[Management of patients treated for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction in Tunisia: Preliminary results of FAST-MI Tunisia Registry from Tunisian Society of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery]. / Prise en charge de l'infarctus du myocarde en Tunisie : résultats préliminaires du registre FAST-MI Tunisie de la Société tunisienne de cardiologie et de chirurgie cardiovasculaire.

UNLABELLED: FAST-MI Tunisian registry was initiated by the Tunisian Society of Cardiology and Cardio-vascular Surgery to assess characteristics, management, and hospital outcomes in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: We prospectively collected data from 203 consecutive patients (mean age 60.3 years, 79.8 % male) with STEMI who were treated in 15 public hospitals (representing 68.2 % of Tunisian public centres treating STEMI patients) during a 3-month period at the end of 2014. The most common risk factor was tobacco (64.9 %), hypertension (38.6 %), diabetes (36.9 %) and dyslipidemia (24.6 %). RESULTS: Among these patients, 66 % received reperfusion therapy, 35 % with primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PAMI), 31 % with thrombolysis (28.6 % of them by pre-hospital thrombolysis). The median time from symptom onset to thrombolysis was 185 and 358 min for PAMI, respectively. The in-hospital mortality was 7.0 %. Patients enrolled in interventional centers (n=156) were more likely to receive any reperfusion therapy (19.8 % vs 44.6 %; p<0.001) than at the regional system of care with less thrombolysis (26.9 % vs 44.6 %; p=0.008) and more PAMI (52.8 % vs 8.5 %; p<0.0001). Also the in-hospital mortality was lower (6.4 % vs 9.3 %) but not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results from FAST-MI in Tunisia show that the pharmaco- invasive strategy should be promoted in non-interventional centers.

[Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia in adult: a case report]. / La Tachycardie Ventriculaire Polymorphe Catécholergique Chez L'adulte : A Propos D'un Cas.

BACKGROUND: Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a primary electrical myocardial disease characterized by exercise- and stress-related ventricular lachycardia manifested as syncope and sudden death usually in child and teenager and was rarely described in adults. The management includes betablockade, with the use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators if medical treatment is insufficient. AIM: Report a new case of CPVT. OBSERVATION: We report a case of a 43 years old patient in whom CPVT diagnosis was made during his exploration for palpitations occurring with the effort. Registration Holter ECG revealed several episodes of supraventricular tachycardia and episodes of nocturnal sino-atrial block. The patient had an ICD and betablockade treatment. CONCLUSION: The TVPC in adult can manifest with attenuated symptoms that can be summarized with palpitations with the exertion. The supraventricular arrhythmias and sinus dysfunction may be at the forefront of Electrocardiographic manifestations. The prognosis of this form seems better than the TVPC of the child. Treatment with betablockade appears to be effective but existing dysfunction sinus facilitates decision to implant the ICD.

[Acute hemorrhage due anti-vitamin K agents. A prognostic and descriptive study]. / Les accidents hemorragiques graves sous anti-vitamines K. Etude descriptive et pronostique.

BACKGROUND: The use of the antivitamines K for more than 50 years, has largely been the proof of its interest: well shown effectiveness, weak cost. However, these drugs are the cause of complications of which most frequent and most serious are the hemorrhagic accidents. AIM: To determine the characteristics of the patients hospitalized for grave bleeding under antivitamins K and identify the predictive factors of these accidents. METHODS: Retrospective study of pilot case type carried out in the service of cardiology of the hospital Habib Thameur of Tunis during the period going from January 2001 to December 2006. It related to a group of 50 patients admitted for "serious haemorrhage under antivitamines K". This group was compared with a reference group including/understanding 100 patients treated by antivitamines K and not having never presented a haemorrhage. The reserved criteria of gravity are the following ones: the location: intracérébrale, rétro péritonéale, articular, intra-ocular with blindness, muscular, subcutaneous if the nasty bruise is voluminous, hematurie, metrorragie, digestive bleeding (high or low), hemoptysie, hemothorax, hemopéricarde; the deglobulisation (fall of the haemoglobin of 2 g/dl or more) requiring or not a transfusion; the necessity of a surgical haemostatic gesture or endoscopique; the transfer in care unit or death. RESULTS: The Middle Age of the patients was of 55 +/- 14 years, the sex ratio was of 0.85. The intermediate duration of the treatment was of 243 +/- 225 weeks. The most frequent indications were the disorder of the supra-ventricular rate/rhythm (72%) and the mechanical valves cardiac (40%). These indications appeared debatable to us at 16% of the patients. One or more supporting factors the hemorrhagic accident were found at half of the patients, the first cause being medicamentous association (20% of the cases). The hématurie was the most frequent complication (28%). The evolution was favorable in all the cases. An internal injury under unclaimed ignored was found at 24% of the patients. The hepatic dysfonction and medicamentous association were in our study of the risk factors of which has occurred of haemorrhage under antivitamines K. In multivariate analysis, medicamentous association was an independent risk factor (Odds ratio adjusted 4.9). CONCLUSION: At least 50% of the hemorrhagic accidents under antivitamines K are avoidable with the help of a rigorous evaluation of the benefit ratio/risk and a vigilance with respect to medicamentous associations. The creation of centers of anticoagulation in our country is essential in order to improve quality of the clinical and biological monitoring.

[Conductive disorders following open-heart valvular surgery. Concerning 230 operated patients]. / Les troubles conductifs après chirurgie cardiaque valvulaire sous circulation extracorporelle. A propos de 230 malades opérés.

