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PubMed2006

Reversible right ventricular dysfunction in patients with HIV infection.

Human immunodeficiency virus-related cardiomyopathy is characterized by global left ventricular (LV) dysfunction commonly associated with biventricular dilation. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cardiomyopathy carries a poor prognosis, and the role of antiretroviral therapy in the reversal of heart failure is not very clear. We report two patients with HIV infection who presented with severe right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in the absence of pulmonary parenchymal, pulmonary arterial and left ventricular myocardial involvement. During the period of intensive antiretroviral therapy, the symptoms of right heart failure progressively and remarkably improved. This was accompanied by normalization of right ventricular size and RV function documented by repeat echocardiograms. Given that the serologic tests for opportunistic infections were negative, and the RV function improvement correlated with a decrement in the viral load, it is likely that the cardiomyopathy was due to direct infection by HIV. These cases illustrate that there can be isolated involvement of the right heart in the absence of lung, significant pulmonary vascular and left ventricular disease, and also that the antiretroviral therapy might reverse the cardiomyopathy.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Left ventricular apical thrombus formation in a patient with suspected tako-tsubo-like left ventricular dysfunction.

A 74-year-old woman with hypertension and bronchial asthma had chest discomfort at rest and 4 days later was admitted to her nearby hospital because of the sudden onset of right hemiparesis. The hemiparesis had almost disappeared within 24 h of onset, but because an electrocardiogram showed sinus tachycardia and diffuse symmetrical T-wave inversion, she was referred for cardiac examination. Coronary angiography did not reveal any significant coronary artery stenosis, but left ventriculography revealed severe hypokinesis of the left ventricular apical region, which contained a 4 x 4-mm solid thrombus moving freely with a wavy motion. Moreover, the activity of both protein C and protein S had decreased. The thrombus disappeared after 2 weeks of anticoagulant treatment with warfarin. Her clinical course suggested that the transient cerebral ischemic attack was caused by embolism of the left ventricular thrombus associated with 'tako-tsubo-like left ventricular dysfunction'.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Microembolic load in asymptomatic patients with cardiac aneurysm, severe ventricular dysfunction, and atrial fibrillation. Clinical and hemorheological correlates.

Transcranial Doppler sonography has become a widely used method for detecting cerebral circulating microemboli (ME) arising from the carotid arteries or the heart. Yet, studies on subgroups of patients with distinct cardiac sources of embolism are still limited. The same holds true for investigation on the relationship between microembolization and hemorheological parameters. A total of 142 patients suffering from left ventricular aneurysm (LVA, n = 52), severe left ventricular dysfunction (LVD, n = 43), or chronic atrial fibrillation (AF, n = 47) were enrolled in this study. All patients had been neurologically asymptomatic for at least 1 month. Further relevant embolic disorders of the carotid arteries and the heart had been excluded. Unilateral monitoring for ME over the middle cerebral artery was performed for 30 min. Blood was drawn after each monitoring for determination of plasmatic coagulation parameters, as well as plasma viscosity, and platelet reactivity. The overall prevalence of ME was 31%, with a slightly higher prevalence in patients with LVA (37%) compared to patients suffering from AF (30%) or LVD (26%). With single-factor analysis, a trend towards higher ME prevalences was found with (a) a history of remote embolic events, (b) ineffective anticoagulation, (c) increased platelet aggregation, or (d) increased plasma viscosity (all p > 0.1). The combination of ineffective anticoagulation in conjunction with increased platelet aggregation, however, was significantly associated with higher ME rates even after adjustment for other factors by logistic regression analysis. Our results demonstrate a low ongoing microembolic activity in asymptomatic patients suffering from LVA, LVD and AF. An activated plasmatic coagulation system together with increased platelet aggregation contributes to ME generation.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Myocardial enterovirus infection with left ventricular dysfunction: a benign disease compared with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVES: Endomyocardial biopsy samples from patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy were screened for the presence of enterovirus genome. Patients with enterovirus-positive samples were further studied with regard to disease course, histologic variables and response to interferon-alpha treatment. BACKGROUND: Studies of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy have reported widely divergent clinical outcomes, suggesting that there is no unique underlying pathogenetic mechanism. METHODS: Five left ventricular endomyocardial biopsy samples were screened for the presence of the enterovirus genome by an established in situ hybridization technique in combination with a histologic, histomorphometric and immunohistologic workup. The course of the disease was then prospectively followed for up to 50 months. Virus-positive patients whose condition deteriorated were treated with interferon-alpha. RESULTS: Of 77 patients, 20 (26%) had enterovirus-positive and 57 (74%) enterovirus-negative biopsy samples. During a mean follow-up period of 25.8 +/- 13.7 months, 1 patient in the enterovirus-positive group and 11 in the enterovirus-negative group died. Four patients in the enterovirus-negative group underwent heart transplantation (p < 0.05). The surviving 19 enterovirus-positive patients had a decrease in mean left ventricular end-diastolic diameter from 66 to 61 mm (p < 0.05) and a mean increase in left ventricular ejection fraction from 0.35 to 0.43 (p < 0.05). In contrast, enterovirus-negative patients had no significant change in end-diastolic diameter or left ventricular ejection fraction. Four patients in the enterovirus-positive group whose condition deteriorated were treated with a 6-month course of subcutaneous interferon-alpha (3 x 10(6) U every second day). This treatment induced hemodynamic improvement in all four patients and eliminated the persistent enteroviral infection in two. CONCLUSIONS: Enterovirus-positive patients have a better heart transplantation-free survival rate and hemodynamic course, with fewer histologic changes, than do enterovirus-negative patients. In addition, enterovirus-positive patients respond favorably to interferon-alpha treatment. These observations indicate that myocardial enteroviral infection with associated left ventricular dysfunction is a distinct disease entity with a benign course.

