A matched comparison of the combination of prehospital thrombolysis and standby rescue angioplasty with primary angioplasty.

This study sought to assess the rate of acute Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) trial grade 3 patency that can be achieved with the combination of prehospital thrombolysis and standby rescue angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction. No large angiographic study has been performed after prehospital thrombolysis to determine the 90-minute TIMI 3 patency rate in the infarct-related artery. Hospital outcome and artery patency were compared to 170 matched patients treated with primary angioplasty. Prehospital thrombolysis was applied 151+/-61 minutes after the onset of pain in 170 patients (56+/-12 years, 86% men), using recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator, streptokinase, or eminase. Emergency 90-minute angiography was performed in every case. All patients in whom thrombolysis failed underwent rescue angioplasty. After thrombolysis alone, TIMI grade 3 flow in the infarct-related artery was observed in 108 patients (64%), TIMI grade 2 in 12 (7%), and TIMI grade 0 or 1 in 50 (29%). Rescue angioplasty was successful in 47 of 50 attempts. Overall, TIMI 3 patency was achieved in 91%, and additionally TIMI 2 flow in 7% of patients, an average of 113+/-39 minutes after thrombolysis and 55+19 minutes after admission. Therefore, < 2 hours after thrombolysis, only 2% of patients had persistent occlusion (TIMI 0 or 1) of the infarct-related artery. In-hospital mortality was 4% overall (7 of 170), and 3% in the 155 patients in whom TIMI 3 was obtained during the acute phase. Severe hemorrhagic complications occurred in 14 patients (8%) with 2 fatal cerebral hemorrhages (7% of patients required transfusions). The matched comparison with primary PTCA showed no significant difference in hospital outcome. Combined prehospital thrombolysis, 90-minute angiography, and rescue angioplasty yield a high rate of acute TIMI 3 patency rate early after thrombolysis and hospital admission. A randomized, prospective comparison between these 2 reperfusion strategies may be now warranted.

[Management during the first hours following myocardial infarction. Round table]. / Prise en charge dans les premières heures de l'infarctus du myocarde. Table ronde.

Myocardial infarction, due to complete occlusion of a coronary artery, is a frequent disease which must be diagnosed as rapidly as possible on the basis of clinical and electrocardiographic arguments in order to allow rapid medicalized management; medical ambulance, followed by admission to the intensive care unit. Treatment is designed to disobstruct the coronary occlusion as rapidly as possible, either by intravenous fibrinolysis or by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in a specialized centre. The subsequent assessment (stress test, coronary angiography) guides the indications for secondary revascularization.

[Prehospital fibrinolysis with rt-PA in acute myocardial infarction]. / Fibrinolyse préhospitalière par rt-PA dans l'infarctus aigu du myocarde.

Thrombolytic therapy has been shown to be very effective in the acute phase of myocardial infarction and the benefits are greater if the treatment is initiated as soon as possible. In France, early treatment in the prehospital phase is possible through the SAMU, an emergency ambulance and care unit organisation. Between December 1987 and November 1988, 80 patients (73 men and 7 women) with an average age of 55 +/- 9 years were treated by rt-PA (100 mg i.v. in 90 minutes) for acute myocardial infarction within three and a half hours of the onset of symptoms. The average delay between the onset of pain and the administration of rt-PA was 126 +/- 43 minutes, which represents an estimated average time gain of 55 minutes compared with thrombolysis started after hospital admission. No haemorrhagic or allergic complications occurred during hospital transfer and there was no mortality. There were, however, two diagnostic errors. Thrombolysis was estimated to be effective on clinical, electrocardiographic and enzymatic criteria in 60 p. 100 of cases. Thirty early coronary angiographies (within 48 hours) showed that 83 p. 100 of the arteries thought to be responsible for the infarct were patent. Haemorrhage was a rare complication during the hospital phase and had a favourable outcome. Hospital mortality was 6 per cent. The low morbidity and the reliability of diagnosis indicate that prehospital thrombolysis is feasible in the acute phase of myocardial infarction.

[2 cases of agenesis of the left coronary trunk in adults]. / Deux observations d'agénésie du tronc coronaire gauche chez l'adulte.

Agenesis of the left main coronary artery is a congenital condition the prognosis of which is reputed to be good in adults, provided no associated heart disease is present. The first case reported here illustrates the benign character of the anomaly. In contrast, the second case shows that when associated with proximal atheromatous stenosis of the single right coronary artery the anomaly may have catastrophic consequences. The anatomical variants and morbid associations of left main coronary artery agenesis are described.

[Intracoronary fracture of a guidewire tip in percutaneous coronary angioplasty]. / Rupture intracoronaire de l'extrémité d'un guide d'angioplastie coronaire percutanée.

