[The value of early repeated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide measurement in acute heart failure]. / Az N-terminális pro-B natriureticus peptid mérésének korai ismétlése akut szívelégtelenség miatt hospitalizált betegeken.

INTRODUCTION: The determination of natriuretic peptide levels in patients hospitalized for suspected acute heart failure is important for the confirmation of the diagnosis and for the prognosis. Changes in natriuretic peptide levels in response to therapy have a strong prognostic value. AIM: To decide whether repeated natriuretic peptide measurements for acute heart failure show changes that could influence the diagnosis and/or the prognosis. METHOD: Prospective data collection was carried out of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels on admission and within 12 hours in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure. Only the data of those patients were analyzed whose symptoms started within 24 hours prior to admission and were due to acute heart failure. RESULTS: The 23 patients whose data we analyzed had an average age of 77.9 ± 8.3 years. Most of them had left ventricular systolic dysfunction with an average ejection fraction of 34.1 ± 3.9%. The time between the start of symptoms and the first measurement was 6.7 ± 2.2 hours, while the time until the repeated determination was 6.5 ± 2.2 hours after the first measurement. The median value of the NT-proBNP levels in the 6 hours control showed an increase from 5064 pg/mL to 8847 pg/mL (p<0.0005), which amounts to a 75 percent increase - mean hs-troponin T showed an increase from 46 ± 25 ng/L to 78 ± 51 ng/L (p<0.002). CONCLUSIONS: A significant increase in NT-proBNP levels is to be expected in early repeated measurement after hospital admission. This fact could have diagnostic and prognostic consequences if validated in a larger patient population. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(25): 1009-1012.

[The prognostic role of extremely high levels of the B-type natriuretic prohormone with regard to the in-hospital mortality of patients hospitalized for heart failure]. / Extrém magas B típusú natriureticus prohormon prognosztikai szerepe a szívelégtelenség miatt kezelt betegek kórházi halálozására.

INTRODUCTION: Patients hospitalized for heart failure have a very high in-hospital as well as one-year mortality. Natriuretic peptides play both a diagnostic and a prognostic role in this disease. Changes of natriuretic peptide levels in response to therapy are a well-known prognostic marker. Regarding in-hospital mortality, however, little is known about the prognostic value of extremely high levels of natriuretic peptides measured on admission. AIM: To decide whether extremely high levels of B-type natriuretic peptide have a prognostic value with regard to in-hospital mortality. METHOD: NT-proBNP levels on admission and in-hospital mortality were extracted retrospectively from the data of patients treated with heart failure in the cardiology department of the Hospital of St. John of God in Budapest. We separately analyzed the data of patients hospitalized for heart failure in 2015 with extremely high initial NT-proBNP levels. The cut-off value in this regard was 10 000 ng/l. We also analyzed the comorbidities of these patients. RESULTS: The median NT-proBNP level of those patients who survived beyond the index hospital stay in the last 10 years was 4842 ng/l, whereas the median NT-proBNP level of those 182 patients who died during their hospital stay was 10 688 ng/l (p<0.001). In the year 2015, we treated 118 patients with an NT-proBNP level above 10 000 ng/l. Thirteen of these patients died, which means that their in-hospital mortality exceeded 10%. In comparison, the in-hospital mortality of all heart failure patients was 5.8%. The difference of median NT-proBNP levels of surviving versus deceased patients in this group with extremely high NT-proBNP levels was no longer significant (17 080 ng/l vs. 19 152 ng/l). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with an NT-proBNP level of >10 000 ng/l on admission have a significantly higher in-hospital mortality. The difference of NT-proBNP levels of surviving versus deceased patients in the group with admission NT-proBNP levels >10 000 ng/l is no longer significant. We could not identify any etiological factors that would explain these extremely high NT-proBNP levels or the excess in-hospital mortality. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(20): 779-782.

[Role of implantable loop recorder in the clinical diagnosis of syncope: results of the introduction of an effective diagnostic tool]. / Az implantálható loop recorder szerepe a syncope diagnosztikájában: egy hatékony vizsgálati módszer bevezetésének eredményei.

