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J Soler Soler

Publications and source records attributed to J Soler Soler.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

[Rupture of type A aortic dissection into right cardiac cavities].

We present three cases of communication between the false channel of an ascending aortic dissection and a right cardiac chamber in three patients that had previously been operated on for aortic valve replacement. In two cases there already was a degree of aortic dissection at the moment of surgery. Diagnosis was confirmed by transesophageal echocardiography and/or aortography. Two patients developed severe cardiac failure and underwent surgery, while the other one is surviving with medical treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

[Neurohormonal factors in heart failure. II].

Heart failure is a physiopathological condition, with an increasing incidence and prevalence, involving the action of a series of mechanisms known as "compensators", which are phylogenetically ready to normalize minute volume and blood pressure. These mechanisms include the activation of a series of neurohormonal systems: the sympathetic nervous system, the aldosterone renin-angiotensin system, vasopressin arginine, endothelin, which are basically vasoconstrictors, with the counterpoint of other vasodilator systems, such as the endothelial relaxation factor, certain prostaglandins and the bradykinin-kallikrein system, which modulate global response. The authors review the physiopathology of each of these systems, as well as their significance in the diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of heart failure. We analyze the possible deleterious effects of neurohormonal activation, anatomically and at the cardiovascular function level, and try to determine if they are capable of explaining the evolution and progression of heart failure, in a truly vicious circle, up until the irreversible heart failure phase. We review the current importance of the inhibition of the aldosterone renin-angiotensin system in the prophylaxis and treatment of heart failure. Furthermore, we describe the present-day value of the inhibition of the sympathetic nervous system in some forms of heart failure. We also analyze the different pharmacological treatments for heart failure: diuretics, inotropic agents, vasodilators (in their different pharmacological types), paying particular attention to their action on neurohormonal systems and their implications in the prognosis and evolution of heart failure.

Arginine Vasopressin↗
PubMed1996

[Neurohormonal factors in heart failure (and III)].

Heart failure is a physiopathological condition, with an increasing incidence and prevalence, involving the action of a series of mechanisms known as "compensators", which are phylogenetically ready to normalize minute volume and blood pressure. These mechanisms include the activation of a series of neurohormonal systems: the sympathetic nervous system, the aldosterone renin-angiotensin system, vasopressin arginine, endothelin, which are basically vasoconstrictors, with the counterpoint of other vasodilator systems, such as the endothelial relaxation factor, certain prostaglandins and the bradykinin-kallikrein system, which modulate global response. The authors review the physiopathology of each of these system, as well as their significance in the diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of heart failure. We analyze the possible deleterious effects of neurohormonal activation, anatomically and at cardiovascular function level, and try to determine if they are capable of explaining the evolution and progression of heart failure, in a truly vicious circle, up until the irreversible heart failure phase. We review the current importance of the inhibition of the aldosterone renin-angiotensin system in the prophylaxis and treatment of heart failure. Furthermore, we describe the present-day value of the inhibition of the sympathetic nervous system in some forms of heart failure. We also analyze the different pharmacological treatments for heart failure: diuretics, inotropic agents, vasodilators (in their different pharmacological types), paying particular attention to their action on neurohormonal systems and their implications in the prognosis and evolution of heart failure.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1995

Previous aspirin use may attenuate the severity of the manifestation of acute ischemic syndromes.

BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to investigate whether the prior use of aspirin could influence the severity of the manifestation of acute coronary artery syndromes, given the well-documented observations that aspirin can prevent myocardial infarction, stroke, and death in cardiovascular disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: A series of 539 consecutive patients admitted to the Coronary Care Unit of a General Hospital was carefully characterized in a study with an ambidirectional design, with regard to previous medical history, aspirin use, and subsequent hospital diagnosis. Among the 214 patients previously taking aspirin, the hospital diagnosis was myocardial infarction in 24% and unstable angina in 76% compared with 54% and 46%, respectively, among the 325 not taking aspirin (P < .0001), for a reduction in the odds ratio of myocardial infarction with aspirin of 72% (95% CI, 59% to 90%). The decrease in odds was homogeneous in all subsets studied and independent of age, sex, previous angina, or previous myocardial infarction. The myocardial infarction was of a Q-wave type in 62% of aspirin users compared with 76% of nonusers (P < .05). By multivariate analysis, previous aspirin use was a strong predictor of unstable angina versus myocardial infarction and the only independent predictor of non-Q-wave versus Q-wave myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONS: This study, thus, suggests a shift to less severe manifestation of acute coronary syndromes with aspirin use, implying that the failure of the drug in many patients with an acute coronary syndrome is only partial and that aspirin has the potential of attenuating the severity of the underlying acute thrombotic disease process.

