Reappraisal of classical electrocardiographic criteria in detecting accessory pathways with a strict para-Hisian location.

BACKGROUND: Identification of electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria for para-Hisian accessory pathways (APs) is based on a small series of patients. The presence of a negative delta wave in leads V(1) and V(2) has been suggested as an ECG marker of this AP location. OBJECTIVE: To validate these ECG findings in a large series of patients with strict invasive criteria for that location. METHODS: We included 105 patients (39 women, 66 men; mean age 26 ± 12 years, range 5-82 years) with an ECG pattern compatible with preexcitation through an anteroseptal or midseptal AP following established ECG criteria. A para-Hisian AP was defined when the location of its successful catheter ablation coincided with either the largest recordable His bundle electrogram or a His bundle potential of>0.1 mV. Patients without that definition were included in the control group. RESULTS: A para-Hisian location of the AP was found in 52 patients. AP locations of the remaining 53 patients (control group) were anteroseptal (n = 39), midseptal (n = 9), and fasciculoventricular (n = 5). A negative delta wave in leads V(1) and V(2) was observed in 13 patients with para-Hisian APs (sensitivity 25%; specificity 92%). However, the sum of initial r-wave amplitudes in those leads was<0.5 mV in 44 of the patients with para-Hisian APs and in 13 patients of the control group (sensitivity 85%; specificity 75.5%; area under receiver-operator characteristic curve 0.85). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of negative delta waves in leads V(1) and V(2) indicates a poor sensitivity and high specificity to detect APs with a strict definition of para-Hisian location. The sum of initial r-wave amplitudes in those ECG leads could be a useful, adjunctive marker in the noninvasive identification of these challenging APs.

El desfibrilador automático implantable: actualización para médicos de urgencias / The implantable automatic defibrillator: an update for emergency physicians

El desfibrilador automático implantable (DAI) constituye una opción terapéutica de reciente adquisición para el tratamiento y prevención de las arritmias ventriculares y la muerte súbita de origen cardíaco. Durante los últimos años se ha producido una relevante ampliación de sus indicaciones y, dado el creciente número de pacientes en los que hoy se puede identificar un riesgo elevado de padecer estas gravísimas situaciones, también a un aumento exponencial del número de implantes de dispositivos. Por último, los dispositivos más actuales incorporan otras funciones además de la posibilidad de liberar descargas de corriente, como la del registro de eventos arrítmicos, las funciones de estimulación antitaquicardia o antibradicardia y la función de resincronización cardíaca. Todo ello ilustra la importancia de conocer esta nueva arma terapéutica en los escenarios clínicos de la fase aguda. En la presente actualización se discuten los aspectos de mayor interés para los médicos de urgencias relativos a los fundamentos clínicos y electrofisiológicos, funcionamiento e indicaciones actuales de los DAI (AU)

The implantable automatic defibrillator (IAD) represents a recentlyacquired therapeutic option for the prevention and management of ventricular arrhythmias and cardiac sudden death. A significant increase of the indications for its use has occurred over the last few years and, considering the increasing number of patients in whom an increased risk of these most severe complications may today be identified, there has been also an exponential increase in the number of device implantations. Finally, the currently most advanced devices incorporate further functions beyond that of triggering electric discharges, such as arrhythmia event recording, anti-tachycardia or anti-bradycardia stimulation functions, or cardiac resynchronisation therapy. It is thus of utmost importance for the emergency physician to know the possibilities of this new therapeutic tool in all acute-phase clinical scenarios. The present review paper addresses those aspects with the greatest interest for the emergency physicians in the context of clinical and electrophysiological background, device function and current IAD indications (AU)

Manejo de los pacientes portadores de un desfibrilador automático implantable en los servicios de urgencias hospitalarias / Management of emergencies in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator

