A case of myocardial abscess evaluated by radionuclide techniques: case report.

A patient with infective endocarditis was evaluated by Ga-67 citrate imaging, Tc-99m pyrophosphate imaging, equilibrium gated blood pool imaging, and Tl-201 imaging of the chest. The diagnosis of ventricular abscess was first suggested by an abnormal gallium scan. At surgery, an abscess was identified in the area where the scan was abnormal, and postoperatively a repeat scan was normal.

The long-term treatment of stable angina pectoris with verapamil.

In a double-blind 16-week crossover study, the effectiveness of verapamil therapy for chronic stable angina was evaluated in 19 patients (Phase I). Twelve of these patients were then followed for 38 to 58 months of open-label treatment (Phase II). Clinical responses were assessed with traditional indices, treadmill exercise tests, and a newly developed Performance Index (PI). During Phase I, verapamil resulted in a 50% mean reduction in the number of patients developing effort angina on treadmill exercise, a 15% mean increase in treadmill exercise time, and an 18% mean improvement in the PI. In eight of ten patients, diastolic blood pressure rises during exercise were significantly lowered during verapamil treatment in Phase I. In a limited population of patients followed for long periods of time, our data show that verapamil remains acceptably effective in the treatment of angina pectoris. Though diastolic blood pressure rises were decreased during Phase I, we could not confirm that effect over longer periods of time. Functional capacity as determined by the PI was sustained in Phase II.

Torsades de pointes due to drug interaction between disopyramide and clarithromycin.

Torsades de pointes (TdP) is polymorphic ventricular tachycardia occurring in the setting of a prolonged cardiac repolarization. Drug interactions between macrolide antibiotics such as erythomycin and pharmacologic agents that prolong the QT interval have been known to cause TdP. However, clarithromycin is thought to be less frequently associated with drug induced TdP, because it inactivates hepatic cytochrome P-450 to a lesser extent than erythromycin. We describe a case of TdP caused by a drug interaction in a 76-year-old woman taking long-term disopyramide after she was given clarithromycin concomitantly for chronic bronchitis.

Late recurrence of atrial flutter following radiofrequency catheter ablation.

The success rate for catheter ablation of atrial flutter has been reported to be approximately 90%, but recurrences are common and can be seen in up to 20% of cases. Most of these recurrences are seen within a few weeks following ablation. We report on a patient who developed a recurrence of type I atrial flutter 2 years after an initially successful radiofrequency catheter ablation procedure. Whether the recurrent atrial flutter is due to a new reentrant circuit resulting from slow progression of atrial disease or due to the changes produced by radiofrequency energy in the nearby myocardium is not clear. Further work to define the electrophysiological changes in the atrial myocardium produced by radiofrequency energy, as well as long-term follow-up of patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial flutter may help in answering these questions.

Treadmill exercise testing in hypertensive patients treated with hydrochlorothiazide and beta-blocking drugs.

Twelve patients with hypertension who did not become normotensive after treatment with hydrochlorothiazide alone were studied. Treadmill exercise testing was done before and after additional treatment to standing resting normotension with beta-blocker drugs. The double product (peak mean BP times peak heart rate) at peak performance fell significantly because of decreases in systolic arterial BP and heart rate, but diastolic pressures still rose with exercise in ten of the 12 patients, in seven of them to 100 mm Hg or higher. Thus, the data show that patients with hypertension treated to resting normotension with hydrochlorothiazide and a beta-blocker still often demonstrate a significant diastolic BP rise with exercise. In such patients, a rise in diastolic BP with exercise cannot be used as evidence of coronary atherosclerosis. The measurement of the arterial BP response to exercise is probably important in the assessment of the effectiveness of individual antihypertensive regimens.

Murmurs associated with mitral annular calcification and aortic sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Auscultation of patients with mitral annular calcification on echocardiography revealed a particular constellation of findings. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that a particular auscultatory constellation provides a high degree of certainty in diagnosing the combination of mitral annular calcification and aortic sclerosis so often found in the elderly. METHODS: Two groups of patients were studied to evaluate the particular auscultatory constellation under consideration which consisted of: (1) a harsh ejection systolic murmur heard from the 2nd right interspace to the cardiac apex and usually loudest between the 3rd left interspace and the apex; (2) the murmur radiates from the apex towards the left axilla and radiates poorly or not at all from the 2nd right interspace to the neck, and (3) the 2nd heart sound at the cardiac base is normal in intensity, and no ejection clicks are present. Group 1 consisted of patients with mitral annular calcification on echocardiographic examination, and group 2 consisted of patients in whom the particular constellation of auscultatory findings was present and who were then referred for echocardiographic assessment. RESULTS: The particular auscultatory constellation under investigation allowed the diagnosis of the presence of the combination of mitral annular calcification and aortic sclerosis with substantial accuracy. CONCLUSION: The findings in this exploratory study suggest that the pathologic combination of mitral annular calcification and aortic sclerosis can be diagnosed with a reasonably high degree of certainty in elderly patients, if the particular auscultatory configuration is identified.