Biomedical subjects

F W Amann

Publications and source records attributed to F W Amann.

116 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

PubMed1978

[Uremic pericarditis: clinical aspects, echocardiography, therapy].

Over a 2-year period uremic pericarditis was observed in 11 of 62 patients treated by chronic dialysis. The uremic state appeared to be the most important contributing factor in these patients. Chest pain, fever and a pericardial friction rub were observed in the majority of patients; the illness may however be silent. Echocardiography proved to be the single most helpful diagnostic procedure. Intensive hemodialysis, indomethacin or steroid therapy given systemically or intrapericardially are generally accepted in the management of pericarditis. Although indomethacin produced regression of the clinical symptoms in these patients, the volume of fluid within the pericardial sac diminished in 3 of 9 patients only. 6 patients were given systemic steroid treatment and this was followed by prompt resolution of the effusion. Surgery was not necessary. All patients had an uneventful recovery.

Adult↗

PubMed1977

[Echocardiography in infectious endocarditis].

The effectiveness of echocardiography was evaluated in 36 cases of anatomically documented infective endocarditis during the period 1972 to 1976. Valvular vegetations were found in 47% and destructions in 58% of this group. Echocardiography is a valuable tool in the certification of clinically suspected infective endocarditis and in the delineation of a subgroup of patients with valvular vegetations and destruction of aortic and mitral valve leaflets. Echocardiography may therefore play a decisive role in the selection of patients for surgical intervention despite active infection.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ischemic heart disease: assessment with gadolinium-enhanced ultrafast MR imaging and dipyridamole stress.

The potential of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for the detection of myocardial perfusion abnormalities in patients with coronary artery disease has not been fully explored. A feasibility study was conducted in 10 patients with a novel approach to determine whether myocardial ischemia can be assessed with MR imaging and dynamic first-pass bolus tracking enhanced with gadolinium tetraazacyclododecanetetraacetic acid (DOTA). Three tomographic planes were acquired before and after pharmacologic stress with dipyridamole, with use of the bolus-tracking series at rest as a reference. The change in myocardial rate of enhancement was compared with the results obtained by means of the established methods, exercise thallium scintigraphy and coronary angiography. Detection of ischemic regions with MR imaging showed a sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of 65%, 76%, and 74%, respectively. Ultrafast MR imaging can be used to detect regions of myocardial ischemia.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Coronary pseudoaneurysm: diagnosis by intravascular ultrasonography.

A pseudoaneurysm after percutaneous coronary angioplasty (PTCA) of the left anterior descending coronary artery is reported in a 52-year-old woman who underwent PTCA for exertional angina and a significant isolated stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Intravascular ultrasonography during repeat coronary angiography clearly identified a localized coronary dilation at the PTCA site in conventional coronary angiography as a pseudoaneurysm that was confirmed during surgery.

Aneurysm, False↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A reversible form of apical left ventricular hypertrophy associated with pheochromocytoma.

A patient with pheochromocytoma was found to have typical features of apical left ventricular hypertrophy similar to apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy of the Japanese type. The electrocardiogram showed giant negative T waves (1.0 mV), and echocardiography as well as angiographic examination revealed left ventricular hypertrophy confined to the apex. Surgical removal of the tumor resulted in striking regression of apical hypertrophy and essential normalization of the electrocardiogram within 1 year of operation. These findings emphasize the possible role of catecholamines in the cause of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and illustrate the potential reversibility of this condition in association with pheochromocytoma. It is suggested that patients with signs of apical left ventricular hypertrophy should undergo thorough screening for a pheochromocytoma.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Antihypertensive efficacy of the new long-acting beta-blocker bopindolol as related to age.

Bopindolol (LT 31-200), a new, long-acting, nonselective beta-adrenoceptor blocking agent with partial agonist activity, was given to 23 patients with essential hypertension (World Health Organization stage I-II), aged 19-59 years, for 12 weeks. Four patients had low, 13 patients normal, and six patients high plasma renin activity (PRA). Bopindolol, once daily, was started at 1 mg and, when necessary, increased to 2 and 4 mg at intervals of 2 weeks, aiming at a diastolic blood pressure less or equal to 95 mm Hg. Blood pressure was reduced from 151 +/- 12/105 +/- 7 during placebo to 129 +/- 10/88 +/- 6 after bopindolol treatment, at a mean dosage of 2.4 mg. Heart rate decreased slightly from 75 +/- 7 beats/min during placebo to 71 +/- 10 beats/min during bopindolol treatment. A diastolic blood pressure less than or equal to 95 mm Hg was achieved in 19 of the 23 patients. The diastolic blood pressure decrease was greater in the eight patients aged 19-35 years than in the 15 patients aged 36-59 years. The decrease in diastolic blood pressure was also greater in the 19 patients with normal or high PRA than in the four patients with low PRA. PRA decreased from 2.6 +/- 1.7 micrograms/L/h, during placebo, to 1.6 +/- 0.8 micrograms/L/h, after bopindolol treatment, as measured in 19 patients. Plasma catecholamine levels were not changed after bopindolol treatment, as measured in 10 patients. Bopindolol was generally well tolerated, and all patients completed 12 weeks of treatment.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Enhanced alpha-adrenoreceptor-mediated vasoconstriction in essential hypertension.

Forearm blood flow (FAF) has been determined using venous occlusion plethysmography in 24 patients with essential hypertension (EHT) and in 16 age-matched normotensive subjects (NT) under basal resting conditions, following nonspecific vasodilatation with sodium nitroprusside and after intraarterial infusion of the postjunctional alpha-blocking drug, prazosin. Under basal conditions, FAF was significantly higher in EHT than in NT. Infusion of sodium nitroprusside produced a similar absolute increase in FAF in both groups, whereas postjunctional alpha-blockade with prazosin led to a significantly greater increase in FAF in EHT than in NT. A positive correlation was found between plasma epinephrine concentration and prazosin-induced FAF in EHT but not in NT. These results suggest an enhanced postjunctional alpha-adrenoreceptor-mediated vasoconstrictor component in established EHT.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Enhanced vasodilatation in essential hypertension by calcium channel blockade with verapamil.

The dependency of arteriolar tone on calcium influx was studied in 11 patients with essential hypertension (EH) and compared to 11 age-matched normotensive subjects (NT) by measuring the forearm blood flow response to intraarterial infusion of the calcium channel blocker verapamil (Verap) and the non-specific vasodilator sodium nitroprusside (Nip) using venous occlusion plethysmography. Verap in incremental dosages from 1 to 75 micrograms/100 ml forearm tissue induced a greater increase in forearm blood flow ( delta FAF) in EH then in NT, whereas there was no significant difference in delta FAF following Nip 1,2 micrograms/100 ml tissue. Delta FAF to Verap as adjusted for delta FAF to Nip was still greater in EH than in NT. Delta FAF to all dosages of Verap correlated positively with basal plasma epinephrine concentration in EH. At the two highest dosages of Verap, systemic blood pressure fell in EH, and the Verap-induced vasodilator (as adjusted for the response to Nip) correlated negatively to plasma renin activity or plasma angiotensin II concentration. These findings support the concept of an increased dependency of arteriolar tone on calcium influx in EH, which is related to the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. This association may be due to a common underlying derangement in transmembranous ionic fluxes in smooth muscle cells and sympathetic neurons in EH.

Adult↗