[Expert Council Resolution. Practical Aspects of the Diagnosis and Correction of Potassium and Magnesium Deficiency States].

The article analyzes properties of potassium and magnesium, which may exert vasodilatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-ischemic, antiaggregant, and antiarrhythmic effects. These are extremely important microelements and potentially beneficial therapeutic agents for treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

[Psychological features and heart rate variability in sudden death victims and myocardial infarction survivors].

AIM: To study effects of psychological factors (anxiety and depression) on risk of sudden death in post-myocardial infarction patients (PMI); correlation of psychological factors with autonomic regulation of cardiac rhythm. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Heart rate variability (HRV) and psychological status (Mini-Mult method) were determined and Spilberger-Khanin test was made in 320 PMI patients (mean age 57+/-7.6 years, 246 males and 74 females). RESULTS: 56% examinees had anxiodepressive profile of personality by Mini-Mult test and high anxiety by Spilberger-Khanin test. This indicates the presence of depressive symptoms and anxiety in many PMI patients. These patients had lower HRV and more depressed parasympathic tonicity. The correlation analysis of psychological factors and HRV has revealed correlation between HRV deterioration and intensification of anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: Those patients who died of myocardial infarction had more serious psychological disturbances than in the survivors as well as more significant disorders of autonomic regulation of sinus rhythm which contribute to development of fatal arrhythmia.

[Diagnostic value of ventricular late potentials, heart rate variability and QT dispersion in patients with acute myocardial infarction]. / Diagnosticheskoe znachenie pozdnikh potentsialov zheludochkov, variabel'nosti serdechnogo ritma i dispersii intervala Q-T u bol'nykh infarktom miokarda.

Late ventricular potentials (LVP), heart rate variability (HRV) and dispersion of QT interval (QTd) were studied in 91 patients with myocardial infarction with various ventricular arrhythmias. Patients with episodes of sustained ventricular tachycardia (group 4) had the following characteristics: prevalence of LVP 73.7%, QTd 82.5 ms, standard deviation of RR intervals (SD) 26.5 ms; spectral analysis of HRV revealed preponderance of sympathetic influences and lowered vagal activity. Frequency of LVP detection, QTd and SD in patients with ventricular extrasystoles (Lown classes 3-5) (group 3) were 33.3%, 72.8 ms, and 42.8 ms, respectively. Patients of group 3 also had augmented sympathetic and lowered parasympathetic influences. These data significantly differed from those obtained in patients with Lown class 1-2 ventricular extrasystoles (group 2) and patients without extrasystoles (group 1). Groups 3 and 4 had significantly different prevalences of LVP and values of some HRV parameters but similar QTd. There was close correlation between presence of severe ventricular arrhythmias and some parameters of HRV and signal averaged ECG. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the following group of parameters was related to the presence of malignant ventricular rhythm disturbances: heart rate, SD and total QRS duration (p<0.05). Thus patients with life threatening ventricular arrhythmias were characterized by the presence of LVP and changes of some parameters of HRV and QTd. Registration of these parameters can apparently be used for prediction of potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmias in patients with myocardial infarction.