Cardiac Catheterization↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Determinants of perceived health in patients with left ventricular dysfunction: a structural modeling analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have evaluated the determinants of perceived health in patients with chronic illness. The present study was designed to evaluate the role of biomedical, demographic, and psychosocial influences on global subjective health by means of a structural equation modeling approach. METHOD: A conceptual model of perceived health was tested in a subsample of patients (N = 146) from the multicenter Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD) trial. Domain-specific quality of life constructs (emotional status, social support, and physical functioning), were assessed by means of multiple indicators. These latent (mediating) variables, along with six single-indicator biomedical and background variables, were modeled as predictors of a composite index of perceived health. RESULTS: A satisfactory fit was obtained for the proposed model, with practical fit indices ranging from .89 to .95. High levels of perceived health were associated with low levels of emotional distress and high levels of physical functioning. Social support was positively correlated with physical functioning and negatively associated with emotional distress. Among the background variables, no direct associations were observed between any of the single-indicator variables and perceived health. Several background variables (eg, age, income, walk-test scores) had indirect effects via associations with the latent variables of physical functioning and emotional distress. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the use of a structural modeling approach in assessing determinants of perceived health in patients with congestive heart failure. Further research is needed to evaluate the utility of the model in other patient populations.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2004

Enalapril treatment and hospitalization with atrial tachyarrhythmias in patients with left ventricular dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Experimental and clinical evidence suggests a preventive role for agiotensin-coverting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors on the development of atrial fibrillation. However, the effect of ACE inhibition on hospitalization with atrial tachyarrhythmias in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is not known. We sought to determine whether enalapril treatment reduced hospitalizations with atrial tachyarrhythmias in patients with LV dysfunction. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD) trial. Hospitalizations with atrial tachyarrhythmias were noted. RESULTS: A total of 192 hospitalizations with atrial tachyarrhythmias occurred in 158 patients during a follow-up period of 34 months. The time to first hospitalization with atrial tachyarrhythmias or death was significantly lower in the enalapril group (P =.005). In a multivariate analysis adjusting for the presence of atrial fibrillation at study entry, enalapril treatment was associated with a reduction in the rate of hospitalization with atrial tachyarrhythmias or death (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79-0.96; P =.007). The incidence of hospitalization with atrial tachyarrhythmias was 7.9 hospitalizations per 1000 patient-years of follow-up in the enalapril group, compared with 12.4 per 1000 patient-years in the placebo group (RR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.48-0.85; P =.002). CONCLUSION: Enalapril is associated with a decreased incidence of hospitalization with atrial tachyarrhythmias in patients with LV dysfunction.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMed2001

Positron emission tomography using(18)F-fluoro-deoxyglucose and euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic glucose clamp: optimal criteria for the prediction of recovery of post-ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction. Results from the European Community Concerted Action Multicenter study on use of(18)F-fluoro-deoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography for the Detection of Myocardial Viability.