El desfibrilador automático implantable (DAI) constituye una de las principales opciones terapéuticas en los pacientes con arritmias ventriculares malignas, muerte súbita cardiaca o elevado riesgo de desarrollarlas. Por ello, el número de implantes de DAI y, por consiguiente, el número de pacientes portadores de DAI que presentan alguna complicación relacionada con el mismo ha aumentado significativamente en la última década. Estos pacientes se han convertido en frecuentadores potenciales de los Servicios de Urgencias Hospitalarios (SUH), hecho que, sin duda, se verá incrementado en los próximos años. El panel de consenso del Grupo de Trabajo de DAI de la Sección de Electrofisiología y Arritmias de la Sociedad Española de Cardiología (SEC) y el Grupo de Arritmias Cardíacas de la Sociedad Española de Medicina de Urgencias y Emergencias (SEMES) han elaborado un documento en el que se detallan las recomendaciones para el manejo de las principales situaciones urgentes que pueden presentar estos pacientes. El objetivo del mismo es mejorar la atención médica de éstos y promover un uso más racional de los recursos en los SUH. En él se hace especial hincapié en la evaluación inicial del paciente con DAI en el SUH y en las causas y manejo de las principales complicaciones: descargas del DAI esporádicas y múltiples, parada cardiaca, ausencia de intervención durante una arritmia ventricular, proarritmia inducida por el DAI, fallo de estimulación, síncope, infección del dispositivo, trombosis venosa asociada al DAI, interferencia con técnicas diagnósticas y terapéuticas, síndromes psiquiátricos en pacientes con DAI, alarmas acústicas, palpitaciones no asociadas a descargas y recomendaciones en pacientes terminales (AU)

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) have become one of the most important therapeutic options for patients with or with high risk of having life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Therefore, the number of device continues to grow and an increasing number of patients are experiencing complications related to ICD. Because these patients are potentials users of Emergency departments the number of visits related to ICD will be increase in the next years. The Consensus panel of the Working Group on ICD of the Electrophysiology and Arryhtmia Section of the Spanish Society of Cardiology and the Working Group on Cardiac Arrhythmia of the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine has developed a Consensus Document in which the main recommendations on the diagnosis and management of the emergency situations that could present these patients are reviewed. Its main objective is to facilitate delivery of optimal care for these patients and to promote a more rational use of the Emergency departments. In this document, special emphasis is done on the initial evaluation for the ICD patient at the Emergency department and on the causes and management of the main complications: single and multiple shocks, cardiac arrest, ventricular tahcyarrhythmias without ICD intervention, ICD-induced proarrhythmia, pacing malfunction, syncope, ICD system infection, venous thrombosis associated to ICD, interferences with diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, psychiatric syndromes in patients with ICD, acoustic alarms, palpitations not related to ICD shocks and terminal care issues (AU)

Vasoespasmo tras quimioterapia con 5-fluorouracilo / Coronary vasospasm after 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy

No disponible

Predictors of left atrial spontaneous echo contrast and thrombi in patients with mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the independent factors associated with the presence of left atrial (LA) spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) and thromboembolic events in patients with mitral stenosis (MS) in chronic atrial fibrillation (AF). Factors independently associated with LASEC, thrombi, and embolic events have been mainly investigated in patients with nonvalvular AF or inhomogeneous populations with rheumatic heart disease. Transesophageal and transthoracic echo studies were performed in 129 patients with MS in chronic AF. Previous embolic events were documented in 45 patients, 20 of them within 6 months, and 65 patients were receiving long-term anticoagulation. The intensity of LASEC and mitral regurgitation, the presence of thrombi and active LA appendage flow (peak velocities > or = 20 cm/s), and LA volume as well as other conventional echo-Doppler determinations were investigated in every patient. The prevalences of significant LASEC (degrees 3+ and 4+), thrombus, active LA appendage flow, and significant mitral regurgitation (>2+) were: 52% (67 patients), 29.5% (38 patients), 32% (41 patients), and 36% (47 patients), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that decreasing mitral regurgitation severity, absence of active LA appendage flow, and mitral valve area were the independent correlates of LASEC (odds ratio [OR] 3.7, 5.4, and 0.17, respectively; all p <0.02). Active LA appendage flow and anticoagulant therapy were associated negatively, whereas the severity of LASEC was associated positively with the finding of LA thrombus (OR 9.6, 3.9, and 1.6, respectively; all p <0.05). The intensity of LASEC and previous anticoagulant therapy (OR 1.74 and 4.5, respectively; p <0.005) were the independent covariates of thrombi and/or recent embolic events. In conclusion, the severity of mitral regurgitation and lack of active LA appendage flow were, respectively, the strongest independent correlates of significant LASEC and thrombus in patients with MS in chronic AF. LASEC remains the cardiac factor most strongly associated with thrombus and/or recent embolic events in these patients.

