0000000000189684
AUTHOR
Uwe Nixdorff
Thrombolysis with saruplase versus streptokinase in acute myocardial infarction: five-year results of the PRIMI trial.
Abstract Background Short-term safety and efficacy of thrombolysis with saruplase in acute myocardial infarction have been shown in several trials. To assess long-term outcome of patients treated with saruplase or streptokinase for myocardial infarction, a 5-year follow-up of patients included in the Pro-Urokinase in Myocardial Infarction Trial was performed. Methods and Results Follow-up data are available from 8 centers on 255 (92.4%) of 276 included patients. The 5-year mortality rate was comparable with 20.8% of patients in the saruplase group and 16.9% in the streptokinase group (odds ratio 1.29, 95% confidence interval 0.69 to 2.42). In both groups, a considerable number of fatal card…
Quantitative Tissue Doppler Echocardiography: Physiological Nonuniformity of Left Ventricular Transmural Myocardial Wall-Motion Velocities and Gradients.
Tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) is a new method by which transmural myocardial function can be studied noninvasively. In order to investigate physiology and reproducibility, 24 young, healthy volunteers were examined by M-mode TDE. Nonuniformity of transmural tissue layer velocities became apparent: Subendocardial and subepicardial velocities of the anteroseptal myocardial wall (AW) were 3.5 +/- 0.7 and 1.3 +/- 0.5 cm/sec (P < 0.0001, t-test), whereas in the posterolateral wall (PW) values of 3.6 +/- 0.6 and 1.2 +/- 0.4 cm/sec (P < 0.0001, t-test), respectively, were revealed. The ratios, termed "myocardial velocity gradients" as a new indicator of left ventricular performance, were 3…
Prognostication of post-infarct chronic heart failure: superiority of clinical assessment vs. cardiopulmonary and left ventricular function analysis.
Prognostication of congestive heart failure post-myocardial infarction (MI) is important for decision making. We sought of a head-to-head comparison between the prognostic implication of clinical, cardiopulmonary, and left ventricular (LV) function assessment.Retrospectively, 100 consecutive post-MI patients (MI history 1418+/-1668 days ago) were stratified by NYHA functional classification system, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) [oxygen consumption at maximal exercise (VO(2max)) and at the anaerobic threshold (VO(2AT)) resulting in the Weber classification], and LV function analysis by M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiography [LV end-diastolic and -systolic diameter index (LVDDI …
Increased plasma concentration of fibrin monomer in acute myocardial infarction with early reperfusion.
OBJECTIVE To assess whether plasma fibrin monomer (FM) concentration, a marker of thrombin activity, is increased in the first hours after acute coronary occlusion and whether there are differences between patients with and without early reperfusion. DESIGN Thirty-five consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and early coronary angiography were studied prospectively. METHODS Plasma FM samples taken on admission (< 6 h after onset of chest pain) and 6-14 h after onset of chest pain were analysed using a specific enzyme immunoassay. All of the patients were anticoagulated with heparin intravenously. RESULTS Of the 35 patients, 28 had angiographically documented reperfusion …
Noninvasive Visualization of an Apparent Patent Intracoronary Stent by Transesophageal Echocardiography
In the area of increasing interventional techniques there is a need for noninvasive imaging modalities to provide postinterventional follow-up. We were able to visualize the apparent patency and measure the dimensions of an intracoronary Palmaz-Schatz stent in the left circumflex coronary artery using transesophageal two-dimensional echocardiography. This report indicates the potential of echocardiography to directly assess coronary stents.
Transthoracic three-dimensional echocardiographic volumetry of distorted left ventricles using rotational scanning
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation of transthoracic three- and two-dimensional echocardiographic left ventricular volumetry to cineventriculographic volumetry. Twenty-five patients with distorted left ventricles were included in the study. To demonstrate the impact of acquiring data by rotational scanning, we performed three- and two-dimensional echocardiography in 36 latex ventricles with data acquisition in different areas of the ultrasound sectors. Interobserver and intraobserver variability were calculated to test for reproducibility. The three-dimensional imaging system consisted of a rotation motor device, a transthoracic 2.5 MHz transducer, a conventional ultrasou…