Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Gheorghiade

Publications and source records attributed to M Gheorghiade.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Early revascularization improves survival in cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction.

The effects of coronary revascularization by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty or coronary bypass grafting, or both, on survival were evaluated in 81 patients with cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction. Thirty-two patients had successful revascularization and 49 patients had unsuccessful or no revascularization. Revascularization was achieved by coronary angioplasty in 22 patients, coronary bypass surgery in 2 and angioplasty followed by bypass surgery in 8. No significant differences were noted between the two groups with regard to baseline clinical or hemodynamic variables. Intraaortic balloon counterpulsation was employed in 27 (84%) of the 32 patients in the group with revascularization and in 19 (39%) of the 49 patients without revascularization (p = 0.0006). The in-hospital survival was significantly better in the patients with--18 (56%) of 32--than in the patients without revascularization--4 (8%) of 49 (p less than 0.0001). At a mean follow-up period of 21 +/- 15 months, this survival difference persisted--16 (50%) of 32 patients with revascularization survived versus 1 (2%) of 49 patients without revascularization (p less than 0.0001). The mean time from the onset of shock to revascularization differed significantly between survivors (12.4 +/- 15 h) and nonsurvivors (58.5 +/- 93 h) in the group with revascularization (p = 0.0004). In the revascularization group, the in-hospital survival rate was 77% (17 of 22) when revascularization was performed within 24 h but only 10% (1 of 10) when it was performed after 24 h (p = 0.0006).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗

Low-dose dobutamine in patients with acute myocardial infarction identifies viable but not contractile myocardium and predicts the magnitude of improvement in wall motion abnormalities in response to coronary revascularization.

To assess the effects of coronary revascularization on viable but noncontractile myocardium, we examined 21 patients with a documented anterior acute myocardial infarction who had a significant improvement in wall motion abnormality evaluated by two-dimensional echocardiography in the infarct-related artery in response to low-dose dobutamine infusion. All patients had a significant residual stenosis in the infarct-related artery. In response to low-dose dobutamine, there was a marked improvement in contractility in the infarct-related area segments and this was reflected by a decrease in echocardiographic score index from 1.5 +/- 0.15 to 1.09 +/- 0.08 (p = 0.0001). Of these 21 patients, 13 underwent successful revascularization: 10 had percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and three had coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG) (group I). Eight patients received medical therapy only (group II). At 40 +/- 15 days of follow-up, both groups had improvement in their segmental wall motion abnormalities. However, the improvement in group I was greater than that in group II, 1.1 +/- 0.13 and 1.35 +/- 0.1, respectively (p = 0.0002). We conclude that: (1) low-dose dobutamine infusion may identify viable but noncontractile myocardium in patients with acute myocardial infarction and (2) in these patients revascularization causes a greater improvement in left ventricular function over time when compared with a nonrevascularized group.

Aged↗

Natural history of the first non-Q wave myocardial infarction in the placebo arm of the Beta-Blocker Heart Attack Trial.

Despite extensive investigation, the prognostic significance of the first non-Q wave acute myocardial infarction (AMI), when compared with Q wave AMI, remains controversial. The placebo arm of the Beta-Blocker Heart Attack Trial (BHAT) provides a unique opportunity to compare the long-term cardiac events in patients suffering from their first and uncomplicated Q wave or non-Q wave AMI. Of a total 3837 patients enrolled in the BHAT, 3375 were classifiable in terms of appearance or absence of Q waves during the prerandomization period. Of these, 1444 patients with their first AMI were randomized to placebo. Of these, 1186 experienced a Q wave AMI; the remaining 258 suffered a non-Q wave AMI. At 36 months of follow-up, the mortality was 8.4% in the Q wave AMI group and 7.4% in the non-Q wave AMI group. Sudden death was 5.4% in the Q wave AMI group and 4.7% in the non-Q wave AMI group. The reinfarction rate was 5.5% in the Q wave AMI patients and 7.4% in the non-Q wave AMI patients. More patients developed angina (44.6%) in the non-Q wave AMI group compared with 35.2% in the Q wave AMI group. Despite similar long-term cardiac event rates within the two groups, the 1-year mortality rate for patients with Q wave AMI appeared higher than in the non-Q wave AMI group, 5.2% versus 3.1%, respectively. In contrast, the rate of reinfarction appeared higher at the 12-month follow-up period in the non-Q wave AMI group, 4.7% versus 3.4%, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)c

Double-Blind Method↗

Medical therapy after acute myocardial infarction.