INTRODUCTION: Extension of electrocardiographic monitoring via loop recorder implantation may increase the diagnostic yield of syncope work-up. AIM: In this retrospective observational study, the authors wanted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of implantable loop recorder in the everyday clinical practice. METHOD: The authors analyzed the electronically stored data of all patients who underwent loop recorder implantation between 2005 and 2014 in their cardiology department because of recurrent syncope of undetermined origin. RESULTS: There were 52 loop recorder implantations within the study period. During the 167 (± 136) days of monitoring, 36 (69.2%) diagnostic events occurred. In two-thirds of events, (46.2% of all monitored patients) a specific arrhythmia diagnosis was reached, allowing definitive treatment in these cases. In this selected population, there was no correlation between age, presence of known high-risk predictors, or accompanying trauma, and the mechanism of syncope. CONCLUSIONS: The high diagnostic rate of implantable loop recorder in the everyday clinical practice is in accordance with the findings in prospective clinical studies. This observation supports the early application of loop recorder in the diagnostic algorithm of syncope.

[Transient left ventricular dysfunction: special form of stress cardiomyopathy]. / Reverzibilis, stressz indukálta cardiomyopathiak.

INTRODUCTION: The phenomenon of stress induced left ventricular dysfunction has been long recognised. A special reversible form of it, characterized by left ventricular apical dilatation, is the so-called "tako-tsubo" or ampoule cardiomyopathy, based on its first description by Sato et al. in 1990. The tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy and stress cardiomyopathy are considered almost equivalent in the referring publications. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patient data between 2002 and 2007: these patients suffered from transient left ventricular dysfunction and coronary artery disease and myocarditis were disclosed. RESULTS: 6 female patients between 55 and 80 years. In 5 of 6 cases the different forms of stress could be found before the patients were admitted to our department. CONCLUSIONS: The presented cases shed light to the fact that the apical dilatation of the left ventricle is only one of the possible presentations of stress induced cardiomyopathy. The main feature of this entity is not the tako-tsubo-like left ventricular dilatation, which is not always present, but the almost universal QT prolongation and negative T waves. These ECG features come a few days after the appearance of the reversible left ventricular dysfunction.

Switching beta-blocker therapy in chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND: A beneficial effect on survival has been proven for the four long-acting beta-blockers. Such favorable results could not be obtained with short-acting beta-blockers. AIMS: to study the safety of switching from short-acting metoprolol to long-acting bisoprolol in patients with cardiac failure and postinfarction impaired left ventricular systolic function. METHODS AND RESULTS: 282 patients with NYHA classes I-III heart failure and/or postinfarction reduced left ventricular ejection fraction were enrolled in the study. Metoprolol tartarate was discontinued 12 h before the initiation of bisoprolol therapy. Dosages were as follows: 28.5% of the patients reached the 10 mg target dose, 21.5% received 7.5 mg, and 42.5% received 5 mg, while 7.5% stayed on the lowest 2.5 mg initial dose. Mean heart rate was 84 bpm before the switch; this dropped to 67 bpm with the above doses. CONCLUSION: The switch from non-recommended short-acting beta-blockers to long-acting beta-blockers may be carried out safely in stable heart failure patients. The significant reduction of the heart rate indicated that a more effective adrenergic blockage might be obtained with the switch, although physicians could titrate up to the target dose only in about one-third of the cases.

[Acute myocardial infarction triggered by salbutamol in asthma bronchiale]. / Salbutamollal kapcsolatos akut myocardialis infarctus asthma bronchialeban.

The authors report the case of an 77-year-old woman with no evidence of previous cardiac disease who developed a non-Q-wave myocardial infarction after beta2-mimetic treatment for the exacerbation of her chronic bronchial asthma. After the five dose of salbutamol spray she developed chest pain. The electrogram showed ST segment elevation in leads I-aVL-V4-6. Urgent coronary angiography showed only non significant left anterior coronary artery stenosis (20%). A subsequent echocardiogram also revealed anterolateral hypokinesia and acute reversible left ventricular dysfunction (LVEF:30%). Both troponin T concentration and creatine kinase rose. Next day in the lateral leads negative T-waves developed with QT-prolongation and without pathologic Q-waves. Although myocardial infarction and acute reversible left ventricular dysfunction is a rare complication following beta2 mimetic treatment one should use high-dose beta2-agonists with caution.

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and tombstoning ST-segment elevation in patients with anterior wall acute myocardial infarction.

Tombstoning ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been associated with a poor prognosis ever since Wimalaratna's first description of this clinical entity, and the reasons for this are not fully understood. We studied 87 consecutive patients who had anterior STEMI (January 2004 to September 2004) to compare the form of STEMI, coronary anatomy, and initial N-terminus pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) level. Patients who had tombstoning STEMI had higher levels of NT-pro-BNP despite significant differences in cardiac enzyme levels or extent of coronary disease. This finding suggests that, in addition to changing the shape of repolarization, decreased microcirculation plays a role in the development of increased wall tension. Increased wall tension in turn is the probable cause of higher NT-pro-BNP levels and increased mortality.