AIMS: Conductive disorders following open-heart valvular surgery represent serious complications that may require definitive pacemaker implantation. The natural history of these troubles is not well established thus, controversy persist concerning the timing of pacemaker implantation. In this study we identify the predictive factors of permanent conductive disorders in order to assess the optimal time of pacing. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two hundred thirty valvular replacements were done between 1993 and 2003. The mean age of our patients was 42 +/- 13.4 years. Rheumatic valvulopathies accounted for 76% of cases, with 54% of multiple valvulopathies. Twenty-two patients (9,5%) had an early postoperative conductive disorder, 9 of them (4%) were definitively implanted after a mean delay of 31.8 days. Preoperative bifascicular bloc and early installation of postoperative high-grade conduction disturbances and its persistence for more than 48 hours are significantly associated with permanent postoperative conductive disorders (respectively P = 0.04 and = 0.03). Aortic valve surgery and infective endocarditis were more frequent in the implanted group but the difference was not significant. CONCLUSION: After open-heart valvular surgery; predictive factors of definitive conductive troubles justify an earlier pacemaker implantation. This attitude may accelerate the hospital discharge and decrease the disease cost effectiveness.

[Behcet disease: uncommon cause of myocardial infarction]. / Maladie de Behçet: cause rare d'inarctus du myocarde.

A 25-year-old man who was known to have Behçet's syndrome and who has no coronary risk factors suffered an acute anterior wall myocardial infarction which was complicated by a ventricular fibrillation. The diagnosis of Behçet's syndrome was based on recurrent thrombophlebitis, genital and oral aphtoses, posterior uveitis, positive pathergy test and HLAB51. About 20 cases of myocardial infarction were reported in the literature but the etiopathogeny, the causal relationship and the treatment are yet unknown.

[Intra-arterial thrombolysis of a basilar vascular accident during coronary angiography]. / Thrombolyse intra-artérielle d'un accident vasculaire basilaire au cours de la coronarographie.

The authors report the case of a 67 year old man with a previous history of aortobifemoral arterial graft who had unstable angina after carotid endarterectomy. Coronary angiography by the right brachial artery was complicated by a cerebrovascular accident with a reactive coma, convulsions and respiratory problems. Selective angiography of the right vertebral artery showed an image of occlusive thrombosis of the basilar artery. In view of the clinical state and angiographic appearances, the authors decided on immediate intra-arterial thrombolysis with Urokinase which dissolved the clot and reestablished flow in the basilar artery, the cerebellar and posterior cerebral arteries. The outcome was favourable with immediate and good recovery of consciousness and hospital discharge on the sixth day without neurological or radiological sequellae. Cerebrovascular accident is a rare and potentially serious complication of left heart catheterisation which requires immediate cerebral angiography to determine the mechanism and propose an appropriate therapeutic approach.

[Assessment of pure isolated mitral valve insufficiency by Doppler echocardiography]. / Quantification des insuffisances mitrales pures isolees par l'echodoppler cardiaque.

Taking 33 patients having pure MI as a material, the authors find a correlation between regurgitation fraction obtained by calculation of outputs estimated by Touch's method and angiographic values. There is a statistically significant differences (P < 0.001) between regurgitation fraction of grade I to II and grade II to III MI. The ratio mitral integral time velocity (ITV) to Aortic (ITV) is an important semi-quantitative assessment of pure MI. In fact, a ratio > 1.3 identify important degree of MI with 82% sensitivity and 93% specificity. The authors estimate that there is a correlation between the ratio of regurgitant jet surface to left atrial surface found in TEE and their degree of MI in angiography with a significant difference (P < 0.001) between the ratio of grade I to II and grade II to III MI in angiography. A ratio higher than 40% allow to identify grade III MI at minimum.

[Indications for definitive cardiac stimulation]. / Indications de la stimulation cardiaque definitive.

Within less than a half-century, after the early rising of cardiac pacing, we witness a dramatical in crease of its indications. After the initial aim, which was to prevent transient ischaemic events, and sudden death due to bradycardia, some more physiological objectives have--progressively appeared, such as improvement of patient's quality of life, and optimization of the cardiac performance to fulfill the metabolic needs. The indications of cardiac pacing are nowadays extended to the fields of haemodynamics and rythmology. Numerous studies are advocating the interest of the cardiac pacing in pathologies such as obstructive and dilated cardiomyopathies specially for the improvement of the NYHA functional status, life comfort and effort sustain. On another hand, newly discovered antiarrhythmic virtues of atrial pacing are of a great interest for a certain type of atrial fibrillations such as vagal induced fibrillations, atrial diseases and atypical flutters. For conclusion: after becoming mandatory for bradycardias, cardiac pacing is conquering new indications on the fields of arrhythmias and cardiomyopathies. Within a close future, scientific evidences could definitely validate çardiac pacing using on these new fields.

[Contracted endocardial fibroelastosis in children: report of a case]. / La fibroelastose endocardique contractée de l'enfant: a propos d'un cas.

Endocardial fibroelastosis is un uncommon disease and it has a very bad prognosis since fatal evolution is usual before 2 years old. We report the case of a 20 years old woman who is affected with the contracted form of this disease associated with atrial septal defect (ASD) and mitral regurgitation. This disease was discovered by endocardial biopsy when she was 4 years old and underwent surgical resection of endocardial fibrosis, a patch on the ASD and mitral valve replacement. She was rehospitalised 15 years later with heart failure although continuous digitoxin therapy.