs of myocardial ischaemia were similarly distributed in the two groups. Patients with anterior infarcts and MR had higher left ventricular volumes than patients without MR, while no difference was found between patients with and patients without MR and inferior infarction, suggesting that left ventricular dilatation may play an important role in the pathogenesis of MR in patients with anterior but not in those with inferior infarction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Coronary Angiography↗

Unstable angina.

Patients with unstable angina, defined as resting chest pain associated with transient repolarization changes on the electrocardiogram, represent a high risk subset among the clinical manifestations of ischemic heart disease. Pathogenetic mechanisms include coronary spasm and vasoconstriction, coronary thrombosis and platelet aggregation. Early prognosis is related to the degree of activity of the disease while long-term outcome depends on the extent of the coronary disease and the degree of left ventricular dysfunction. Medical treatment should include the combination of beta-blockers, nitrates and calcium antagonists as well as the use of heparin and aspirin. Despite such an aggressive treatment, attacks of resting chest pain persist in almost 30 per cent of patients. In these cases emergency revascularization may be achieved by either coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery. The latter operation may result in improved survival in patients with impaired left ventricular function and triple vessel disease.

Angina Pectoris↗

Clinical significance of exercise-induced silent myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease.

Exercise-induced silent myocardial ischemia is a frequent feature in patients with coronary artery disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical and angiographic characteristics of 269 patients who complained of chest pain during an exercise test (group I) with those of 204 who developed exercise-induced silent myocardial ischemia (group II). Group I patients more frequently had anginal symptoms of class III and IV of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society than did group II patients, who had milder symptoms (p less than 0.001). The only angiographic difference observed between the two groups was a slightly but significantly higher left ventricular end-diastolic pressure in group II patients (p less than 0.05), who also showed a longer exercise duration (p less than 0.01) with a higher heart rate-systolic pressure product (p less than 0.01) and more pronounced ST segment depression at peak exercise (p less than 0.001). Moreover, ventricular ectopic beats during exercise were more frequently observed in group II patients (p less than 0.05). Coronary bypass surgery was performed in 45% of patients of group I and in 24% of patients of group II (p less than 0.05). Survival curves of medically treated patients did not show any statistically significant difference between the two groups. Thus, although patients with a defective anginal warning system may have more pronounced signs of myocardial ischemia and a greater incidence of ventricular arrhythmias during exercise, their long-term prognosis is not different from that of patients who are stopped by angina from the activity that is inducing myocardial ischemia.

Coronary Angiography↗