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Biomedical subjects

J Eskilsson

Publications and source records attributed to J Eskilsson.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Effects of verapamil on left ventricular diastolic function at rest and during isometric exercise in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Ten patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were examined with echocardiography before and during verapamil treatment to evaluate short-term and long-term effects of verapamil on left ventricular diastolic function. All patients were in sinus rhythm and in NYHA functional class I. Effects on filling and myocardial relaxation were documented by digitized echocardiography obtained at rest and during isometric exercise before treatment, after two weeks (short-term) and four months (long-term) treatment, respectively. At rest a significant decrease of the myocardial relaxation time was found during verapamil treatment. A few patients, however, returned to almost baseline conditions after an initial improvement. A small increase in the peak rate of dimension change, a parameter of filling, reached statistical significance at the end of the long-term treatment period. Isometric exercise did not induce any changes in the diastolic parameters during verapamil treatment. A positive effect of verapamil was thus seen on both myocardial relaxation and left ventricular filling, but only in resting conditions.

Adult↗

Heart involvement in metastatic carcinoid disease.

Sixteen patients with metastatic carcinoid tumors of ileal or cecal origin were studied in order to evaluate the frequency and degree of cardiac involvement in a nonselected patient group. We have also studied the correlation between plasma hormone levels (e.g., 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and substance P) and the degree of cardiac involvement. The patients underwent physical examinations, electrocardiograms, chest x-rays, cardiac catheterization, and echocardiography. Plasma levels of 5-HT and substance P were analyzed. Carcinoid heart involvement was found in 3 of 16 patients (19%) but no patient had subjective symptoms associated with heart disease. Four patients (25%) had slight pulmonary hypertension. No left-sided heart lesions were seen. No correlation between blood levels of 5-HT or substance P and heart involvement was found. Eight patients died during the follow-up period, but in none of these was the cause of death cardiac failure. Carcinoid heart disease is not as common in our patients as in patients selected on a cardiological basis described in earlier studies. Echocardiography appears to be the most efficient technique for detection of even subclinical heart involvement and a useful tool for following its progress.

Adult↗

Short-term oral terbutaline does not induce myocardial hypertrophy in man.

Seven healthy male subjects, with an average age of 32 years, received 15 mg oral terbutaline daily for 14 days. Echocardiography was used to evaluate myocardial wall thickness. The terbutaline dose given resulted in plasma concentrations of terbutaline which improve lung function in asthmatic patients. Echocardiographic measurements were, however, unchanged during the study compared to pretreatment values. Thus, contrary to what has been reported in animal models, short-term terbutaline treatment in man does not seem to induce cardiac hypertrophy.

Adult↗

Spontaneous disappearance of right atrial thromboembolus without pulmonary embolism.

A right atrial thromboembolus was detected by two-dimensional echocardiography in a 78-year-old woman with no signs of pulmonary embolism. Anticoagulant therapy was given. The thromboembolus gradually disappeared within four months, and repeat lung perfusion scintigrams during this time did not show any signs of pulmonary embolization.

Aged↗

Surgical intervention in staphylococcal endocarditis.

Uncomplicated endocarditis is cured by medical treatment at a rate of 80% (75% 5-year survival rate). If incompensated, only 12% has shown to be curable without surgery. With valve replacement, on the other hand, the rate of success will be 80%. Of those surgically treated cases, less than 10% will develop recrudescent infection. Left heart vegetations predict the risk of congestive heart failure and/or embolism. It is assumed that 7-10 days of efficient antibiotic therapy without effect should lead to surgery. We have made valve replacement in six cases during recent years in staphylococcal endocarditis. The main indication for operation was congestive heart failure, and the valve used was the Björk-Shiley tilting disc. All patients had vegetations on the leaflets. One patient had a mitral insufficiency, and the other five had aortic insufficiency. Two cases were lost within four months after surgery. In general, indications for valve replacement are heart incompensation or vegetations on leaflets.

Adult↗

High-density lipoprotein concentrations increase after stopping smoking.