Several therapeutic agents have been tested for secondary prevention after acute myocardial infarction. Each patient presents a clinical challenge and gives the physician an opportunity to use the tests and therapy most likely to benefit the clinical course. The presence of other associated medical conditions, the type of myocardial infarction, the presence or absence of accompanying ischemia, left ventricular dysfunction, intracardiac thrombus, or ventricular arrhythmias dictate the choices that are to be made. It is apparent from this review that no single class of agents can be considered a cure, although beta-adrenergic blocking agents come the closest to this role. Analysis of these drugs helps individualize drug therapy and provides a physiologic probe to understanding the pathophysiologic processes that characterize the period after myocardial infarction. To address the impact of developing technology and drug availability on the practice and cost of medical care, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have developed guidelines for the management of patients with myocardial infarction. The clinical trial remains the best test for the assessment of therapeutic choices and can also expand our knowledge of the natural history of the disease process. Nevertheless, the issue of appropriate therapy is ever-changing, affected by the explosion of new technology and the continued investigation into the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗

A canine model of chronic heart failure produced by multiple sequential coronary microembolizations.

A canine model of chronic heart failure was produced by multiple sequential intracoronary embolizations with microspheres. Twenty closed-chest dogs underwent three to nine intracoronary embolizations performed 1-3 wk apart. Embolizations were discontinued when left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction was less than 35%. LV ejection fraction was 64 +/- 2% at baseline and decreased to 21 +/- 1% at 3 mo after the last embolization (P less than 0.001). During the same period, LV end-diastolic pressure increased from 6 +/- 1 to 22 +/- 3 mmHg (P less than 0.001); LV end-diastolic volume increased from 64 +/- 3 to 101 +/- 6 6 ml (P less than 0.001), and cardiac output decreased from 2.9 +/- 0.2 to 2.3 +/- 0.1 l/min (P less than 0.01). These changes were accompanied by significant increases of pulmonary artery wedge pressure and systemic vascular resistance. Plasma norepinephrine increased from 332 +/- 17 pg/ml at baseline to 791 +/- 131 pg/ml at 3 mo after the last embolization (P less than 0.01); plasma levels of atrial natriuretic factor increased from 12.7 +/- 10.0 to 28.8 +/- 8.6 pmol/l (P less than 0.01), whereas plasma renin activity remained unchanged. Gross and microscopic postmortem examination showed patchy myocardial fibrosis and LV hypertrophy. We conclude that multiple intracoronary embolizations with microspheres, separated in time, can lead to chronic heart failure in dogs. The preparation is stable and reproducible and manifests many of the sequelae of heart failure that result from loss of contractile myocardium.

Animals↗

Psychological factors related to prehospital delay during acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have had difficulty identifying factors that significantly explain patients' delay in responding to symptoms of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS AND RESULTS: We therefore examined factors affecting the time between symptom onset and hospital arrival for 103 AMI patients admitted to a Detroit metropolitan hospital between October 1989 and January 1990. Variables evaluated included demographic and medical history factors, psychological characteristics of somatic and emotional awareness, and type A behavior. The mean prehospital delay time was 9.0 +/- 10.8 hours (median, 5.0 hours; range, 0.25-62.0 hours). Delay time was not significantly associated with demographic or medical history categories or with type A behavior. Of study variables that can be identified prior to evolution of an AMI, somatic and emotional awareness were the only factors significantly predictive of delay time. Patients who were more capable of identifying inner experiences of emotions and/or bodily sensations sought treatment significantly earlier than patients with low emotional or somatic awareness (low emotional awareness median delay, 12.8 hours; high emotional awareness median delay, 3.8 hours; low somatic awareness median delay, 7 hours; high somatic awareness median delay, 4 hours). CONCLUSIONS: Variations in sensitivity to bodily sensations and emotions appear to play an important role in treatment seeking and thus potentially in treatment outcome for AMI patients. Assessment of these characteristics in patients with coronary risk factors could allow early identification of persons at risk of excessive delay in responding to symptoms of AMI.

Attitude to Health↗

Management of cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction: The Henry Ford Hospital experience and review of the literature.

Cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction (MI) carries a high mortality which in some series prior to 1980 exceeded 80%. Neither the use of inotropic and vasopressor agents nor intraaortic balloon counterpulsation was found to improve survival in this group of patients. Intravenous thrombolytic agents improve survival in patients with acute MI, but their role in cardiogenic shock is unknown. Reports of the use of surgical and mechanical interventions in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction were examined to determine if there was any benefit to be derived from restoring blood flow to ischemic areas of the myocardium. It was found that urgent placement of intraaortic balloon counterpulsation followed by coronary bypass surgery may improve survival rates and successful coronary angioplasty also appeared to benefit patients with cardiogenic shock. Similar improvement in survival has been reported after successful coronary reperfusion. In surgical series with predominantly nonmechanical causes of shock, survival has varied from 40% to 88%. Data from our five-year experience in the management of MI patients with cardiogenic shock suggest that coronary revascularization with coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery improves survival in patients with cardiogenic shock especially when performed within 24 hours of the onset of shock.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

Incomplete versus complete myocardial infarction.