[The syndrome of mid-ventricular obstruction with apical aneurysm in hypertrophic myocardiopathy: presentation of a case]. / El "síndrome" de obstrucción medioventricular con aneurisma apical en la miocardiopatía hipertrófica: presentación de un caso.

We report an 81-year-old woman with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, midventricular obstruction and associated apical aneurysm partially dyskinetic. At admission she showed a lateral acute myocardial infarction with sustained episodes of uniform ventricular tachycardia and subtle cardiac physical findings. Old apical infarction was suggested by resting thallium defects in the absence of obstructive coronary disease. The ECG revealed persistent ST elevation in the anteroapical leads without Q waves at discharge. This case report represents a rare example, in a previously asymptomatic elderly woman, of a distinct syndrome within the wide clinical spectrum of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Ecocardiografía transesofágica intraoperatoria de rutina en la cirugía cardíaca: contribución y rentabilidad / Routine intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography in cardiac surgery: usefulness and rentability

Objetivo: Analizar la rentabilidad y contribución con ecocardiografía transesofágica (ETE) intraoperatoria de rutina en cirugía cardíaca en enfermos no seleccionados. Descripción de su metodología, técnica y aplicaciones. Análisis de sus ventajas y rendimiento diagnóstico en un hospital de referencia cardiológica (Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón. Madrid. España). Resultados: El ETE precirculación extracorpórea (CEC) revela información no diagnosticada previamente, alterando su cualificación en once pacientes (8,5 por ciento), modificando la estrategia quirúrgica a seguir en siete (5,4 por ciento). El ETE post-CEC realizado después de la estabilización hemodinámica, determinó alteraciones en la actuación quirúrgica en 13 casos (10,0 por ciento); evitó una intervención quirúrgica programada (colocación de un anillo tricúspide) y una nueva cirugía en un caso, condujo a tres cirugías no previstas (al demostrar tres casos de regurgitación tricúspide significativa), a un segundo procedimiento quirúrgico sobre la misma válvula en seis pacientes ("Leak" paravalvular mitral con regurgitación significativa un caso, disfunción protésica mitral por bloqueo de hemidisco- 1 caso, insuficiencia mitral residual severa después de la cirugía reconstructiva- 3 pacientes, disfunción de prótesis aórtica- 1 paciente), la colocación de balón intra-aórtico en un caso y la reentrada en CEC debido a extracción insuficiente del pericardio calcificado en un caso de pericarditis constrictiva. En 23 casos (17,7 por ciento) el ETE alteró el procedimiento anestésico al revelar signos de alteraciones hemodinámicas previamente al catéter de Swan-Ganz conduciendo a un diferente manejo de fluidos (expansión de volumen), agentes inotrópicos o vasodilatadores. En forma global la ETE intraoperatoria modificó la conducta quirúrgica o anestésica o ambas en 43 casos (33,0 por ciento). No se presentaron dificultades en su realización ni complicaciones en el período peri-operatorio relacionadas con la técnica. Conclusión: De estos datos se deduce que la técnica Doppler color transesofágica es un método idóneo para valorar los resultados correctores de la cirugía cardíaca, así como resulta de elección para valorar la severidad de la insuficiencia mitral intraoperatoriamente. Asimismo puede ser utilizada para valorar el resultado corrector inmediato de la insuficiencia tricúspide y en su caso indicar la reintervención...