AIMS: To assess the accuracy of positron emission tomography to predict recovery of global cardiac function after revascularization in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred and seventy-eight patients (157 male, 58+/-10 years) with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction (mean ejection fraction 39+/-14%) were enrolled in six European centres. They underwent a common protocol for the assessment of viability using(18)F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography during a standardized euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic glucose clamp before revascularization by either surgery (n=140) or angioplasty (n=38). Seven patients were excluded because of incomplete revascularization of a dysfunctional region. Based on the recovery of global ejection fraction 2-6 months after revascularization, patients were classified into two groups: 82 patients who had a >5% improvement in ejection fraction postoperatively, and 89 patients without postoperative ejection fraction improvement. Optimal cut-off points for postoperative improvement of global cardiac function were computed, using receiver operating curve analysis. The highest sensitivity (79%) and specificity (55%) for predicting postoperative ejection fraction improvement by positron emission tomography was found when three or more dysfunctional segments had a relative FDG uptake >45% of normal remote myocardium (overall accuracy 67%). CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort of coronary patients with impaired ejection fraction, FDG positron emission tomography demonstrated high sensitivity and moderate specificity to predict improvement of cardiac function after coronary revascularization.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Reversible left ventricular dysfunction "takotsubo" cardiomyopathy associated with hyperthyroidism.

Myocardial stunning with hyperthyroidism is rare. A 79-year old woman with hyperthyroidism was admitted to our hospital complaining of palpitations due to paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. An echocardiogram showed akinesis of the apical wall which was not observed 2 weeks before admission. Cardiac catheterization performed in the acute phase showed normal coronary arteries and no evidence of provocative spasms. The wall motion abnormality disappeared entirely after 1 week in hospital. We report a case of transient left ventricular dysfunction, so called "takotsubo" cardiomyopathy, associated with hyperthyroidism.

3-Iodobenzylguanidine↗
PubMed2005

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor as a risk factor for the development of anemia, and the impact of incident anemia on mortality in patients with left ventricular dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the impact of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) on hematocrit values in those with heart failure, and the relationship between incident anemia and mortality. BACKGROUND: Prevalent anemia is an independent risk factor for morbidity and mortality in those with heart failure. Studies in patients with polycythemia have demonstrated that ACEIs are effective in lowering hematocrit values. METHODS: We used the Studies Of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD) database to compare the odds of developing new anemia at one year in patients who were not anemic at entry and who were randomized to enalapril or placebo. Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to determine the impact of incident and prevalent anemia on subsequent mortality. RESULTS: Enalapril increased the odds of incident anemia (hematocrit < or =39% in men or < or =36% in women) at one year by 48% (odds ratio [OR] 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20 to 1.82) in unadjusted and 56% (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.26 to 1.93) in adjusted models. With multivariate analysis, prevalent anemia at randomization was associated with a 44% (hazard ratio [HR] 1.44, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.66) increase in all-cause mortality, whereas incident anemia after randomization was associated with a 108% increase (HR 2.08, 95% CI 1.82 to 2.38). After adjusting for incident and prevalent anemia, use of enalapril was associated with a survival benefit. CONCLUSIONS: Enalapril was associated with increased odds of developing anemia at one year. Those with periods of time with incident anemia had the poorest survival, followed by those with prevalent anemia, then those without anemia. Enalapril was protective of overall mortality after adjusting for incident anemia and in those with prevalent anemia.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Hypocarnitinaemia induced by sodium pivalate in the rat is associated with left ventricular dysfunction and impaired energy metabolism.