Angina, Unstable↗
PubMed1995

[ST segment elevation during exercise test and perfusion scintigraphy in patients without infarction].

BACKGROUND: The features of perfusion scintigraphy in patients who show exercise-induced ST-segment elevation in the absence of previous infarction have been assessed in only a few reports. Therefore, we have evaluated our experience in a wide review of exercise 201-thallium scintigraphies. METHODS: 16,620 exercise 201-thallium scintigraphies, carried out between 1986 and 1993, have been retrospectively reviewed. Fourteen patients (0.8/1000) without previous infarction who were evaluated for chest pain showed ST-segment elevation. In all patients coronary arteriography was also available. RESULTS: Five patients were free from significant coronary artery stenoses, 6 had one-vessel disease, 2 had two-vessel disease, and the remaining patient had three-vessel disease. In 8 patients ST-segment elevation (up to 3-24 mm) was inferior, in 5 anterior and in 1 lateral. The radionuclide was injected during ST-segment elevation in 10 cases and before such elevation (which developed in the postexercise phase) in 4. In 3 out of these 4, which had angiographically normal coronary arteries, the scintigraphy was negative. In all cases where thallium-201 was injected during ST elevation, severe perfusion defects were detected corresponding to the localization of ST elevation. In the 4 patients with critical coronary stenoses, thallium-201 redistribution after 3 hours was partial. CONCLUSIONS: In patients without previous infarction and with exercise-induced ST-segment elevation, very severe perfusion defects are detected when the radionuclide has been injected during the crisis. Thallium-201 redistribution after 3 hours was not total in patients with fixed critical stenoses. When radionuclide injection preceded the crisis, the result of the scintigraphy was in agreement with the coronary anatomy.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[The postinfarct prognostic value of right ventricular systolic function].

BACKGROUND: Right ventricular extension of inferior myocardial infarction has been shown to be a predictor of poor prognosis during the acute phase. However, it is not known whether right ventricular dysfunction predicts long term complications. The aim of the present study was to assess whether right ventricular ejection fraction is also a predictor of poor prognosis during the first five follow-up years. METHODS: Ninety-eight consecutive patients (age < or = 65 years) with acute noncomplicated myocardial infarction (49 anterior and 49 inferior) were evaluated before hospital discharge. In all of them the ejection fraction of both ventricles was evaluated with radionuclide ventriculography at rest and during submaximal exercise. All patients were clinically followed up for at least 5 years. The prognostic relevance of right and left ventricular function for the prediction of all complications and severe complications was assessed using univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: After 5 years, 66 patients had 94 complications (angina in 44, heart failure in 21, reinfarction in 10, revascularization procedures in 11, death in 6). In the univariate analysis, resting right ventricular ejection fraction was significantly lower in patients with inferior infarction and severe complications at one year (32 +/- 12% vs 38 +/- 6%, p = 0.03). However, in multivariate analysis only resting left ventricular ejection fraction was predictive of complications at 5 years (odds ratio 5.93, 95% confidence interval = 1.32-26.6). Statistical results did not change when the ejection fraction of both ventricles during submaximal exercise was considered. CONCLUSIONS: Although right ventricular ejection fraction, measured before hospital discharge, is predictive of complications at five years in inferior infarctions, multivariate analysis shows that it does not add prognostic information to the measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction, either anterior or inferior.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1995

[Acute myocardial infarct and Friedreich's disease].

The association between Friedreich's ataxia and heart disease is well known. Microvascular disease and spasm of coronary arteries have been reported. We report now a patient with the association between this disease and acute myocardial infarction, which raises the hypothesis that it may be related with the already known cardiac abnormalities in this disease.