[The mitral valve apparatus in hypertrophic myocardiopathy: observations by transesophageal echocardiography]. / El aparato valvular mitral en la miocardiopatía hipertrófica: observaciones por ecocardiografía transesofágica.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: We analyzed the characteristics of mitral valve apparatus by transesophageal echocardiography in a consecutive series of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. METHODS: We performed a transesophageal study in 60 patients; 35 of them had intraventricular obstruction at basal state. The following measurements and observations were made in the frontal long-axis transesophageal plane: a) length of both mitral leaflets and dimensions of left ventricular outflow tract that were compared with those obtained from 25 normal subjects; b) structure involved in the systolic anterior mitral motion; c) mechanism of mitral regurgitation, and d) sequence of systolic events. RESULTS: Compared with control subjects (anterior mitral leaflet: 2.86 +/- 0.3 cm, posterior mitral leaflet: 1.62 +/- 0.2 and 1.7 +/- 0.2 cm, respectively; the mitral leaflets were longer in patients with and without subaortic obstruction (anterior leaflet: 2.3 +/- 0.1; posterior leaflet: 1.07 both, p < 0.01). Systolic anterior motion was observed in 49 patients, with mitral leaflet-septal contact in 87% of patients with obstruction and in 11% of nonobstructive patients (p < 0.01). Structures participating in this phenomenon were: distal portion of the anterior mitral leaflet (77.5%), of both mitral leaflets (18.4%) and anomalous chordae (4.1%); in 5 patients the obstruction was located at a more distal level. Mitral regurgitation was observed in 43 patients; in 37 of them the jet was posteriorly directed in late systole. Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy have longer mitral leaflets with frequent associated abnormalities suggesting that this disease is not confined to myocardium and that leaflet length is not the sole determinant of the obstruction; 2) in almost 80% of patients the systolic anterior motion was produced by the distal anterior mitral leaflet resulting in incomplete coaptation in mid-systole; 3) the sequence of systolic events was ejection/obstruction/leak.

[Accuracy and clinical applicability of the echocardiographic automated endocardial boundary detection system: correlation and bias analysis]. / Precisión y aplicabilidad clínica del sistema ecocardiográfico de detección automática de bordes endocárdicos: análisis de correlación y de sesgo.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Automated edge detection of endocardial borders is a new echo system that permits on-line delineation and tracking of blood-tissue interface and offers promise for measuring cyclic changes in cavity area and the assessment of left ventricular function on-line. Its accuracy has only been analyzed by linear regression and its applicability in unselected patients is not clearly established. METHODS: We analyzed the accuracy and clinical applicability of the system in 150 patients. Its accuracy was assessed not only by linear regression but also by bias analysis by comparing the results of the system with those obtained by manual tracing from parasternal short-axis and apical 4 chamber views. RESULTS: We obtained satisfactory studies with this system in at least one of the two echo views in 66% of patients: 47% from 4-chambers view, 43% from parasternal short-axis view and 24.6% from both echo views. A visual semiquantitative assessment of left ventricular function could be performed in 88.6% of patients (p < 0.001). On-line and hand-traced left ventricular areas there well correlated, but fractional area change values from both methods correlated less closely. 95% limits of agreement between both methods were: 2.8 +/- 5.5 cm2 (end-diastolic area), 1 +/- 4.4 cm2 (end-systolic area) and 1.2 +/- 23% (fractional area change) in short-axis parasternal view; in apical 4-chambers view these limits were: 1.16 +/- 6.4 cm2,--1.1 +/- 6 cm2 and 7.3 +/- 16%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although the correlations between left ventricular areas from both methods were close the limits of agreement exceeded our acceptable range of reproducibility. Fractional area change showed only moderate correlations and a lack of agreement with off-line method. Poor image quality of the conventional echo still limits the clinical applicability of the current automated edge detection system.