Carnitine is a naturally occurring compound that is essential in energy metabolism of the mammalian heart. In addition to its essential role in facilitating beta-oxidation, carnitine eliminates excess toxic acyl residues and regulates the mitochondrial acetyl coenzyme A (CoA)/CoA ratio. Thus, it is not surprising that patients with carnitine deficiency syndromes exhibit defects in energy metabolism and in some cases demonstrate left ventricular dysfunction. Pivalic acid is commonly used to create prodrugs, such as pivampicillin and pivmecillinam, to facilitate enteral absorption and increase oral bioavailability. Pivalic acid released from the drug following absorption readily forms an ester with carnitine, which is then excreted as pivaloylcarnitine. Sustained loss of carnitine in the form of this ester induces a state of carnitine deficiency, exemplified by low plasma and tissue carnitine content. This review examines the effects in the rat of short- and long-term sodium pivalate treatment on: (1) cardiac carnitine content; (2) in vitro mechanical function; (3) markers of glycolytic and fatty acid metabolism; and (4) energy substrate metabolism. Treatment with sodium pivalate induces a gradual loss of cardiac carnitine content for up to 12 weeks. Doubling the duration of treatment is not associated with any further decrease in cardiac carnitine content. While heart function following short-term treatment (2 weeks) is normal under aerobic conditions, impaired recovery of function following ischaemia is seen. In contrast, long-term treatment (11-28 weeks) is associated with impaired heart function, which is dependent on workload and substrate availability. Impaired heart function is also associated with reductions in activity of 3-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase and rates of fatty acid oxidation. However, to maintain adenosine triphosphate production, glucose metabolism, expressed as hexokinase activity and glucose oxidation, is increased in carnitine-deficient hearts. Hearts from sodium pivalate-treated animals demonstrate a cardiomyopathy that is dependent on duration of treatment, workload and substrate supply. This model of hypocarnitinaemia may thus be useful to study the metabolic and cardiac consequences of carnitine-deficiency syndromes.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Clinical benefit of noninvasive viability studies of patients with severe ischemic left ventricular dysfunction.

The population of patients who have congestive heart failure of ischemic origin is large and growing. It imposes a heavy burden on human suffering and economic costs such as the chronic use of costly medications, recurrent hospital admissions, and, eventually, death or the necessity of heart transplantation. Therefore, the development of methods for detecting viable myocardium may allow the accurate selection of those patients with coronary artery disease with severe left ventricular dysfunction who are most likely to benefit from revascularization, but also excludes patients who are unlikely to obtain any improvement with revascularization techniques. The presence of reversible dysfunctional myocardium that may improve after revascularization implies the concepts of stunned and hibernating myocardium. Recent evidence suggests that hibernation may not be a stable condition since it might evolve toward an irreversible dysfunction if it is not revascularized at the right moment. The techniques available for viability studies are single-photon emission computed tomography using thallium-201 or compounds labeled with technetium-99m, positron emission tomography, and dobutamine stress echocardiography. Newer and promising techniques are magnetic resonance imaging and contrast echocardiography, whose definitive roles are not clear yet. There is abundant evidence from several important studies showing that patients with a significant amount of viable myocardium have a poor outcome if they are treated medically. Conversely, if these patients are revascularized, their outcomes improve and their symptoms significantly decrease, with less necessity of medication, fewer admissions to the hospital, and even in some cases avoiding heart transplantation. On the other hand, patients with poor or no viability who are revascularized do not obtain significant benefit.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMed1998