Cardiac Catheterization↗
PubMed1995

[The long-term efficacy of fibrinolytic treatment in the acute phase of a myocardial infarct. A comparison with a control group].

BACKGROUND: The follow-up of patients with an acute myocardial infarction treated with fibrinolysis and that of patients treated with conventional therapy was analyzed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study cohort included: 1) 214 patients with a first acute infarction of < or = 4 hours and with < or = 70 years of age who participated in a randomized study comparing the effects of streptokinase (SK, n: 110) vs conventional treatment (control, n: 104), and 2) a total of 361 patients with a myocardial infarction of < or = 6 hours and < or = 75 years old treated with fibrinolytic agents. RESULTS: In-hospital mortality in the randomized study was 11% for the control group and 7% for the SK group, and 8.8% for the rest of patients treated with fibrinolysis. Mortality during follow-up in the randomized study (7.0 +/- 1.5 years) was 10.7% for the SK group and 19.3% for the control group. Ejection fraction was significantly lower in non survivors than in survivors (36.7% vs 50.8%, (p < 0.0001) and among patients with an ejection fraction < 50%, follow-up mortality was significantly lower in those with a complete recanalization (TIMI 3) than in those with an absent or incomplete recanalization (TIMI 0-2) (98% vs 22%). Follow-up mortality for the rest of patients treated with fibrinolysis (2.6 +/- 1.6 years) was 9%. CONCLUSIONS: 1) The reduction of in-hospital mortality by fibrinolysis appears to increase in the long-term follow-up, and 2) the long-term survival seems to be related not only to the left ventricular function but also to the extent of angiographic recanalization.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1994

[Perfusion tomographic scintigraphy and coronary angiography as complementary studies for the therapy decision for patients with ischemic cardiopathy].

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to assess the value of tomographic perfusion scintigraphy as a complement to coronary arteriography in the therapeutic management of patients admitted to the hospital for treatment of unstable ischaemic heart disease. METHODS: A review was carried out of the discharge report of 100 consecutive patients (mean age 58 years, 19 females) in which there was a mention of having taken a therapeutic decision on the basis of coronary angiography and tomographic perfusion scintigraphy with 99m-technetium isonitriles under exercise and/or dipyridamole. In 90% of instances the study was performed during drug therapy after the patient had remained stable for at least 3 days. The indication of the studies and the type of therapy was made by the attending physician. Concordance between both studies was said to exist when both pointed to the same type of therapeutic approach, either medical treatment (nonsevere stenosis on coronary arteriography with mild ischaemia on scintigraphy) or revascularization (severe stenosis with moderate or severe ischaemia in tomographic scintigraphy). Discordance was said to be present when ischaemia was mild with severe stenosis on coronary angiography. RESULTS: In 80 patients there was concordance between both studies regarding the subsequent therapeutic approach (medical treatment in 32 and revascularization in 48 [25 coronary angioplasty and 23 bypass surgery]). In the patients with discordance (n:20) medical treatment was decided in 14 patients on the basis of mild ischaemia with significant angiographic stenosis, and in only 6 patients revascularization (angioplasty in 5 and bypass surgery in 1) was indicated, based on the severity of coronary stenosis even if the ischaemia apparent on the scintigraphy was mild. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, in 80% of patients admitted for unstable coronary artery disease there was a concordance between the results of tomographic scintigraphy and coronary angiography, when both studies were indicated to select the most appropriate therapeutic modality. In the 20% of discordant cases the attending physician decided on a conservative strategy in most cases, as no significant enough perfusion defect was shown on scintigraphy in spite of severe coronary artery stenosis.

Coronary Angiography↗
PubMed1994

[Treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy with dual chamber pacing. Use of isoproterenol in determining the optimal AV interval].

Dual chamber pacing may be used as an alternative in the treatment of selected patients who are refractory to conventional medical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. When programming the pacemaker it is essential to know the value of the atrio-ventricular interval which is able to cause the greatest reduction in the left ventricle outflow tract pressure gradient. We have used isoproterenol to calculate the parameter mentioned above. This allowed us to know the optimum value, not only in non-active conditions, but also reproducing the changes in the pressure gradient in different physiological situations.

