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Biomedical subjects

J Di Matteo

Publications and source records attributed to J Di Matteo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Enhancement of the effect of captopril in the 1st 48 hours of treating refractory heart failure. A comparison with intravenous trinitrine].

The favourable haemodynamic effects of vasodilator drugs in refractory cardiac failure sometimes alter rapidly after the initial dose. This tachyphylactic phenomenon was looked for during captopril therapy in 14 patients with chronic cardiac failure resistant to digitalo-diuretic therapy and conventional vasodilator drugs. The average age of the patients was 64,4 +/- 3,8 years. Eleven patients had signs of congestive cardiac failure while the remaining three patients had only left ventricular failure. Four patients were classified as Stage III and the other ten Stage IV of the NYHA classification. Right heart catheter studies were performed with a Swan Ganz catheter and systemic pressures were measured by femoral artery catheterisation. Right and left pressures and cardiac output were measured under basal conditions, and 1 and 5 hours after a single dose of captopril (early and late periods). Captopril was given in between meals in 3 to 6 daily doses; in 10 of the 14 cases the dose was 50 mg 6 hourly. The haemodynamic parameters were recorded again during the early and late periods after the dose of captopril 24 and 48 hours after starting therapy. Captopril is a mixed vasodilator and is effective from the first hour of administration. It preferentially lowered pulmonary capillary pressure (PCP) from 29,6 +/- 0,92 mmHg to 21,4 +/- 1,04 mmHg (delta PCP: -27,7%, p less than 0,01). Mean systemic blood pressure (MBP) fell less from 92,4 +/- 3,51 mmHg to 76,6 +/- 3,4 mmHg (delta MBP: -17%, p less than 0,01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

[Cardiovascular manifestations of systemic elastorrhexis (the Grönblad-Strandberg-Touraine syndrome)].

Peripheral arterial involvement is common in pseudoxanthoma elasticum. It can be the first symptom. Small and medium size arteries are most often involved. The arterial lesions are diffuse, stenotic and often with marked calcium deposition. This arterial involvement can be developed early and if happening in young patients it is of great diagnostic significance. Peripheral vascular disease is most common in the limbs. Its evolution is remarkably slow. Coronary arterial disease can induce angina pectoris but seldom myocardial infarction. In cerebral arteries, lesions consist in stenoses and aneurysmal dilatation. They are responsible for thrombotic or hemorrhagic accidents. High blood pressure is frequent. It increases the hemorrhagic risk. Aortic lesions are exceptional, and if encountered one must discuss a Marfan disease association. Visceral hemorrhages, gastrointestinal or uterine, often the first symptom, are secondary to arteriolar lesions. Histologic studies reveal narrowed arterial lumen, due to medial thickening. Media is invaded by irregular and anarchic elastic fibers. Elastic laminae are fragmented and disorganized. The abnormal elastic tissue tends to be calcified. When compared to the arterial lesions, cardiac involvement is uncommon. It has been described in the first case of literature. It essentially consists in an endocardial thickening of the auricles and of the mitral and tricuspid valves.

Aortic Diseases

[Constrictive pericarditis and rheumatoid arthritis].

Pericarditis is the commonest cardiac manifestation of rhumatoid arthritis. It is often clinically latent but it may evolve to constriction or less often to tamponade. The case presented is of a 60 year-old woman with a 5 year history of seropositive nodular rhumatoid arthritis in whom bilateral pleural effusions and constrictive pericarditis were observed after sudden termination of corticotherapy. She was treated successfully by pericardectomy. This complication is far from being exceptional (55 cases already reported). It justifies a systematic search for pericarditis in rhumatoid arthritis, especially by echocardiography.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid

[Dynamic study of the coronary vascular bed by selective coronary scanning using hyperaemia].