The economics of TRACE. A cost-effectiveness analysis of trandolapril in postinfarction patients with left ventricular dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to compute a cost-effectiveness ratio relating the economic cost of trandolapril to the number of effectiveness units (i.e. life-years) gained. DESIGN AND SETTING: The trandolapril cardiac evaluation (TRACE) study was a prospective placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to determine the long term effect of the oral angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor trandolapril in postinfarction patients with left ventricular dysfunction. We used the individual data of the TRACE trial to compute a cost-effectiveness ratio relating the economic cost of trandolapril to the number of life-years saved. The analysis was differential and was conducted from a payer perspective in a French setting. Costs were computed from individual data related to the use of resources during the TRACE trial. For drug treatments, we chose French public prices, and for hospitalisations, we used the mean cost as determined by the diagnosis related group (DRG) from the 1996 Programme de Médicalisation des Systémes d'Information (PMSI) database from the French Ministry of Health. Life expectancy was estimated through an accelerated failure-time model with an exponential distribution specification; we made the conservative hypothesis that the effect of trandolapril on mortality after the end of the trial was nil. We assessed the standard deviation and the 95% confidence interval (CI) of the ratio through its bootstrap distribution. RESULTS: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of treating patients with trandolapril rather than with placebo was estimated as 4910 French francs (FF) per life-year saved. Discounting both costs and health effects led to ratio of FF6950 per life-year saved. The bootstrap estimate of the ratio reached FF5950 and the 95% CI was FF5650 to FF6250 per life-year saved. CONCLUSIONS: These results could be considered as highly cost effective, even though our estimation was very close to the design and the conditions of the TRACE trial. Nevertheless, we showed that this trial constitutes a favourable case for economic evaluation.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Ventilatory responses to exercise in patients with asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction.

PURPOSE: Based on reports that patients with severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction have a greater ventilatory response to effort than healthy people, we evaluated the ventilatory responses to effort of patients with coronary artery disease and various degrees of LV impairment before and after 6 months of exercise training in a community-based cardiac rehabilitation program. METHODS: Out of 171 patients consecutively referred for cardiac rehabilitation, 102 were enrolled in the study. Fifteen patients were excluded because of lung disease and 54 because of poor adherence to the exercise program. Patients were divided into three groups according to their ejection fraction (EF): Group 1 (G1) included 63 patients with EF > or = 50%, Group 2 (G2) included 21 patients with EF > or = 35 and < 50% and group 3 (G3) included 18 patients with EF < 35%. Peak oxygen uptake, minute ventilation (V(E)), and minute carbon dioxide production (VCO2) were measured before and after training in all participants. RESULTS: All groups showed a significant increase in peak oxygen uptake and treadmill time after training (G1: P = 0.0001 and P = 0.0001; G2: P = 0.0001 and P = 0.001; G3: P = 0.01 and P = 0.01; respectively). Patients in G3 had a significantly higher V(E)/VCO2 ratio than patients in G2 and G1 at 9 min and peak exercise, before (9 min: P = 0.046 and P = 0.025, peak: P = 0.024 and P = 0.002, respectively) and after training (9 min: P = 0.011 and P = 0.005, peak: P = 0.001 and P = 0.0001, respectively). The slope of the relation V(E) to VCO2 was significantly higher in G3 patients than in those in G2 and G1 (P = 0.0001, respectively) and was not reduced by exercise training in any group. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with severe LV dysfunction had a greater ventilatory response to exercise than those with moderately impaired or normal LV function. Exercise training increased the effort tolerance of all patients irrespective of their degree of LV dysfunction but failed to reduce the higher ventilatory responses to effort of patients with EF below 35%.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Left ventricular dysfunction in acute myocardial infarction due to isolated left circumflex coronary artery stenosis.

The characteristics of regional and global left ventricular dysfunction due to isolated left circumflex (LC) artery stenosis were determined from the contrast ventriculograms of 52 patients studied during acute myocardial infarction. In patients with a left dominant coronary circulation (35%), the severity, circumferential extent and location of hypokinesia resembled those of right coronary artery stenosis. However, in patients with a right dominant or balanced circulation (65%), the location of LC artery-related hypokinesia varied over the entire left ventricular contour, overlapping with the territories of the left anterior descending and right coronary arteries. The method for measuring the severity of hypokinesia was adjusted to take into account the wide territory of the LC artery. This enhanced the sensitivity of the method, particularly in the right anterior oblique view, as indicated by the greater severity of hypokinesia measured (-2.5 +/- 0.9 vs -1.8 +/- 1.1 standard deviations by our previously published method, p less than 0.001). However, the overlap of the artery territories may make it difficult to selectively measure the dysfunction due to stenosis of an artery of interest in patients with multiple infarctions. The circumferential extent of hypokinesia due to LC artery thrombosis was greater in the left than the right anterior oblique view. When averaged over both views, the size of the dysfunctional segment approached that due to left anterior descending coronary artery thrombosis, exceeding the size previously reported. These results suggest that current eligibility criteria for thrombolytic therapy select patients with extensive LC artery beds.