The authors report a case of intracoronary rupture of the tip of a guidewire used for angioplasty. They discuss its mechanism and management. The hazards involved in re-using coronary dilatation material are underlined.

[Sick sinus syndrome in children with a "healthy heart". Apropos of 2 cases with direct endocavitory tracing of the sino-atrial block]. / Maladie du sinus chez l'enfant à "coeur sain". A propos de deux cas avec enregistrement direct endocavitaire du bloc sino-auriculaire.

The sinus disease in children with "healthy hearts" is exceptional, and has never been documented by tracing of the sinus node. We are reporting two cases of two children, aged 4 and 14 years. An electrophysiological exploration with measurement of the direct activity of the sinus node, illustrates in one case the mechanism of sinus dysfunction. A review from the literature and our cases specifies some of the characteristics of this disease: 1) there are two forms: sporadic (case n. 1) 59 published cases, and familial (case n. 2) 28 published cases in 13 families; 2) the familial forms have a dominant autosomic transmission with variable penetration; 3) the disease may occur during the first days of life, suggesting a congenital origin (from the pathology findings, this disease may be one of the causes of the unexplained sudden death syndrome in infants; 4) association to atrio-ventricular conduction disorders and atrial and ventricular rhythm disorders; 5) frequent indication of stimulators, emphasizing the severity of this disease with a more severe course in sporadic forms (7 deaths in 59 cases).

[Cardiotoxicity of 5-fluorouracil: coronary spasm? Apropos of 2 cases with normal coronarography]. / Cardiotoxicité du 5-fluoro-uracile: spasme coronaire? A propos de 2 observation avec coronarographie normale.

Five fluoro-uracil (5-FU) is a cytotoxic drug which has been extensively used for chemotherapy since 1957. Ischaemic heart disease resulting from its administration is rare. Spontaneous angina during infusions of 5-FU was observed in two patients with electrocardiographic changes suggesting coronary spasm. After treatment, clinical examination, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, stress test, coronary angiography with left ventriculography were all normal. An Ergonovine test was performed in one patient but failed to elicit coronary spasm. In the other patient, intravenous trinitrin and diltiazem were ineffective in preventing the ischaemic changes. A review of the literature is presented (51 cases). The pathophysiology of 5-FU-induced ischaemic heart disease is not fully understood. In 9 cases, coronary angiography was normal and coronary spasm was suggested as a possible cause. However, antispastic drugs are usually ineffective. It has been shown experimentally that 5-FU has a direct toxic effect on the myocardium.

[Prognostic factors in dilated cardiomyopathies]. / Facteurs pronostiques des cardiomyopathies dilatées.

One hundred and sixteen patients (mean age 46 years) with dilated cardiomyopathy documented by haemodynamic investigations and angiography with normal coronary arteriography were followed up for a mean period of 29 +/- 19 months. During that period, 36% of the patients died after a follow-up of 30 +/- 20 months. The actuarial death rates were 15% at 2 years, 45% at 6 years and 60% at 10 years. The main factors predictive of survival at 10 years were the clinical and haemodynamic markers of left heart failure. The death rate was multiplied by 1.6 in patients in stages III or IV of the NYHA classification (83% vs 51%, p less than 0.01), by 2.6 in patients with left ventricular end-diastolic pressure above 15 mmHg (73% vs 29%, p less than 0.01), by 2.2 when the indexed end-diastolic volume rose above 200 ml/m2 (75% vs 35%, p less than 0.01), by 2.2 when the left ventricular ejection fraction was below 40% (75% vs 35%, p less than 0.05) and by 2.6 when angiographic mitral valve regurgitation was present (75% vs 34%, p less than 0.01). The death rate at 9 years was 2.3 times higher in patients with left bundle branch block (72% vs 36%, p less than 0.05). A cardiothoracic index over 0.60 proved to be of poor prognosis at one year (death rate: 19%). While alcoholism played no part in the prognosis, the death rate in smokers was consistently higher than in non smokers (56% vs 32% at 6 years, p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Hemodynamic effects on intravenous propafenone in hypertrophic myocardiopathy]. / Effets hémodynamiques de la propafénone intraveineuse dans la myocardiopathie hypertrophique.

None of the medical treatments of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is perfect. In the present study conducted on 11 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in whom the usual treatments were either ineffective or badly tolerated, the haemodynamic effects of propafenone administered intravenously were investigated. The drug was injected centrally in doses of 2 mg/kg over 10 minutes, then by continuous intravenous infusion of 1.5 mg/min during 30 minutes. Various parameters were recorded before and after propafenone treatment by right and left cardiac catheterization. This anti-arrhythmic drug, which has beta-blocking and amiodarone-like properties, reduced left intraventricular obstruction but had no beneficial effect on diastolic function. The baseline and induced left intraventricular gradients were reduced from 30.4 to 17.7 mmHg and from 74 to 43 mmHg respectively. Diastolic function values showed a fall in dp/dt min from 1470 to 1307 mm/sec and an increase in T value from 0.066 to 0.084. The use of propafenone in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy must be accurately determined by long-term oral studies.