Incomplete myocardial infarction (MI), when compared with a complete MI, is characterized by a small infarct size and a large mass of viable but jeopardized myocardium within the perfusion zone of the infarct-related vessel that is manifested clinically by early recurrent infarction. The pathophysiology involves early spontaneous or thrombolytic reperfusion. Clinical (i.e., residual ischemia), electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic findings and magnitude of serum cardiac enzyme elevations should be taken into account in diagnosing an incomplete MI.

Electrocardiography↗

Measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction using gated 99mTc-sestamibi myocardial planar images: comparison to contrast ventriculography.

Using the new myocardial perfusion agent 99mTc-sestamibi and multigated acquisition on a nuclear medicine gamma camera, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was derived in 13 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Cross-sectional activity profiles were used to measure the left ventricle from end-diastolic and end-systolic images. Several different geometric methods were then utilized to derive ejection fractions from the nuclear data. Comparison of the resultant ejection fractions to those obtained from contrast ventriculography showed significant correlation for all geometric methods (P less than 0.01, Sy X x = 6.2 to 9.6). We conclude that in patients with CAD one or more of these simple geometric methods can provide a useful estimate of the LVEF when performing 99mTc-sestamibi multigated myocardial perfusion imaging.

Adult↗

Effects of propranolol in non-Q-wave acute myocardial infarction in the beta blocker heart attack trial.

Although the beneficial effects of long-term therapy with beta-adrenergic blocking agents in patients recovering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are established, the effect of this therapy on the cardiac event rate in patients recovering from a non-Q-wave AMI is unknown. This post hoc analysis of the Beta Blocker Heart Attack Trial (BHAT) evaluates the effects of daily administration of propranolol 180 or 240 mg/day after non-Q-wave AMI. The study population consisted of 601 patients with enzymatically proven non-Q-wave AMI, which represented 17% of the BHAT patients. Of these, 310 patients were randomized to receive propranolol and 291 patients to placebo. There were no significant baseline differences between groups. The median follow-up was 24.6 months. Mortality was 7.8% (sudden death 4.8%) in the propranolol group and 7.9% (sudden death 4.8%) in the placebo group (p greater than 0.99, log rank test). Reinfarction rate was 7.4% in the propranolol group and 6.5% in the placebo group (p greater than 0.63, log rank test). The need for coronary bypass surgery was similar in the 2 groups. However, more patients randomized to placebo developed angina. In this post hoc group analysis of the BHAT, propranolol was not shown to be beneficial in reducing the cardiac event rate in patients recovering from a non-Q-wave AMI.

Double-Blind Method↗

The evolving pattern of digoxin intoxication: observations at a large urban hospital from 1980 to 1988.

Digoxin intoxication has been reported to be a common adverse drug reaction with an in-hospital incidence of 6% to 23% and an associated mortality rate as high as 41%. A retrospective review was conducted to assess the accuracy of diagnosis, the morbidity and mortality of digoxin intoxication, and its incidence in hospitalized patients with heart failure. We reviewed the medical records of 219 patients discharged with the diagnosis of digoxin intoxication between 1980 and 1988. Patients were classified as follows: (1) Definite intoxication--patients with symptoms and/or arrhythmias suggestive of digoxin intoxication that resolved after discontinuation of digoxin; (2) possible intoxication--patients with symptoms and/or arrhythmias suggestive of digoxin intoxication in the absence of documented resolution after discontinuation of digoxin, or the presence of other clinical illnesses that could possibly account for those findings; (3) no intoxication--patients whose symptoms or ECG abnormalities were clearly explained by other associated clinical illnesses and persisted after withdrawal of digoxin. We identified only 43 patients (20%) with definite intoxication. The majority of patients discharged with the diagnosis of digoxin intoxication (133 or 60%) were classified as possibly digoxin intoxicated, and 43 patients (20%) had no clinical evidence to support this diagnosis. To estimate the incidence of digoxin intoxication, we also reviewed the medical records of 994 patients admitted in 1987 with heart failure. Of these, 563 were receiving digoxin and in 27 the diagnosis of digoxin intoxication was made by their clinicians. Our review showed that only four were definitely intoxicated (0.8%), and the diagnosis could not be excluded in another 16 (4%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗

Digoxin and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in chronic heart failure.

"The addition of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors to digoxin and diuretics is effective in improving and prolonging the lives of patients with severe heart failure. Our next goal is to prevent the progression of heart failure in patients with asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction."

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