Atrioventricular Node↗
PubMed1994

[Extrinsic compression of the pulmonary artery by a mediastinal lymphoma. Diagnosis by Doppler echocardiography].

A patient with an anterior mediastinal tumor and cardiomegaly observed by plain chest roentgenogram is presented. The echocardiographic-Doppler examination showed massive pericardial efussion with hemodynamic compromise, and external compression of the right atrium and pulmonary artery. A pericardiocentesis was performed, and a mediastinoscopy with biopsy was diagnostic of lymphoblastic lymphoma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

[The usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography in assessing mechanical mitral prostheses. A comparison with transthoracic echocardiography].

One hundred and sixty mechanical mitral prostheses were studied by transoesophageal echocardiography to ascertain the role of this technique in their functional assessment. All patients underwent transoesophageal echocardiogram, and, in 83, transthoracic Doppler-echocardiogram had already been performed immediately prior to transoesophageal echocardiogram. Prostheses presenting structural anomaly on bidimensional image and/or areas of regurgitation with predominantly turbulent flow on colour Doppler were considered to be dysfunctional. Of the 160 prostheses, 115 were considered normofunctional, and regurgitation was detected in 85 (94%) by transoesophageal echocardiogram and 10 (9%) by transthoracic echocardiogram; haemodynamic and/or surgical confirmation was obtained in 6 of these prostheses and all proved to be functioning normally. Of the 45 remaining prostheses considered to be dysfunctional, haemodynamic and/or surgical confirmation was obtained in 21 (the non-confirmed 24 were excluded from the study). Seventeen of the dysfunctional prostheses presented with areas of regurgitation of 3.9-24 cm2 (mean: 9.21 + 5.36); in one case, the degree of regurgitation with respect haemodynamic study was over-assessed; transthoracic echocardiogram detected only periprosthetic leaks in 38% of cases, with areas of regurgitation of 1.8-6.3 cm2 (mean: 1.87 + 2.02). The other 4 dysfunctional prostheses presented dysfunction due to thrombosis; all 4 were diagnosed by both transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiogram. Transoesophageal echocardiogram detected 12 structural anomalies (1 vegetations, 4 thromboses and 7 dehiscencies), whereas transthoracic echocardiogram only detected these anomalies in five of the cases (1 vegetations and 4 thromboses). Transoesophageal echocardiography surpasses transthoracic echocardiography in the assessment of mechanical mitral prostheses and dysfunction diagnosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Echocardiography↗
PubMed1993

[A cost-effectiveness analysis of prognostic studies in acute uncomplicated myocardial infarct].

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The prognostic assessment of the acute myocardial infarction may be obtained through clinical criteria, particularly in patients who are symptomatic during admission, or with several studies in patients without complications. The "effectiveness" of such investigations has been long studied, but not so their "efficiency", which analyses the relationships between costs and outcomes. The goal of the present study is to report the results of a cost-effectiveness analysis of various combinations of diagnostic tests. METHODS: One hundred and fifteen patients (age < 65) with uncomplicated first acute myocardial infarction were evaluated. In all patients exercise test, two-dimensional echocardiogram thallium-201 scintigraphy, radionuclide ventriculography, Holter monitoring and cardiac catheterization were performed. The effectiveness was calculated as the "global value" (rate of correctly diagnosed patients: complications prediction during the first year follow-up) of every of such tests combinations. We have used the direct differential costs estimated following the "Colegio Oficial de Médicos de Barcelona" standards. The index used in the cost-effectiveness analysis was the medium cost person/global value. The lowest index corresponded to the most efficient test combination. RESULTS: The highest effectiveness was found for the exercise test plus bidimensional echocardiography combination (global value = 0.64). At the same time it was the less expensive combination (medium cost = 14.444 ptas); therefore, its index was the lowest (21.724 ptas/patient). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with a first uncomplicated myocardial infarction, the performance of exercise test and echocardiogram is the less costly and most effective combination of studies for one year prognosis. In these patients, routine cardiac catheterization does not improve the results.

Chi-Square Distribution↗