Concentrations of plasma lipoproteins in 10 men who were habitual smokers were monitored for six weeks after they stopped smoking and related to changes in diet and body weight. The energy intake increased by 10% (p less than 0.05) owing to a higher consumption of carbohydrates and fat, and body weight increased by 2% (p less than 0.01). Plasma triglyceride, cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations did not change significantly. The most prominent finding was a rapid and pronounced increased in high-density lipoprotein concentrations. From comparatively low values (mean 0.82 mmol/1) they rose by 29% (p less than 0.01) within two weeks and remained at this value throughout the observation period. In three subjects who resumed smoking after the end of the study they again fell to initial values six weeks later. The initial increase in concentration could be accounted for mainly by an increase in the esterified fraction and only to a lesser extent in the free cholesterol fraction. The changes in concentrations were accompanied by similar but less pronounced rises in high-density lipoprotein phospholipid and in apolipoprotein AI concentrations (p less than 0.01), whereas high-density lipoprotein phospholipid and in apolipoprotein AI concentration (p less than 0.01), whereas high-density lipoprotein triglyceride concentrations did not change significantly. These findings confirm and extend those of earlier cross-sectional studies which showed low concentrations of high-density lipoproteins in cigarette smokers, A significant correlation between the rise in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and the increase in fat consumption after stopping smoking indicate that the changes in high-density lipoprotein concentrations may be partly due to nutritional factors.

Adult↗

Comparison of left ventricular ejection fraction assessed by radionuclide angiocardiography, echocardiography and contrast angiocardiography.

The left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) obtained by first pass radionuclide angiocardiography was compared with that determined by contrast angiocardiography in 49 patients. In 35 of the patients a comparison with the EF obtained by M-mode echocardiography was also made. The EF echo was determined in two ways, from the standard cube formula and the regression equation suggested by Teichholz for left ventricular volume calculations. The latter formula gave an average EF closer to the average EF obtained by isotope technique and cineangiography and was therefore used in the comparison study. Measurements of EF by isotope technique and echocardiography correlated well (r = 0.78). The correlation between these two noninvasive methods for EF determination and their cineangiographic counterpart was almost identical (r = 0.72--0.74).

Adult↗

Spontaneous reversion from long-lasting atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm.

We have collected 23 cases with atrial fibrillation (AF) of 3-29 years' duration with spontaneous reversion to sinus rhythm (SR). We have also identified 22 similar cases in the literature. Several of our patients spent several years with different atrial arrhythmias before a stable SR was established. Of all the 45 cases, 39 had significant rheumatic mitral valve disease. In the majority of these patients the ECG shows first degree AV block after return to SR and a low-amplitude P-wave--as if the left atrial P component was lacking. There are no signs of left atrial mechanical activity after re-establishment of SR in our mitral valve disease group, as judged from phonocardiograms, apexcardiograms, echocardiograms and left atrial pressure recordings in selected patients. Heart muscle biopsy was obtained from two patients who underwent mitral valve surgery. Left atrial speciments showed almost complete lack of all muscle structures. There is thus electrical, mechanical and histological evidence of left atrial muscle deterioration. It is likely that the electrophysiological factors responsible for initiation and maintenance of AF have disappeared with this deterioration, thereby allowing SR to be re-established. The return of SR might indicate a progress of the heart disease although the patient may benefit from normalization of cardiac rate and regularity. The easy identification of our 23 patients makes us believe that the phenomenon of appearance of late SR is far more common than suggested up to now.

Aged↗

Antithrombotic treatment in protection against thrombogenic effects of 5-fluorouracil on vascular endothelium: a scanning microscopy evaluation.

Cardiotoxicity is a serious side effect of treatment of malignant diseases with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The underlying pathophysiologic mechanism remains unclear but clinical data suggest that the endothelium of coronary arteries may be involved. Experimental studies indicate that the endothelium is especially susceptible to 5-FU and support the hypothesis that a thrombogenic effect of 5-FU, secondary to its direct toxic effect on the endothelium, is one of the pathophysiologic mechanisms behind 5-FU-induced cardiotoxicity. In the present study we evaluate the role of antithrombotic treatment with dalteparin as protection against the thrombogenic effect of 5-FU on the vascular endothelium in a rabbit model. The effects on the vascular endothelium of 5-FU, dalteparin, and the combination of these two substances were evaluated with scanning electron microscopy 1, 3, 7, 14, and 30 days after treatment and compared with a control group. Very severe damage to the endothelium was seen in 5-FU-treated animals, often leading to intima disruption and denudation of underlying structures, with accompanying platelet accumulation and fibrin formation. The most extensive damage was observed on Day 3 after treatment. The cytotoxic effect of 5-FU was partly reversible. The combination of 5-FU and dalteparin gave lower scores on Day 3 because of less evidence of thrombotic events. However, the reversibility of the endothelial damage was poorer in this group, as well as in the group that received dalteparin alone. The findings support the hypothesis that antithrombotic treatment with dalteparin can protect against the thrombogenic effect of 5-FU, secondary to its direct toxic effect on the vascular endothelium. However, the study indicates that dalteparin per se has a toxic effect on the endothelium that is different from that of 5-FU.

Animals↗