Advantage may be taken of the hyperaemic response to the iodine contained in the contrast medium injected during coronary angiography to assess the functional value of the coronary tree using radioactive microspheres. This series comprises 73 selective coronary scans performed in the resting state (113 m In marked microspheres) and during the hyperaemic phase (99 m TC marked microspheres) in 70 patients. A positive hyperaemic response distal to severe truncular stenosis indicates a good distal arteriolar bed and collateral circulation for aorto-coronary bypass grafting. After aorto-coronary bypass (23 cases), the hyperaemic response gives an indication of the functional value of the revascularised myocardium. In 71% cases, the results correlate well with the measurement of the peroperative blood flow through the graft. It is usually positive when the bypass graft is implanted with good distal arterial run off.

Adult

[Optimum flow of intravenous trinitrine during the acute stage of myocardial infarct with cardiac insufficiency: its effects on survival].

Twenty-one patients were treated during the acute stage of a myocardial infarction for failure of the left or right ventricle. The systematic use of varying rates of flow of intravenous trinitrin (between 0.6 and 4.8 mg/h) was designed to find out for each patient the optimal effect on the cardiac index. The fall in pulmonary capillary pressure, obtained within 10 to 15 minutes, is proportional to the flow rate of trinitrin, and reaches 48% of its original value at a perfusion rate of 4.8 mg/h. The lowering of systemic arterial pressure is also proportional to the flow rate, and reaches 13% at a flow of 4.8 mg/h. The cardiac index and systolic index were significantly improved at flow rates of 1.2 to 2.4 mg/h, and lowered the pulmonary capillary pressure to levels of 17.6 mm of mercury and 15.3 mm of mercury respectively. Trinitrin given intravenously is very well tolerated, but it often become less effective after 24 hours of treatment, which implies that haemodynamic measurements must be made several times a day, and the speed of infusion often increased. The improvement in immediate and late prognosis is discussed relative to the initial values and Weber's index of survival.

Acute Disease

[Comparison of 24 hours ambulatory electrocardiography and endocavitary recording in the diagnosis of heart rate disorders].

Ninety symptomatic patients aged between 16 and 90 years were investigated by ambulatory continuous 24 hour electrocardiography. 75 of these patients underwent endocavitary exploration of atrioventricular conduction and sinus node function within 48 hour of ambulatory electrocardiography. Symptoms occurred during the recording in 30% patients, enabling the mechanism of the malaise to be determined. Every time that abnormalities in the zone surrounding the Tawara node were demonstrated by endocavitary recordings, the 24 hour electrocardiogramme showed the symptoms to be due to other causes than complete heart block. In 70% patients no symptoms were experienced but 58% of them had cardiac arrhythmias and particularly sinus node dysfunction (24 out of 37 patients) on the 24 hour electrocardiogramme. Comparing the results of these two methods of investigation, continuous electrocardiography appears to be a better technique for the diagnosis of sinus node dysfunction but endocavitary study of sinus node function would seem more suited to determine its severity. Endocavitary recordings seem more reliable in the investigation of paroxysmal atrioventricular blocks. These results demonstrate the complementary nature of these two methods in determining the causes of syncope and dizziness.

Adolescent

Congestive cardiomyopathy in uraemic patients on long term haemodialysis.

Five uraemic patients who developed progressive cardiac failure with clinical evidence of congestive cardiomyopathy at the start or during haemodialysis treatment were studied. The diagnosis of cardiomyopathy, for which there was no apparent cause, was confirmed by angiocardiographic and haemodynamic studies. These showed a significant increase in left ventricular end-diastolic volume over normal values obtained in 12 patients without uraemia. The mean velocity of myocardial fibre shortening was significantly decreased, as was the index of normalised rigidity. Three of the five patients presented the complete picture of the disease. The other two also had considerable ventricular dilatation and a decreased index of normalised rigidity but normal ejection fraction and only moderately decreased myocardial contractility indices. This suggests that there may be primary involvement of normalised heart muscle rigidity followed by secondary changes in myocardial contractility in uraemic patients with congestive cardiomyopathy.

Adult