Rol del fisioterapeuta en el marco de la rehabilitación cardíaca / Role of physiotherapist in the context of cardiac rehabilitation

El abordaje terapéutico del enfermo cardiaco debe llevarse a cabo de un modo integral actuando sobre las esferas física, psicológica y sociofamiliar del sujeto y el control de sus factores de riesgo. Se trata de un conjunto de actuaciones ordenadas en el seno de un programa, realizadas por diversos profesionales y cuya principal meta es procurar la reinserción social del paciente, incrementar su calidad de vida y disminuir su morbimortalidad. El propósito de este trabajo es dar a conocer a la comunidad fisioterápica las características de un programa tipo en el contexto de la Rehabilitación Cardiaca y desde la perspectiva de la fisioterapia, describiendo el papel que desempeña el fisioterapeuta en dicho ámbito y justificando su participación dentro del equipo multidisciplinar (AU)

Does angina the week before protect against first myocardial infarction in elderly patients?

Mortality rates for coronary artery disease are greater in elderly patients. Although prodromal angina occurring shortly before an acute myocardial infarction (MI) has protective effects against ischemia, this effect has not been well documented in older patients. This study investigated whether angina 1 week before a first MI provides protection in this group of patients. A total of 290 consecutive elderly (>64 years old, n = 143) and adult patients (<65 years old, n = 147) with a first MI were examined to assess the effect of preceding angina on the short- and long-term prognosis. Elderly patients with a history of prodromal angina were less likely than those without angina to experience in-hospital death, heart failure, or the combined end point of in-hospital death and heart failure (6% vs 20.4%, p = 0.02; 10% vs 23.7%, p = 0.07; 14% vs 32.3%, p = 0.01, respectively). Left ventricular function was more frequently depressed (ejection fraction <40%) in elderly patients without (44.8%) than with (26%, p = 0.04) preinfarction angina, and the incidence of arrhythmias (complete heart block and ventricular fibrillation) was greater in the former group (16.1% vs 4%, p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis confirmed that the presence of preinfarction angina was an independent predictor of in-hospital death and heart failure in older patients (odds ratio 0.28, p = 0.009). The occurrence of angina 1 week before a first MI may confer protection against in-hospital adverse outcomes, and may preserve left ventricular function in older patients.

[Quality control and improvement of the care provided to the patient with acute myocardial infarction. Implementation of a quality assurance program]. / Garantía y mejora de calidad de la atención al paciente con infarto agudo de miocardio. Implantación de un programa de calidad.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Hospital care of patients with acute myocardial infarction involves a series of therapeutic measures and risk stratification which are a must since their efficacy has been clearly demonstrated. The aim of this study was to develop an internal program to guarantee and improve the quality of hospital care to acute myocardial infarction patients. METHODS: A medical audit was carried out for evaluation. Seven evaluation criteria considered as class I by the guidelines on the management of acute myocardial infarction patients were analyzed in the discharge report of 163 consecutive patients. Following analysis of the results corrective measures were implemented. In the second phase reevaluation of 40 patients was performed to determine the efficacy of the adopted measures. RESULTS: Following the first evaluation the use of AAS, IECAS and the beta-blockers was found to be correctly indicated in 95, 80 and 72% of the patients, respectively. A strategy of the adequate stratification of risk was carried out and ventricular function was evaluated in 93 and 96% of the cases. Correct hypolipemia treatment was indicated in 54% of the cases with an adequate diet being prescribed in 100%. Three months after the intervention, 40 new patients were evaluated with all the criteria analyzed being fulfilled in 100% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: The use of evaluation techniques and improvement in the quality of health care provided to cases of acute myocardial infarction allows the determination of the care undertaken and its correction if necessary in order to follow the guidelines recommended for the care of these patients.

Pseudoaneurysm in the mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa. A cause of mitral regurgitation.

Left ventricular outflow tract pseudoaneurysm is an uncommon but potentially catastrophic complication of aortic valve surgery, aortic valve endocarditis or chest trauma. We describe a case of a left ventricular outflow tract pseudoaneurysm 1 month after an aortic valve replacement that caused a systolic compression of mitral valve and a severe regurgitation. The diagnosis was confirmed using transoesophageal echocardiography, magnetic resonance image and intraoperative endoscopy. Surgical repair of the pseudoaneurysm corrected the mitral regurgitation.

[Valvular regurgitation caused by anorectic agents]. / Regurgitación valvular causada por fármacos anorexígenos.

Valvular heart disease associated with the use of anorectic agents is a recently described clinical entity. We report the case of a 46-year-old woman with severe regurgitation of the mitral, aortic and tricuspid valves who had been taking fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine for two years. Surgical treatment was required with replacement of three valve by mechanical prostheses. The previous history of treatment with anorectic agents, the echocardiographic morphology of the injured valves and the macroscopic and histopathologic findings strongly suggested an association between the anorectic agents and the valvular disease of the patient.