[Acute ST segment elevation during noncardiogenic shock]. / Nem cardiogen shock által indukált tranziens ST-eleváció.

Transient elevation of the ST segment was observed in a patient during noncardiogenic shock. The coronarography was negative. The patient received dopamine infusion. The 48 yr-old man had Crohn disease with septicaemia and ARDS. The exact pathomechanism is not known, but the negative coronarography ruled out the epicardial coronary disease. The suggested mechanisms are dopamine induced coronary vasoconstriction or complement activation.

NT-brain natriuretic peptide levels in pleural fluid distinguish between pleural transudates and exudates.

BACKGROUND: Pleural effusion is not pathognomic and distinguishing between transudates and exudates often presents a diagnostic dilemma. The purpose of our study was to examine whether the inclusion of pleural fluid brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurement into the analysis improves the diagnostic accuracy of pleural effusion. METHODS: The pleural effusion of 14 patients with CHF (group A) and 14 subjects with different pleural pathology (group B) were analyzed. Samples of pleural fluid and serum were obtained from all patients on admission and biochemical analysis, bacterial and fungal culture, acid-fast bacilli smear and culture and cytology were performed on the pleural fluid. In vitro quantitative determination of N-terminal pro-Brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in serum and pleural fluid were performed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay proBNP method on an Elecsys 2010 (Roche) analyzer. RESULTS: The median NT-proBNP levels in groups A and B were 6295 pg/ml and 276 pg/ml, respectively: (P=0.0001). There was no overlap between the two groups. While the Light's criteria had a sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 43% for transudates, the pleural fluid NT-proBNP level accurately differentiated between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The pleural NT-proBNP levels were elevated in all patients who had transudate. Therefore if the NT-proBNP levels of pleural effusion are within the normal range, transudate resulting from congestive heart failure can be ruled out. Our results suggest that the inclusion of pleural fluid NT-proBNP measurement in the routine diagnostic panel would enhance discrimination among the different causes of pleural effusions.

[T-wave alternans and Torsade de Pointes ventricular tachycardia in a patient with intracerebral hemorrhage]. / Agyvérzést Követó T-hullám alternans és torsade de pointes kamrai tachycardia.

A rare form of pause dependent form of torsade de pointes ventricular tachycardia and T-wave alternans is reported. The life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia was associated with left sided intracerebral hemorrhage and elevated CKMB mass and Troponin T (0.14 ng/ml). The possible pathomechanism of torsade de pointes tachycardia is discussed.

[Pause-dependent Torsade de Pointes following acute myocardial infarction]. / Acut myocardialis infarctus és pausadependens torsade de pointes kamrai tachycardia.

The authors report an early occurrence (within 48 hours) of the newly described form of pause-dependent torsade de pointes following acute myocardial infarction. QT prolongtion after myocardial infarction a common ECG finding. Postextrasystolic QT prolongation rare but one of the warning signs for torsade de pointes ventricular tachycardia following myocardial infarction. Careful monitoring is suggested in these cases.

[Patients admitted with atrial fibrillation to a regional hospital]. / Pitvarfibrilláció a kórházi ellátásban.

INTRODUCTION: It is well known that the incidence of atrial fibrillation increased with age over 65 years. However the role and incidence of atrial fibrillation in the admission in the regional hospital was not investigated. The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence, the commonest presenting features, associated cardiac conditions and the different types of atrial fibrillation which were admitted to our regional hospital during the last 10 month. RESULTS: The incidence of atrial fibrillation was 13% (mean age: 71 years). The presenting features were dyspnea (28%), palpitation (25%), heart failure (19%), angina (10%), syncope/vertigo (5%), symptoms-free (13%). The most frequently associated cardiac condition was hypertension (64%). The patients were treated with the following antiarrhythmic drugs: beta-adrenergic blocker: 25%, propafenon (15%), propafenon and beta-adrenergic blocker (25%), sotalol (17%), amiodarone (13%), others (5%). CONCLUSION: Nowadays atrial fibrillation is still a remarkable percentage of hospital admission. The most frequent clinical features were not the signs of arrhythmia but the signs of heart failure and ischaemic heart disease. In the treatment of atrial fibrillation the use of digoxin and class IA type antiarrhythmic agents were remarkably decreased and the use of class III, IC and beta-adrenergic blockers increased.