Ambulatory oesophageal pressure, pH and ECG recording in patients with normal and pathological coronary angiography and intermittent chest pain.

The present study was performed to compare pain-related oesophageal motility, gastro-oesophageal reflux and ST-segment deviations in patients with intermittent chest pain and normal or pathological coronary angiography. Thirty patients (11 males, 19 females; mean age 54.8 years) with normal and 15 patients (12 males, 3 females; mean age 66.7 years) with pathological coronary angiography were investigated by 24-h oesophageal pressure, pH and ECG recording. Chest pain correlated with motility abnormalities or gastro-oesophageal reflux occurred in 33% (10/30) of patients with normal coronary arteries and in 26% of patients with pathological coronary angiography. Symptomatic and asymptomatic ST-segment changes were less frequently observed in patients with normal angiography (4/30) than in patients with pathological coronary angiography (7/14; P = 0.02). Oesophageal dysfunction coincided with ST-segment deviation in 6.7% (2/30) of patients with normal and 40% (6/15) of patients with pathological coronary angiography (P = 0.02). The conclusions reached were: (1) pain-correlated abnormal motility or gastro-oesophageal reflux occurred in patients with normal and pathological coronary angiography at the same frequency; (2) ambulatory motility and pH recording alone does not appear to differentiate between cardiac and non-cardiac chest pain; (3) simultaneous ECG recording reveals a significant correlation of ST-segment deviation and gastro-oesophageal reflux or abnormal motility in patients with coronary artery stenosis.

Particularities of dual chamber pacemaker therapy in patients after orthotopic heart transplantation.

Since August 1981, 33 orthotopic heart transplantations were performed in our hospital. Three of these patients (9%) had sinus bradycardias with rates as low as 30 beats/min; they were treated by implantation of a dual chamber pacemaker. These patients had two atria as a result of orthotopic heart transplantation, but only the donor atrium was suitable for positioning the atrial lead. In the postoperative period, some nonsurgical complications were observed in one patient who developed atrial fibrillation which we treated with drugs. A cyclosporin-evoked tremor produced several asystoles due to false inhibition by myopotential interference in the VVI mode. During an episode of acute rejection combined with renal insufficiency, loss of atrial and ventricular sensing occurred. The other patients showed no pacemaker-related complications. Our findings in this unique population of pacemaker patients are discussed.

Noninvasive control of the early postimplantation period.

Modern programmable pacemakers often incorporate features that allow one to perform a series of diagnostic maneuvers to aid in postimplantation surveillance. These features often include noninvasive measurements of thresholds, lead impedance, and intracardiac electrogram recognition via telemetry circuits. Interindividual differences in these measurements are so great that one must utilize individual comparisons for longitudinal studies of reliability. While these devices allow "fine tuning" of individual units, they require major time-consuming efforts and add to the total device costs.

Beneficial effects of intracoronary nifedipine during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

In twelve patients with coronary heart disease and hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenoses (LAD: 11, LAD plus RCA: 1) the effect of intracoronary nifedipine, 0.2 mg, on PTCA-related myocardial ischemia was evaluated. The severity of angina pectoris during balloon inflation was not significantly reduced by nifedipine, whereas the sum of ST segment alterations in Einthoven and Goldberger leads on inflation was significantly decreased by the drug. Before inflation intracoronary nifedipine lowered the systolic arterial blood pressure significantly, whereas diastolic and mean aortic pressure and heart rate remained unchanged. At the end of the inflation period heart rates were significantly faster after nifedipine, and the heart rate-blood pressure product higher with nifedipine. No significant correlations could be calculated between the extent of ST segment alterations and any of the hemodynamic parameters. From our results we conclude that, besides the possibility of ventricular afterload reduction, the beneficial cardioprotective effect of intracoronary nifedipine may mainly be attained by the local "cardioplegic" action of this substance.

Cardiopulmonary effects of betamimetic tocolytic and glucocorticoid therapy in pregnant women.

In 35 present women, undergoing tocolytic treatment with betamimetics had intensive monitoring by balloon-tipped catheter. After the administration of 2-4 micrograms/min of fenoterol the cardiac output (CO) increased from 8.2 l/min to over 11 l/min with a corresponding increase in mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP) from 11.7 mmHg to over 18 mmHg. The correlation coefficient between MPAP/CO was highly significant. In the 10 patients in whom we were able to monitor pulmonary capillary pressure (PCP), we observed no significant increase to suggest compromised cardiac performance. The calculated total resistance of the pulmonary vessels (TPR) decreased during the first 24 h followed by a return to initial values. Our investigations suggest that the principal cardiovascular effect of betamimetics in pregnant women is a volume-dependent increase in pressure in the pulmonary circulation. The simultaneous administration of betamethasone had no additional effects.

[Endocardial cardioversion--a new method for treating recurrent ventricular tachycardia]. / Die endokardiale Kardioversion--eine neue Methode zur Behandlung rezidivierender ventrikulärer Tachykardien.

The effect of endocardial cardioversion was investigated in 17 patients (aged 26-76 years), ten of them with ventricular tachycardia, either spontaneous or initiated by programmable stimulation. During a total of 14 days of observation there were 33 episodes of spontaneous or induced ventricular tachycardia. A special cardioverter catheter had been placed into the right ventricle and endocardial microshocks were given ranging from 0.05-2.0 J. All patients could feel the shock, but in most instances it was mild to moderate, in only one painful. The tachycardia was slowed in 20% of all microshocks, moderate acceleration occurred in 6%, while in 71% the tachycardia rate remained unchanged. In 7 out of 65 microshocks sinus rhythm occurred spontaneously, after an interval in which the tachycardia slowed. Atrial fibrillation was induced in 6% of cases, but there was no instance of ventricular fibrillation. Reversion directly to sinus rhythm after endocardial cardioversion occurred in 26 of 33 episodes of ventricular tachycardia, while in 7 episodes the tachycardia rate slowed. In no case was it necessary to use external DC cardioversion to terminate a ventricular tachycardia. Threshold values for successful cardioversion of ventricular tachycardia averaged 0.77 (+/- 0.63) J. In one patient, atrial flutter with a relatively high A-V conduction rate was converted into atrial fibrillation by an intra-atrial microshock of 5.0 J. Thus endocardial cardioversion proved effective and safe in terminating ventricular tachycardia, even in patients in whom anti-tachycardic ventricular pacemaker stimulation had failed. The method is apparently not suitable for the conversion of supraventricular tachy-arrhythmias to sinus rhythm.