Atrioventricular septal defect: quantitative anatomy of the left ventricle.

A morphometric study was performed in 18 human hearts with atrioventricular septal defect not associated with other anomalies; 16 hearts had common atrioventricular orifices, and 2 presented separate right and left atrioventricular orifices. A total of eight parameters were analyzed, characterizing ventricular wall thickness, length and circumference of the inflow and outflow tracts, and circumference of the left orifice and aortic orifice. The data were compared with previously published patterns of normality. In addition, the volume of the aortic outflow tract was calculated. The inflow tract was shorter than the outflow tract, and the length of the diaphragmatic wall was equal to the sum of the lengths of the inflow tract and ventricular wall thickness at the level of the apex.

Atrioventricular septal defect: quantitative anatomy of the right ventricle.

In 19 human fetal and newborn hearts with atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD), not associated with other anomalies, the two ventricles were studied morphometrically. A total of 17 different parameters were studied: nine in the right ventricle and eight in the left. In the right ventricle we analyzed ventricular wall thickness, length of right ventricular inflow and outflow tracts, and volume of right ventricular inflow and outflow tracts. The data for these parameters were compared with the patterns of normality published previously, and the volumetric data were compared with patterns of normality published previously by us. The ventricular inflow tract was shorter than the outflow tract, the difference being especially significant in the left ventricle. The length of the diaphragmatic wall of the heart in both the right and left ventricle was equal to the sum of the length of the inflow tract and the thickness of the ventricular wall at the apex.

[Right-sided endocarditis due to Fusobacterium nucleatum]. / Endocarditis derecha por Fusobacterium nucleatum.

We present 1 case of right sided endocarditis caused by Fusobacterium nucleatum in a patient with intravenous drug addiction and human immunodeficiency. The clinical features were fever, anemia, and pulmonary embolism. The echocardiogram showed a giant vegetation originated from the right atrial wall prolapsing in diastole into the right ventricle which disappeared after the patient presented pulmonary embolism. The clinical course was uncontrolled with empiric antimicrobial therapy but it was good with metronidazol. The cases previously described in the literature caused by gram-negative anaerobic bacteria are discussed and compared with the present case.

[Apical hypertrophic myocardiopathy: presentation of 3 cases and review of the literature]. / Miocardiopatía hipertrófica apical: presentación de tres casos y revisión de la literatura.

Apical hypertrophic myocardiopathy (AHM) is an entity less frequently reported in our country than in Japan. We studied only three patients between 1980 and 1987. Their age varied from 26 to 40 years. Other studies included vectorcardiograms, Holter monitoring, exercise stress testing, phonocardiograms and cardiac catheterization; only one case had a genetic study, program atrial stimulation and technetium-99m pyrophosphate scintigraphy. All patients underwent echocardiographic study. The clinical features had great variations, from asymptomatic cases to the presence of important left ventricular failure and brain embolism. Electrocardiogram was characteristic in two patients; in one, cardiac catheterization showed an intraventricular pressure gradient of 19 mmHg explained by trapping of the catheter and in the other one, the end-diastole pressure of left ventricle was 22 mmHg; in both, the left ventriculogram showed the characteristic spade image. In all of them the echocardiogram showed segmentary left apical ventricular hypertrophy similar to the angiographic image; one patients had mitral regurgitation. This study demonstrates the usefulness of echocardiogram in this pathology.

[Immediate and long-term results of aortic valvulotomy in aortic valve stenosis]. / Resultados inmediatos y a largo plazo de la valvulotomía aórtica en la estenosis aórtica valvular.

Between April 1962 and December 1982 we performed valvulotomies on 68 patients to correct valvular aortic stenosis (VAoS). Forty-one were men and 27 women whose ages ranged from 20 months to 47 years (mean = 11.9 +/- 6.4 years). In 95% of cases VAoS was congenital. All patients underwent clinical preoperative evaluation with chest roentgenogram and electrocardiogram (ECG). Catheterization was done on 89.7%. Symptoms varied from none to syncope and stress angina. Symptoms bore no relation to the systolic aortic gradient, which oscillated between 31 and 200 mm Hg. There was a significant postoperative improvement in symptoms and less notable improvement in chest X-rays and ECG. Follow-up was from 1 to 22 years (mean = 7.12 +/- 4.43 years). Thirty-nine patients were followed for 5 or more years with serial clinical, radiological and electrocardiographic control. Fifty percent underwent postoperative catheterization. Seventeen patients continued with residual aortic regurgitation (AoR). Fourteen patients were again operated. A new valvulotomy was performed on 2 and valve replacement was done on the rest. Perioperative mortality was 2.9% and long-term survival 88% with 84.6% of the patients asymptomatic or in functional class I of the NYHA. Survival curves were plotted and the literature reviewed. The conclusion was that although this surgery constitutes a low risk, it should be considered palliative in the majority of the cases.