[The accuracy and applicability of different methods in the Doppler technic for the quantification of mitral stenosis]. / Precisión y aplicabilidad de los diversos métodos en técnica Doppler para la cuantificación de la estenosis mitral.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: We analyse the applicability and accuracy of the various Doppler methods for quantification of mitral stenosis as well as the value of combining measurements. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study comprised 74 patients with reliable planimetry of mitral orifice. The following Doppler methods were tested: a) pressure half-time; b) color jet width at the mitral valve orifice in the apical long-axis view (short diameter) and its width in the 90 degree rotated view (long diameter), assuming an elliptic mitral orifice; c) proximal isovelocity surface area from the 4-chamber view assuming a hemispheric surface, and d) the continuity equation. The mean value of mitral valve area estimates from all applicable Doppler methods was calculated in each patient. RESULTS: The rates of applicability of each method were, respectively: 85, 97, 97 and 53% (p < 0.01). The correlations--r (SEE)--between each method and planimetry were: 0.86 (0.17 cm2), 0.81 (0.19 cm2), 0.74 (0.21 cm2) and 0.83 (0.18 cm2), respectively. The highest correlation was found with the mean value (r = 0.90; SEE = 0.14 cm2), and only this parameter was selected by stepwise multiple regression analysis (r = 0.93; SEE = 0.12 cm2). CONCLUSIONS: The continuity equation method has the lowest level of obtainable results owing to the high incidence of mitral regurgitation. The mean value of mitral area estimates from all applicable methods in each patient showed the closest correlation with planimetry, thus the performance of these Doppler methods provides improved accuracy in the quantification of mitral stenosis.

[Perforation of the mitral valve: transesophageal echocardiographic diagnosis in 3 cases]. / Perforación de la válvula mitral: diagnóstico por ecocardiografía transesofágica en 3 casos.

We submit 3 cases of perforation of the mitral valve leaflet as a consequence of infectious endocarditis. In the first of this cases, perforation was the result of the impact of the regurgitant jet of an aortic insufficiency affected by bacterial endocarditis of the anterior mitral leaflet in a young female presenting various congenital malformations. Both the transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography showed that the regurgitant jet affected the area where the lesions were later detected. In the other 2 cases the perforation appeared in valves previously affected by endocarditis. In these cases, only the transesophageal echocardiography showed the lesions. Surgery was performed in all 3 cases with satisfactory results, confirming the echocardiographical findings. We wish to emphasize the role of transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of this rare process that may be the primary effect of the destructive action of the endocarditis, or a secondary effect, on dissemination by means of affected valves, on previously unaffected valvular leaflets.

[The progression of a postinfarct interventricular communication: an echocardiographic follow-up]. / Progresión de una comunicación interventricular postinfarto: seguimiento ecocardiográfico.

An 80-year-old female patient presented rupture of the interventricular septum as complication of acute anteroseptal myocardial infarction. Serial echocardiographic studies documented progressive increase in size of the apical defect over 16 hours. This observation highlights a potential hazard if surgical repair is deferred to "stabilize" hemodynamically the patient before the intervention.

[Usefulness of carotid sinus massage for Doppler quantification of mitral stenosis in sinus rhythm]. / Utilidad del masaje del seno carotídeo en la cuantificación por técnica Doppler de la estenosis mitral en ritmo sinusal.

The quantification of mitral stenosis by pressure half-time method may be difficult in sinus rhythm with short deceleration slopes. To evaluate the usefulness of carotid sinus massage (CSM) for measuring mitral valve area by pressure half-time, 80 consecutive patients with mitral stenosis in sinus rhythm underwent a echo-Doppler study at basal heart rate and during right CSM. In both situations we measured: heart rate, mitral area by pressure half-time and E-F interval (time from E peak velocity to onset of atrial contraction). In 38 consecutive patients we also determined the mitral area by planimetry. The study group was divided into patients with basal E-F interval < or = 150 ms and a HR > or = 75 bpm (group A, 28 patients [35%]) and those with a basal E-F interval > 150 ms who showed a heart rate < 75 bpm (group B, 52 patients). In the group A, the values obtained at basal heart rate vs after CSM were: heart rate, 86 +/- 9 vs 61.6 +/- 10.5 lpm; E-F interval, 109 +/- 33 vs 372 +/- 136 ms; mitral area, 1.88 +/- 0.5 vs 1.23 +/- 0.29 cm2 (p < 0.001). In the group B, these values were: 69.7 +/- 6.6 vs 53 +/- 11 bpm, 253 +/- 60 vs 510 +/- 212 ms y 1.34 +/- 0.3 vs 1.18 +/- 0.32 cm2, respectively (p < 0.01). Mean differences in Doppler mitral areas between both situations for groups A and B were: 0.63 +/- 0.3 cm2 and 0.17 +/- 0.1 cm2, respectively (p < 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Transesophageal echocardiography in the assessment of coronary artery anatomy and blood flow]. / Ecocardiografía transesofágica en la valoración de la anatomía y flujo de las arterias coronarias.

