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Relationship between right atrial and mixed venous oxygen saturation and heart rate during exercise in normal subjects and patients with cardiac disease.

An ideal sensing variable for use in rate responsive pacemakers should measure a physiological parameter that closely correlates with heart rate during various activities in a diverse group of subjects. Nineteen patients, 12 normal and 7 patients with heart disease, were studied to assess the relationship between mixed venous oxygen saturation and heart rate. In patients with heart disease right atrial oxygen saturation and heart rate were also compared. Each subject underwent pulmonary artery catheterization and performed seated cycle ergometer exercise. Gas exchange and heart rate were measured continuously and blood sampled at frequent intervals. Normal patients were studied at rest and during steady-state exercise (mean work rate 149 watts). Patients were studied at rest, steady-state exercise (mean work rate 37 watts), and during incremental exercise (5-10 watts/min) to tolerance. There were 248 paired right atrial or mixed venous oxygen saturation/heart rate observations obtained. Changes in mixed venous oxygen saturation and heart rate were not substantially altered by fitness or cardiac disease. Rate responsive pacemakers sensing changes in oxygen saturation may be a superior sensing variable for both normal and patients with heart disease.

Adult↗

Decreased vagal control over heart rate in rats with right-sided congestive heart failure: downregulation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase.

BACKGROUND: Parasympathetic drive is attenuated in heart failure, and resulting autonomic imbalance may increase the risk of sudden cardiac death. The anatomic site(s) and molecular mechanisms underlying this parasympathetic withdrawal are unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined the effects of pre- and post-ganglionic vagal nerve stimulation (VS) and acetylcholine (ACh) application on the heart rate of rats with right-sided congestive heart failure (CHF) induced by monocrotaline. Heart rate reduction in response to pre-ganglionic VS in CHF rats in vivo was significantly less than in controls. The suppression of spontaneous beating of isolated right atria including the whole sinoatrial (SA) node in response to post-ganglionic VS was significantly attenuated in CHF rats as well. In contrast, ACh application to the right atria resulted in a significantly larger suppression of spontaneous beating in CHF rats than controls. Proteins of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the right atria were significantly decreased, whereas muscarinic (M2) receptor was significantly increased in CHF rats compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: Both pre-and post-ganglionic vagal nerve functions are diminished in CHF rats, whereas M2 receptor-mediated regulation of the SA node is upregulated. Downregulation of nNOS may be involved in this parasympathetic withdrawal.

Acetylcholine↗

Neuropeptide variability in man.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have established short-term variability in the circulating plasma levels of cardiac peptides such as atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Our aim was to investigate whether such variable patterns could be observed in other vasoactive peptides. METHODS: We measured the immunoreactivity of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in peripheral venous plasma collected at 2-min intervals over a 20-min period from patients with chronic cardiac failure (CCF) and from control subjects. In a second study, blood samples were obtained at 2-min intervals from the pulmonary artery, femoral artery and antecubital vein from patients with normal cardiac function while right atrial pressure and heart rate were constant. RESULTS: Peripheral blood VIP, NPY and ET-1 had peaks and troughs (levels > 2SD from the mean) in both patients and controls, with approximate intervals of 10 min. Levels of CGRP showed little variation. The overall levels [median (range); pmol L-1] of VIP [patients 27 (2.1-85.5); controls 9.8 (0-34)] and NPY [patients 20 (0-110); controls 12 (5-19)] were higher in patients (P < 0.05). Circulating plasma levels of ET-1 and CGRP were about the same in both groups [ET-1: patients 18 (2-84); controls 18 (0-48); CGRP: patients 4 (1-18.5), controls 5.5 (1-15); P = NS]. Levels of CGRP, VIP and ET-1 were similar in the pulmonary and femoral arteries, whereas systemic arterial levels of NPY were higher than in the pulmonary artery. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrate marked variability in circulating levels of the neuropeptides studied. In addition, peaks and troughs were observed every 10-15 min from all three vascular beds. If these peptides are secreted in a pulsatile pattern, then interpretations of single measurements should be guarded. Furthermore, this study raises interesting questions about the physiology of hormone secretion in man.

Aged↗

Dissimilar right atrial rhythms: a case report.

Dissimilar atrial rhythms are generally defined by the coexistence of atrial fibrillation in one atrium and a more regular rhythm in the other atrium, and are reported with left atrial enlargement and/or digitalis toxicity. We report a unique case of dissimilar atrial rhythms controlling two different parts of the same atrium without interfering with one another. The mechanism of the dissociation of two foci is not clear; however, scarring due to previous surgery remains a possibility.