Cineradiography↗
PubMed2001

ST-segment depression in lead aVR predicts predischarge left ventricular dysfunction in patients with reperfused anterior acute myocardial infarction with anterolateral ST-segment elevation.

BACKGROUND: Patients with an anterolateral acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have a worse prognosis, and those with additional inferolateral wall involvement might be higher risk because of more extensive area at risk. Lead -aVR obtained by inversion of images in lead aVR has been reported to provide useful information for inferolateral lesion. METHODS: We examined the relation between ST-segment deviation in lead aVR on admission electrocardiogram (ECG) and left ventricular function in 105 patients with an anterolateral AMI undergoing successful reperfusion < or = 6 hours after onset. Patients were classified according to ST-segment deviation in lead aVR on admission ECG: group A, 23 patients with ST elevation of > or = 0.5 mm; group B, 47 patients without ST deviation; and group C, 35 patients with ST depression of > or = 0.5 mm. RESULTS: There were no differences among the 3 groups in age, sex, or site of the culprit lesion. In groups A, B, and C, the peak creatine kinase level was 3661 +/- 1428, 4440 +/- 1889, and 6959 +/- 2712 mU/mL, and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) measured by predischarge left ventriculography was 54% +/- 9%, 48% +/- 7%, and 37% +/- 9%, respectively(P < .01). During hospitalization, congestive heart failure occurred more frequently in group C than in groups A or B (P < .05). ST-segment depression in lead aVR had a higher predictive accuracy than other ECG findings in identifying patients with predischarge LVEF < or = 35%. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that in patients with an anterolateral AMI, ST-segment depression in lead aVR on admission ECG is useful for predicting larger infarct and left ventricular dysfunction despite successful reperfusion.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Predictors of decreased renal function in patients with heart failure during angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy: results from the studies of left ventricular dysfunction (SOLVD)

BACKGROUND: Although angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy reduces mortality rates in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), it may also cause decreased renal function. Little information is available to predict which patients are at highest risk for this complication. OBJECTIVE: To quantify specific clinical predictors of reduction in renal function in patients with CHF who are prescribed angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy. METHOD: We analyzed data from the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD), a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of enalapril for the treatment of CHF. There were 3379 patients randomly assigned to enalapril with a median follow-up of 974 days and 3379 patients randomly assigned to placebo with a mean follow-up of 967 days. Decreased renal function was defined as a rise in serum creatinine >/=0.5 mg/dL (44 micromol/L) from baseline. We used time-to-event analysis to identify potential predictors of decrease in renal function including age, baseline ejection fraction, baseline creatinine, low systolic blood pressure (<100 mm Hg), history of hypertension, diabetes, and use of antiplatelet, diuretic, and beta-blocker therapy. RESULTS: Patients randomly assigned to enalapril had a 33% greater likelihood of decreased renal function than controls (P =.003). By multivariate analysis, in both the placebo and enalapril groups older age, diuretic therapy, and diabetes were associated with decreased renal function, whereas beta-blocker therapy and higher ejection fraction were renoprotective. Older age was associated with a greater risk of developing decreased renal function in both groups, but significantly more so in the enalapril group (enalapril: risk ratio [RR] 1.42 per 10 years, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32-1.52 with enalapril; placebo: RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.12-1.25). Diuretic therapy was likewise associated with a greater risk of decreased renal function in the enalapril group (RR 1.89, 95% CI 1.70-2.08) than in the placebo group (RR 1.35, 95% CI 1.09-1.66). Conversely, enalapril had a relative renoprotective effect (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.13-1.53) compared with placebo (RR 1.96, 95% CI 1.57-2.44) in patients with diabetes. A lower risk of renal impairment was seen in both groups with beta-blocker therapy (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.57-0.85) and higher baseline ejection fraction (RR 0.93 per 5% increment, 95% CI 0.91-0. 96). CONCLUSIONS: Enalapril use caused a 33% increase in the risk of decreased renal function in patients with CHF. Diuretic use and advanced age increased this risk. Diabetes was associated with an increased risk of renal impairment in all patients with CHF, but this risk was reduced in the enalapril group compared with the placebo group. beta-Blocker therapy and higher ejection fraction were renoprotective in all patients regardless of therapy.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed2000