Proximal coronary artery anatomy and coronary blood flow was evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography in 41 consecutive patients without coronary artery disease. The left main coronary artery was visualized in 37 patients (90%), the left anterior descending coronary artery in 20 (48%), the left circumflex artery in 16 (39%) and the right coronary artery in 7 (17%). The image quality was optimal in 58% of patients in left main coronary artery, 29% in left anterior descending coronary artery, 24% in left circumflex artery and 5% in right coronary artery. Transesophageal Pulsed Doppler echocardiography evaluation of blood flow velocity in the left coronary artery was obtained in 37% of patients. Velocity flow pattern was biphasic with greater diastolic component and smaller systolic one (average peak flow velocity of 47.5 +/- 16.6 cm/seg during diastole and 23.1 +/- 9.5 cm/seg during systole). Coronary blood flow was detected by transesophageal color Doppler echocardiography in 51% of patients in left main coronary artery, 24% in left anterior descending coronary artery, 19% in left circumflex artery and 2% in right coronary artery. We conclude that transesophageal echocardiography provides better and more accurate visualization of proximal coronary arteries than transthoracic echocardiography, but technical limitations still remain to detect and evaluate coronary artery anatomy and coronary blood flow in a large number of patients.

[Transesophageal echocardiography study of the left atrium and the mitral valve plane after heart transplantation]. / Estudio mediante ecocardiografía transesofágica de la aurícula izquierda y del plano valvular mitral tras el trasplante cardíaco.

To assess the anatomy of the left atrium and mitral plane after heart transplantation, we performed a transesophageal echocardiographic study to 37 consecutive transplant patients. After heart transplantation no patient was under anticoagulant treatment and no case of atrial fibrillation was documented. The transesophageal approach allowed us to measure the left atrial free wall suture which was: less than 15 mm in 14 patients, between 15 and 25 mm in 16 patients, and more than 25 mm in 7 patients. In those patients with a left atrial free wall suture greater than 15 mm, blood flow turbulences within the "niche" underneath the protruding suture as well as blood flow acceleration at the rim of that suture were noted. In 4 patients a "pseudoaneurysm" of the interatrial septum was observed. Two patients had mitral valve prolapse. Mitral regurgitation was noted in 17 patients (46%) by color Doppler transesophageal echocardiography and graded as mild in 15 patients and moderate in 2 cases. In 16 patients (43%) spontaneous echo contrast within the left atrium was detected by transesophageal echocardiography. Both major and minor axis as well as left atrial area in patients with and without dynamic echoes were, respectively: 72.5 +/- 12.2 mm vs 56.9 +/- 5.9 mm (p < 0.001), 48.3 +/- 7.1 mm vs 39 +/- 7.9 mm (p < 0.001), and 35.4 +/- 7.1 cm2 vs 24.4 +/- 5.2 cm2 (p < 0.001). Atrial thrombi were not detected. After a mean follow-up of 15 +/- 10.7 months there was no arterial thromboembolism in patients with spontaneous contrast.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Diagnostic usefulness of 2-dimensional echocardiography in eosinophilic endomyocardial disease (Loeffler disease)]. / Utilidad diagnóstica de la ecocardiografía bidimensional en la enfermedad endomiocárdica eosinofílica (enfermedad de Löffler).

We present an uncommon case of idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome with cardiac involvement (fibroplastic parietal endocarditis --Löffler's disease--) in a 48-year-old female with congestive heart failure and hypereosinophilia. The 2-D echo findings (biventricular apical obliteration by echogenic endomyocardial proliferations with normal systolic inward motion) were the clue for the diagnosis that was hemodynamically and pathologically confirmed subsequently. We emphasize the diagnostic value of two-dimensional echocardiography in this condition and review the literature on it.