Atrial Fibrillation↗

Clinical estimation of left and right ventricular volume with open chest compared with transesophageal echocardiography and fast-response thermodilution.

OBJECTIVE: A clinical measure--inspection of the relation of the heart (acute margin) to the diaphragm--has shown a strong positive correlation to transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) determination of left ventricular end-diastolic area (LVEDA) during weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The present study examines the correlation between right ventricular end-diastolic volumes (RVEDV) before and after CPB when using the same clinical measure of left ventricular dimension. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Operating room, university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Patients scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass grafting. INTERVENTIONS: After induction of anesthesia and endotracheal intubation, a transesophageal echo-probe was inserted. A pulmonary artery right ventricular ejection fraction/volumetric TD catheter was placed in the pulmonary artery. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Before going on CPB, a mark was made with cautery at the line of contact between the acute margin and the diaphragm. After CPB, the patients were transfused to the same level. At these two times, TEE recordings of the LVEDA and hemodynamic measurements including calculations of RVEDV were obtained. The LVEDA before and after CPB showed a positive correlation, r = 0.81, p < 0.001. The RVEDV after CPB showed a weak correlation, r = 0.54, p < 0.05, to RVEDV before CPB. There were no significant changes in right ventricular (RV) wall tension calculated as right atrial pressure x RVEDV and pulmonary artery systolic pressure x right ventricular end-systolic volume products. The only significant change regarding hemodynamic parameters was a decrease in mean arterial pressure. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that there is only a weak correlation regarding RVEDV before and after CPB when the patient is transfused to the line of contact, whereas this clinical measure correlates well with LVEDA.

Aged↗

[Diagnosis of right heart stress with one- and two-dimensional echocardiography--sensible normal values, problems and limitations].

Unidimensional and two-dimensional echocardiography is considered to be an established method of examination in cardiology alongside Doppler sonography and the transoesophageal method. It is planned to propagate the use of unidimensional and two-dimensional echocardiography in internistic pneumological diagnostics. To achieve this it is imperative to know the standard values of the right heart and to know how they are to be assessed. The standard values stated so far have proved to be too low in practice, resulting in many false positive findings, and are often also too complicated to obtain. 53 healthy probands were selected at random and six different measurements of the right heart and the efferent major vessels were performed. Only the diameter of the right ventricle and right atrium, as well as the wall thickness of the right ventricular wall were found to be suitable parameters for confirming right ventricular strain. The measured values were tested for reproducibility in patients suffering from diseases of the lung and of the airways. Compared with pressure values of pulmonary circulation obtained by invasive methods, maximum values obtained in patients with pulmonary hypertension can serve to recommend unidimensional and two-dimensional echocardiography as screening method in cases of suspected cor pulmonale.

Adult↗

Areas of slow conduction in atrial re-entrant tachycardia: a case report and review of the literature.

An electrophysiologic study of atrial tachycardia is presented. During tachycardia, transient entrainment and sinus rhythm, two patterns of persistent double potentials in the high right atrium and fragmented activity in the low atrial septum were observed. No activity was recorded from multiple areas of the right atrium with endocardial mapping during sinus rhythm. The observations suggest that persistent fragmented activity represents slow conduction within the circuit which could be orthodromically entrained. Persistent double potentials probably represent slow conduction orthodromically and/or antidromically activated outside the circuit. However, a wave front from pacing impulses travelling through this area could entrain the circuit.

Aged↗

Role of right atrial endocardial structures as barriers to conduction during human type I atrial flutter. Activation and entrainment mapping guided by intracardiac echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: The importance of barriers in atrial flutter has been demonstrated in animals. We used activation and entrainment mapping, guided by intracardiac echocardiography (ICE), to determine whether the crista terminalis (CT) and eustachian ridge (ER) are barriers to conduction during typical atrial flutter in humans. METHODS AND RESULTS: In eight patients, ICE was used to guide the placement of 20-pole and octapolar catheters along the CT and interatrial septum and a roving catheter to nine sites: just posterior (1) and anterior (2) to the CT along the lateral right atrium, at the fossa ovalis (3), and just posterior and anterior to the ER at the low posterolateral (4 and 5), low posterior (6 and 7), and low posteromedial (8 and 9) right atrium. Entrainment was performed, and each site was considered within the flutter circuit if the postpacing interval-flutter cycle length (PPI-FCL) and the stimulus time-activation time (stim time-act time) were < 10 msec. Split potentials were recorded along the CT with components activated in a low-to-high pattern and a high-to-low pattern. Conduction times, as percentage of FCL, were significantly different at sites on either side of the CT and ER: site 1 (33 +/- 13%) and site 2 (43 +/- 12%) (P = .02), site 4 (48 +/- 24%) and site 5 (75 +/- 8.9%) (P = .02), and site 6 (22 +/- 10%) and site 7 (82 +/- 5.3%) (P = .0009). During entrainment, no surface fusion was observed at sites 5, 7, or 9. The PPI-FCL and stim time-act time were not significantly different than 0 at sites 2, 7, 5, or 9, indicating that they were within the flutter circuit, whereas sites 1, 3, 4, and 6 were not. CONCLUSIONS: ICE enabled the correlation of functional electrophysiological properties with specific anatomic landmarks, identifying the CT and ER as barriers to conduction during human atrial flutter.