Doppler tissue velocity sampling improves diagnostic accuracy during dobutamine stress echocardiography for the assessment of viable myocardium in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Both nuclear imaging with F18-fluorodeoxyglucose and dobutamine stress echocardiography have been used to identify viable myocardium, although dobutamine-stress echocardiography has been demonstrated to be the less sensitive of the two. AIM: To compare the accuracy of pulsed-wave Doppler tissue sampling with dobutamine-stress echocardiography for the detection of viable myocardium, using F18-fluorodeoxyglucose imaging as a reference. Methods Forty patients with chronic coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction (mean ejection fraction 33+/-11%), underwent F18-fluorodeoxyglucose imaging, dobutamine-stress echocardiography and pulsed-wave Doppler tissue sampling. Evaluation was performed using a six-segment model. RESULTS: Visual assessment by resting echo was feasible in 230 out of 240 segments (96%); 177 (77%) segments showed severe dyssynergy at rest. F18-fluorodeoxyglucose imaging showed viability in 95 (54%) segments while 82 (46%) were non-viable. Ejection phase velocity at rest was not significantly different; ejection velocities during low-dose and peak-dose dobutamine, however, were significantly higher in viable myocardium (8.6+/-2.9 vs 6.0+/-1.8 and 9.3+/-3.1 vs 6.2+/-2.1 cm x s(-1)). Using receiver operating characteristic curves the optimal cut-off value for viability assessment was an increase in the ejection phase velocity low-dose of 1+/-0.5 cm x s(-1), while 0+/-0.5 cm x s(-1)predicted non-viability. The sensitivity and specificity (95%CI) of pulsed-wave Doppler tissue sampling and dobutamine-stress echocardiography for the prediction of viability was respectively 87% (82-92) vs 75% (67-81) (P<0.05) and 52% (44-59) vs 51% (45-59) (P=ns). CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity of pulsed-wave Doppler tissue sampling is superior to dobutamine-stress echocardiography for the assessment of myocardial viability.

Dobutamine↗
PubMed2001

Prediction of functional recovery in patients with chronic coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction combining the evaluation of myocardial perfusion and of contractile reserve using nitrate-enhanced technetium-99m sestamibi gated single-photon emission computed tomography and dobutamine stress.

This study aimed to assess whether contractile reserve evaluation using dobutamine gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) improves the capability of quantitative perfusion analysis to predict functional recovery of viable hibernating myocardium. Resting and dobutamine nitrate-enhanced technetium-99m sestamibi (sestamibi) gated SPECT studies were performed in patients with coronary artery disease who had left ventricular dysfunction. Tracer activity was quantified, and wall motion and thickening visually scored. Reversible dysfunction was identified with gated SPECT repeated after coronary revascularization. Using the best activity threshold, perfusion quantification achieved 85% sensitivity and 55% specificity. Contractile reserve detection was significantly less sensitive (64%, p <0.0005), but more specific (88%, p <0.00001) than perfusion quantification. However, in the subgroup of hypokinetic segments, the sensitivity of contractile reserve assessment was just slightly lower than perfusion quantification (72% vs 91%, p = NS), whereas specificity was significantly higher (94% vs 23%, p <0.00001). Conversely, in the adyskinetic segments, perfusion quantification was significantly more sensitive than contractile reserve (82% vs 59%, p <0.005), but similarly specific (76% vs 85%, p = NS). Therefore, the identification of reversible dysfunction based on perfusion quantification in adyskinetic segments and on contractile reserve detection in hypokinetic segments was significantly more specific (83% vs 55%, p <0.00001) than standard quantitative perfusion SPECT, without major loss in sensitivity (78% vs 85%, p = NS). In conclusion, contractile reserve evaluation using dobutamine gated SPECT enhances the reliability of nitrate-enhanced sestamibi SPECT when used to predict reversible dysfunction in hypokinetic segments, whereas perfusion quantification remains superior in adyskinetic segments.

Aged↗