[Value of the dipyridamole test in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease. Comparison with the stress ECG and coronary angiogram]. / Stellenwert des Dipyridamol-Tests in der Diagnostik der koronaren Herzkrankheit. Vergleich mit Belastungs-EKG und Koronarangiogramm.

In 500 patients suffering from angina pectoris (454 males, 46 females) in whom coronary angiography had been performed a dipyridamole test was carried out. The test was positive in 319 of 396 patients with stenosing coronary heart disease (sensitivity 80%); ECG changes typical of ischaemia were demonstrated in 51%. The exercise ECG test was positive in only 68% of 229 patients with coronary heart disease. Among 104 patients without stenosing coronary heart disease the dipyridamole test was false-positive in 47, giving a specificity of 55%, while in 17 (16%) there were false-positive ECG-changes. The exercise test was falsely positive in 20 of 38 patients without stenosing coronary heart disease (specificity of 47%). Coronary blood flow was measured with the argon technique in 19 of 47 with a false-positive dipyridamole test and three with a false-positive exercise ECG. Maximal pharmacologically induced coronary blood flow was significantly reduced in all so that the diagnosis of "atypical coronary heart disease" or "small vessel disease" was made. The dipyridamole test or the exercise ECG test were falsely positive in these patients only with regard to the coronary arteriogram, correctly positive, however, in relation to angiographically non-demonstrable coronary blood flow abnormalities. The dipyridamole test is complementary to the exercise ECG test and has comparable accuracy. The same precautions must be observed for both tests.

Exercise capacity before and after cardiac valve surgery.

Exercise stress testing and right-heart catheterization were carried out in 131 patients before and 6 months after cardiac valve surgery. The exercise capacity increased only a little in patients with mitral or double-valve surgery. In contrast, most patients with an aortic valve replacement had good exercise performance after surgery. Corresponding to the reduced exercise capacity most of the patients also had disturbed hemodynamics after surgery, with an elevated mean pulmonary artery pressure at rest, that raised inappropriately during exercise, and a diminished cardiac output at rest, that failed to increase during exercise, in relation to oxygen uptake.

[Valve replacement for mitral in incompetence in a patient with osteogenesis imperfecta (author's transl)]. / Herzklappenersatzoperation bei hochgradiger Mitralinsuffizienz im Rahmen der Osteogenesis imperfecta tarda.

Reports on aortic and mitral valve alterations in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta, a congenital connective tissue disorder, are sparse in the literature. Aortic valve incompetence is more common than mitral valve dysfunction. Though the clinico-pathological and histological features of valve alterations are very similar to those seen in Marfan's Syndrome, valve dysfunctions in osteogenesis imperfecta are rarer than in Marfan's Syndrome. In a 23-year-old patient with typical clinical feature of osteogenesis imperfecta, mitral incompetence was detected by echo- and angiography. Patient was provided with a St.-Jude-Medica prosthesis and postoperative course was without any complications.

[What is the exercise capacity of patients with heart infarction after surgery of heart wall aneurysms?]. / Wie belastbar sind Infarktpatienten mit operierten Herzwand- Aneurysmen?

29 patients with a postinfarction left ventricular aneurysm underwent an aneurysmectomy. The majority of patients exhibited a marked symptomatic improvement, a decrease in pulmonary artery pressure and an increase in cardiac index. The exercise capacity however was lower than normal in 80%. Good results were especially seen in patients with involvement of only one major coronary vessel by coronary artery disease and a good contractile function of the residual myocardium not involved by aneurysm.

Electrophysiological effects of cardioselective and non-cardioselective beta-adrenoceptor blockers with and without ISA at rest and during exercise.

1 In 46 patients (16 female and 30 male), aged between 18 and 73 years and effect of acute beta-adrenoceptor blockade with i.v. pindolol, acebutolol and atenolol has been studied at rest and during ergometric exercise, during routine intracardiac His bundle investigations. 2 At rest the functional parameters of the sinus node were impaired most markedly by atenolol. A-V nodal conduction was more depressed with acebutolol and atenolol than with pindolol. The His-Purkinje system conduction remained unaffected by all three beta-adrenoceptor blocking agents. 3 During ergometric exercise the depressant action of beta-adrenoceptor blockade on sinus nodal function with lower heart rates and on A-V nodal conduction with slower conduction velocities was equieffective with pindolol, acebutolol and atenolol. His-Purkinje system conduction again remained unchanged with one exception that after administration of pindolol, conduction rate during exercise was faster than before beta-adrenoceptor blockade. 4 It may be concluded that, in patients with low heart rates, an antagonist such as pindolol with relatively pronounced intrinsic sympathomimetic activity can be considered to be the drug of choice. In contrast, patients with higher heart rates at rest should be treated with a cardioselective betablocker without ISA. Patients with overt Sick Sinus Syndrome should not be given beta-adrenoceptor blockers at all. 5 Physical activity may change (improve or impair) the antiarrhythmic potency of beta-adrenoceptor blockers used in the treatment of supraventricular tachycardias or tachyarrhythmias.