Aged↗

Electrophysiological and electroanatomic characterization of the atria in sinus node disease: evidence of diffuse atrial remodeling.

BACKGROUND: The normal sinus pacemaker complex is an extensive structure within the right atrium. We hypothesized that patients with sinus node disease (SND) would have evidence of diffuse atrial abnormalities. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixteen patients with symptomatic SND and 16 age-matched controls were studied. The following were evaluated: effective refractory periods (ERPs) from the high and low lateral right atrium (RA), high septal RA, and distal coronary sinus (CS); conduction time along the CS and lateral RA; P-wave duration; and conduction at the crista terminalis. Electroanatomic mapping was performed to define the sinus node complex and determine regional conduction velocity, double potentials, fractionated electrograms, regional voltage, and areas of electrical silence. Patients with SND demonstrated significant increase in atrial ERP at all right atrial sites, increased atrial conduction time along the lateral RA and CS, prolongation of the P-wave duration, and greater number and duration of double potentials along the crista terminalis. Electroanatomic mapping demonstrated the sinus node complex in SND to be more often unicentric, localized to the low crista terminalis at the site of the largest residual voltage amplitude. There was significant regional conduction slowing with double potentials and fractionation associated with areas of low voltage and electrical silence (or scar). CONCLUSIONS: SND is associated with diffuse atrial remodeling characterized by structural change, conduction abnormalities, and increased right atrial refractoriness. There was a change in the nature of sinus pacemaker activity with loss of the normal multicentric pattern of activation, caudal shift of the pacemaker complex, and abnormal and circuitous conduction around lines of conduction block.

Action Potentials↗

Phasic venous return abnormality in chronic pulmonary diseases: pulsed Doppler echocardiography study.

Features of venous return in chronic pulmonary diseases and factors determining such features were studied by analysis of respiration-related variation in the superior vena cava flow on pulsed Doppler echocardiography. Subjects of this study were 85 patients with chronic pulmonary diseases; 54 healthy subjects served as normal controls. In the healthy subjects, the velocity of the S and D waves increased during inspiration (type I pattern), and the velocity of the A wave increased during expiration. In the patients with pulmonary diseases, the pattern of the superior vena cava flow was either type I or type II (disappearance of the D wave or disappearance of both the D and S waves). The incidence of the type II pattern was significantly higher in the patients showing a reduction of both FEV1.0% and % VC. The respiration-related variation in the superior vena cava flow pattern was found to be determined by the pressure fall between right atrium and subclavian vein. A type II pattern was attributed to the elevation of right atrial pressure caused by positive pleural pressure. The velocity of the A wave increased during expiration, showing a good correlation with pulmonary vascular resistance. Venous return in the presence of chronic pulmonary disease was found to be affected by the type of ventilatory disturbance and intensity of pulmonary vascular resistance.

Adult↗

Persistence of normal right ventricular Doppler filling pattern early after tricuspid valve excision.

Two patients with acute tricuspid bacterial endocarditis in which a normal right ventricular Doppler filling pattern was demonstrated early following valvectomy are reported. After surgery, on pulsed Doppler examination, the sample volume positioned at the right atrioventricular level revealed a normal M-shaped filling pattern. A pathologic monophasic pattern was documented a few months later. Our findings suggest that early after surgery the preserved gradient throughout ventricular diastole leads to a passive and active filling similar to normal. Only at a later stage is the grossly dilated right atrium unable to maintain active filling, and the 'A' wave disappears despite the fact that sinus rhythm is maintained. Tricuspid valve diastolic motion represents a product of the several factors that determine atrioventricular gradient, but the valve itself appears not to be involved in the generation of a normal filling pattern.