[Late effect of intracoronary urokinase. Apropos of a case of recurrent coronary thrombosis after angioplasty]. / Effet retardé de l'urokinase intracoronaire. A propos d'un cas de thrombose coronaire itérative après angioplastie.

The authors report a case of percutaneous dilatation of a coronary artery performed immediately after a mild myocardial infarction and complicated by occlusive thrombosis without dissection, despite a presumably effective anticoagulant treatment. A second dilatation resulted in rapid recanalization of the artery, but recurrent thrombosis developed at the site of dilatation. The thrombotic process was controlled with an intracoronary infusion of urokinase and higher doses of intravenous heparin, but only after a long delay (80 minutes). This case suggests that in similar circumstances one must wait long enough before referring the patient to a surgical unit for emergency aorto-coronary bypass.

[Dilated cardiomyopathy: electrocardiographic forms]. / Myocardiopathie dilatée: formes électrocardiographiques.

The shape of the QRS complex was analyzed in 90 cases of dilated cardiomyopathy and was divided into 6 electrocardiographic types which may be interpreted as follows: A predominant S wave in V2, V3 and V4 leads, surrounded by a reduced QRS voltage in the other leads was the most frequent characteristic pattern, being found in 31 cases (34.4%). This pattern coexisted with a lack of R wave progression from V1 to V4, with primary disorders of ST-T and with alterations in P wave. The deep S wave is probably due to a growth of vectors in the base of the left ventricle and in the septum in response to lesions in the rest of the myocardium. Second in frequency (22.2%) came left bundle branch block, with 20 cases. If to these are added the 19 cases of left anterior half-block observed, dilated cardiomyopathy appears as the major cause of the cardiac pathology that partially or completely interrupts the left branch. These cases also show that the lesions predominate in the left ventricle. The 14 cases (15.5%) of QS with elevated and convex ST-T betray extensive areas of fibrosis or necrosis. This pattern is characteristically located at the apex of the heart and associated with ventricular tachycardia. In 11 cases (12.2%) the QRS complex was normal in shape but associated with depressed ST-T and atrial disorders. This shows that the ventricular myocardium which produces QRS is neither badly damaged nor hypertrophic, but that repolarization is highly sensitive to the constant alterations of the subendocardial layers observed in dilated cardiomyopathy. Left ventricular hypertrophy was seen in 9 cases (10%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Phono-mechanographic evaluation of aortic stenoses. Contribution of the B1-maximum murmur/B1-B2 index]. / Evaluation phonomécanographique des rétrécissements aortiques. Apport de l'indice B1-maximum du souffle/B1-B2.

The diagnostic value of phonomechanography in valvular aortic stenosis was reassessed with a rarely used index, the ratio S1-maximum intensity of the systolic murmur/S1-S2, or Thiron's index, the author of which only studied the correlations with the aortic transvalvular pressure gradient. The results obtained by the author being considered inconclusive, we decided to examine its correlations with aortic valve surface area calculated with the Gorlin's formula. The study was carried out in 38 patients with pure aortic stenosis, in whom 4 phonomechanographic parameters, the corrected left ventricular ejection time (Meiners), the carotid pulse half peak time, the S1-maximum intensity of the murmur interval and Thiron's index, were compared with the transvalvular pressure gradient and the aortic valve surface area at catheterisation. The first two parameters mentioned above were of limited value (correlations with aortic valve surface area r = 0.315, p less than 0.05 and r = 0.477, p less than 0.01 respectively). On the other hand, a good correlation was obtained with Thiron's index (r = 0.624, p less than 0.001) which was better than that found with the interval between S1 and maximum intensity of the systolic murmur (r = 0.483, p less than 0.001) in a population not excluding subjects with cardiac failure. These results indicate that: when Thiron's index less than or equal to 0.45, the aortic stenosis is probably mild (aortic surface area greater than 0.8 cm2), when Thiron's index is 0.46 greater than 0.56, the aortic stenosis is likely to be moderately severe (aortic surface area 0.8 less than 0.5 cm2), when Thiron's index is greater than 0.57, the aortic stenosis is probably severe (aortic surface area less than 0.5 cm2). In our series, Thiron's index was the best phonomechanographic parameter for the assessment of pure aortic stenosis. It could not be calculated in 10 out of 48 patients; this drawback was not encountered with the corrected left ventricular ejection time or the carotid pulse half peak time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)