Acute Disease↗

A new angle on the Angle of Louis.

Previous literature has stated that the center of the right atrium lies approximately 5 cm below the sternal angle regardless of body position. Our objective was to measure the distance from the Angle of Louis to various locations in the right atrium and determine whether these distances vary with patients' body habitus. The authors conducted a cross-sectional study with 52 consecutive patients who underwent computed tomography. The Angle of Louis was measured to various right atrial anatomic locations and was correlated with patients' body habitus characteristics. There was a positive correlation between patients' weight or body mass index and the distance of the Angle of Louis to right atrial locations. Therefore, using the traditional 5 cm in an obese patient can and usually will result in an underestimation of right atrial pressure. The authors suggest that in patients with body mass index > 35 kg/m2 (body surface area > 2.5 m2), a jugular venous column height at the clavicle is likely to indicate significantly elevated jugular venous pressure and should be considered abnormal. Therefore, further clinical assessment and subsequent therapeutic decisions of these morbidly obese patients with abnormal jugular venous pressures should be made accordingly.

Adult↗

Prolonged atrial activity due to delayed conduction in the atrium of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

We investigated the relationship between the duration of electrical atrial activity and intra-atrial conduction time to determine whether the prolonged atrial activity was due to delayed conduction in the human atrium. The study included 15 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and 15 control patients. The duration of atrial electrical activity was measured by selecting a minimum electrographic amplitude of 50 microV. In patients with PAF, the duration of atrial activity was prolonged in proportion to the delay of interatrial conduction time from the high right atrium to the coronary sinus as the coupling interval of premature extrastimuli was decreased. Both the fragmented atrial activity zone and the interatrial conduction delay zone were wider in patients with PAF than in control patients. It is concluded that assessment of the duration of atrial activity with a minimum amplitude of 50 microV is useful in evaluating human atrial vulnerability since it reflects the atrial conduction delay in patients with PAF.

Adolescent↗

Intraoperative mapping of the right atrial free wall during sinus rhythm: variety of activation patterns and incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVE: The atrial conduction properties associated with cardiac disease are speculated as the background of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF). We examined the atrial conduction patterns and conduction properties during sinus rhythm (SR) in patients that had undergone cardiac operations and evaluated the incidence of POAF in all patients. METHODS: Fifty-two patients with stable SR who underwent cardiac surgery, with a diagnosis of valvular disease in 25, ischemic heart disease in 24, and others in 3, were enrolled in this study. The epicardial recordings were made using a mapping system with 60 unipolar electrodes placed on the right atrium (RA) intraoperatively. The activation patterns of the RA were assessed, and the longitudinal, transverse and oblique conduction velocity and max anisotropic ratio were also examined. RESULTS: Sinus activation was initiated from various sites (single origin at the high-lateral RA in 40, mid-lateral RA in 4, low-lateral RA in 2, and multiple origins in 6 patients) and it demonstrated anisotropic conduction (1.8+/-0.6) with the longitudinal conduction being more rapid than transverse and oblique conduction. Fifteen patients demonstrated non-uniform activation patterns such as, a localized conduction delay in seven, functional conduction block in two and mosaic-activation pattern associated with multiple origins in six. A total of 21 patients (44%) developed POAF. A conduction delay and mosaic activation pattern was found significantly more often in patients with POAF than in patients who remained in sinus rhythm. Multivariate analysis revealed that non-uniform activation pattern (odds ratio=8.71; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.74-43.67; p=0.008) and TR (odds ratio=4.95; 95% CI=1.14-21.37; p=0.032) were independently associated with the development of POAF. Although all patients had converted to SR at the time of discharge, the administration of antiarrhythmic drugs caused sinus bradycardia in two patients who demonstrated a mosaic activation pattern in RA. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac surgery patients exhibited a variety of sinus activation patterns, which also provided an arrhythmogenic substrate for POAF. A better understanding of the sinus activation using an intraoperative mapping system may provide benefit in the clinical management of POAF.

Adult↗

A negative inotropic effect of omega-conotoxin GVIA in isolated, blood-perfused dog right atria.

Using an isolated, blood-perfused canine atrial preparation, we investigated the effects of omega-conotoxin GVIA (omega-CgTX), a blocker of N-type voltage-operated calcium channels, on the atrial contractile force and sinus rate. Omega-CgTX in a dose range of 0.3-3 nmol gradually attenuated the atrial contractile force in a dose-dependent manner, but did not affect the sinus rate, indicating that it can depress contractility but not pacemaker activity.

Animals↗

Relationship between myoglobin contents and increases in cyclic GMP produced by glyceryl trinitrate and nitric oxide in rabbit aorta, right atrium and papillary muscle.

Effects of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) and nitric oxide (NO) on the cardiac functions and myocardial cyclic GMP (cGMP) contents were examined in comparison with those in the aorta and correlated with myoglobin (an inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase) contents using the preparations isolated from the reserpinized rabbit. GTN (10(-10)-10(-4) mol/l) produced a dose-dependent relaxation in the aorta. However, this compound exerted no effect on the rate of the spontaneous beat of the right atrium and the contraction of the papillary muscle. A transient and significant increase in cGMP was observed in the aorta with GTN (3 x 10(-6) mol/l). Although the increase was also observed in the right atrium, it was much smaller. No definite change was observed in papillary muscle. Increases in cGMP produced by NO (3 x 10(-6) mol/l) were larger and significant in all tissues; (AUCcGMP(GTN)/AUCcGMP(NO)) ratio was 30.1 for the aorta, 65.0 for the right atrium and 16.3% for the papillary muscle. Although higher concentrations of NO were necessary in the right atrium and papillary muscle to induce increases in cGMP, no differences were noted in the three tissues as regards the maximum accumulation of this substance. Furthermore, kinetic analysis of NO-induced increases in tissue cGMP indicated no marked difference in the production rate among the three tissues, while the rate of elimination of cGMP was lower in the aorta than in the atrium or the papillary muscle. The increases in cGMP observed in these three tissues were inversely related to the contents of myoglobin in respective tissues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

3',5'-Cyclic-GMP Phosphodiesterases↗

Right atrial flutter isthmus revisited: normal anatomy favors nonuniform anisotropic conduction.

INTRODUCTION: The "flutter isthmus," the part of the lower right atrium between the eustachian valve and the tricuspid annulus inferior to the coronary sinus os, is considered the crucial zone for conduction delay necessary for the genesis of atrial flutter. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied the "flutter isthmus" in 50 hearts obtained at autopsy from patients without atrial tachyarrhythmias. The muscular trabecular arrangement was dissected carefully by peeling off the endocardium. Documentation of the trabecular arrangement focused, in particular, on the question of whether there was a uniform pattern of well-aligned muscle trabeculae or a nonuniform architecture. It appeared that a nonuniform trabecular pattern prevailed (37/50 [74%]). In these hearts, the muscular arrangement showed abundant cross-overs and interlacing trabeculae, particularly in the zone immediately inferior to the coronary sinus os. Connections also occurred along the inferior rim of the os. CONCLUSION: The normal anatomy of the lower right atrium favors nonuniform muscular trabeculation, with interlacing bundles and a multitude of cross-overs. The potential for conduction delay is present in the vast majority of normal hearts. This raises the question as to what has changed in the hearts of patients with atrial flutter such that the potential for conduction delay and reentry has become effective.

Adolescent↗

[Mobile thrombus of the right heart and pulmonary embolism: diagnostic and therapeutic problems. Apropos of 12 cases].

The objectives of this report were to analyse clinical presentation, echocardiographic features and diagnostic and therapeutic problems posed by an unusual form of thrombo-embolic disease: mobile right heart thrombosis. Systematic echocardiography in 170 cases of severe pulmonary embolism identified mobile right thrombi in 12 cases. The auscultatory findings were abnormal in 6 cases, 3 showing signs of tricuspid obstruction. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed an extremely mobile right atrial mass, sometimes prolapsing across the tricuspid valve, which was variously spheric, ovoid or worm-like; dilatation of the right heart chambers and echocardiographic signs of cor pulmonale were observed in all cases. The differential diagnosis with other embolic masses of the right atrium and, above all, with well-developed Chiari networks, may be difficult and requires transoesophageal echocardiography. Pulmonary angiography is contra-indicated because of the risk of embolism. Embolectomy under cardiopulmonary bypass was carried out in 8 patients, immediately after echocardiography in 6 cases. The thrombus was recovered from the right atrium in 6 cases and from the pulmonary artery in 2 cases: there was one operative death. Medical treatment was administered to 3 inoperable patients. The clinical and echocardiographic outcome was good in 2 of these but the third patient died; autopsy revealed thrombi in the right atrium and pulmonary artery. One patient died before any treatment could be given and autopsy showed the thrombus in the pulmonary artery. These results confirm the extreme instability of this type of thrombus and the risk of death due to its embolism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