Simultaneous comparison of 3 derived 12-lead electrocardiograms with standard electrocardiogram at rest and during percutaneous coronary occlusion.

AIM: The aim of the study was to simultaneously test the EASI lead system and two other derived ECG methods against the standard 12-lead ECG during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: During 44 percutaneous coronary interventions, a simultaneously recorded 12-lead and EASI ECG were marked at the start of the PCI (baseline) and at known ischemia caused by balloon inflation (peak). ST deviations were measured 60 ms after the J point at baseline and peak in all leads and were summated (SUMST) to assess overall changes. For regional changes, the lead with the highest ST deviation (PEAKST) was marked. For each patient, derived 12-lead ECGs were computed from the EASI leads and a lead subset using patient-specific coefficients (PS) and coefficients based on a patient population (GEN). Absolute differences were computed between each derived and routine ECG for SUMST and PEAKST. RESULTS: SUMST was at baseline 567 microV (range: 150-1707) and increased at peak to 871 microV (range: 350-2101). SUMST difference at peak was for EASI: 163 microV (CI: 90-236, P <.001), GEN: 46 microV (CI: 2-91, P = .40), and PS: 16 microV (CI: 3-30, P = .15). PEAKST difference at peak was for EASI: 49 microV (CI: 19-220, P = .02), GEN: 48 microV (CI: -43-154, P = .26), and PS: 20 microV (CI: -51-32, P = .65). CONCLUSION: Simultaneous direct comparison of three derived ECG methods shows overall and regional differences in accuracy across PS, GEN, and EASI. Median SUMST and PEAKST differences for PS are lower than for GEN and EASI, and show a more accurate reconstruction.

Music, imagery, touch, and prayer as adjuncts to interventional cardiac care: the Monitoring and Actualisation of Noetic Trainings (MANTRA) II randomised study.

BACKGROUND: Data from a pilot study suggested that noetic therapies-healing practices that are not mediated by tangible elements-can reduce preprocedural distress and might affect outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. We undertook a multicentre, prospective trial of two such practices: intercessory prayer and music, imagery, and touch (MIT) therapy. METHODS: 748 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention or elective catheterisation in nine USA centres were assigned in a 2x2 factorial randomisation either off-site prayer by established congregations of various religions or no off-site prayer (double-blinded) and MIT therapy or none (unmasked). The primary endpoint was combined in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events and 6-month readmission or death. Prespecified secondary endpoints were 6-month major adverse cardiovascular events, 6 month death or readmission, and 6-month mortality. FINDINGS: 371 patients were assigned prayer and 377 no prayer; 374 were assigned MIT therapy and 374 no MIT therapy. The factorial distribution was: standard care only, 192; prayer only, 182; MIT therapy only, 185; and both prayer and MIT therapy, 189. No significant difference was found for the primary composite endpoint in any treatment comparison. Mortality at 6 months was lower with MIT therapy than with no MIT therapy (hazard ratio 0.35 (95% CI 0.15-0.82, p=0.016). INTERPRETATION: Neither masked prayer nor MIT therapy significantly improved clinical outcome after elective catheterisation or percutaneous coronary intervention.

Comparison of ST-segment resolution with combined fibrinolytic and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor therapy versus fibrinolytic alone (data from four clinical trials).

We compared combination fibrinolytic plus glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor therapy with stand-alone fibrinolysis with respect to speed and stability of reperfusion in patients who had acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction; data were obtained from 654 patients in 4 trials (Integrilin to Manage Platelet Aggregation to Combat Thrombosis in Acute Myocardial Infarction, Platelet Aggregation Receptor Antagonist Dose Investigation and Reperfusion Gain in Myocardial Infarction, Integrilin and Tenecteplase in Acute Myocardial Infarction, and the Fifth Global Use of Strategies to Open Occluded Coronary Arteries) that compared thrombolytics plus lamifiban, eptifibatide, or abciximab with standard thrombolysis. We found significantly faster and more stable ST-segment recovery with combination therapy starting at 60 minutes (56.7% vs 48.0% with >/=50% ST-segment resolution, p = 0.03) and sustained over 180 minutes after drug administration; this transient benefit may suggest a time frame when more optimal percutaneous coronary intervention can be performed.

Assessment of derived 12-lead electrocardiograms using general and patient-specific reconstruction strategies at rest and during transient myocardial ischemia.

Twelve-lead ST-segment monitoring is a widely used tool for capturing focal ischemia and transient intermittent episodes. However, continuous registration of all 10 electrodes is impractical in clinical settings. This study investigated the accuracy of 2 derived 12-lead strategies that required 6 electrodes, including all limb leads, and 2 precordial leads by using population-based (generalized) and individualized (patient-specific) reconstruction coefficients to derive the additional 4 chest leads. A total of 26,880 simultaneous digital conventional 12-lead generalized and patient-specific electrocardiograms were monitored over 112 hours in 39 patients during percutaneous coronary intervention, including 159 balloon occlusions in 63 arteries, to test accuracy at rest and during ischemia. Occlusion duration was 78 seconds (range 42 to 96) in the left main coronary in 2 patients, the left anterior descending artery in 15, the right coronary artery in 10, the circumflex artery in 2, and graft segments in 5 patients. Average summated 12-lead ST deviation over the study population at baseline was 377 microV (range 104 to 1,718), which increased at peak ischemia to an average of 1,086 microV (range 282 to 4,099). Median absolute differences at peak ischemic ST deviation were 25 microV in lead V(1), 0 microV in lead V(2), 35 microV in lead V(3), 34 microV in lead V(4), 0 microV in lead V(5), 11 microV in lead V(6), and 114 microV for summated 12-lead ST deviation with the generalized method and 7 microV in lead V(1), 4 microV in lead V(2), 1 muV in lead V(3), 5 microV in lead V(4), 4 microV in lead V(5), 9 microV in lead V(6), and 83 microV for the summated 12-lead ST deviation with the patient-specific method. Limb leads (I, II, III, aVR, aVL, and aVF) were identical in all patients. Thus, generalized and patient-specific methods derived from 12-lead electrocardiography using actual limb and 2 precordial electrodes accurately derived the additional chest leads at rest and during ischemia. These approaches appear to be more practical than conventional 10-electrode monitoring but preserve high accuracy.

Correlations between preprocedure mood and clinical outcome in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty.

We studied the relationship between mood and mood shift immediately before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and 3 end points: total ischemic burden during PCI, adverse cardiac end points (ACE) after PCI, and death by 6-month follow up. Patients (n = 119) with unstable angina or myocardial infarction completed a visual analog scale (VAS) twice before PCI; before and after a session of stress relaxation, imagery, or touch; or approximately 30 minutes apart for patients assigned to prayer or to standard care. VAS included happiness, satisfaction, calm, hope, worry, shortness of breath, fear, and sadness. We observed a significant correlation between higher hope score before PCI and lower ischemic burden. Patients who experienced ACE had significantly lower hope and happiness scores than those who did not. Patients who survived to 6 months had significantly greater increases in worry and in hope. Our data suggest correlations between simple mood assessments before PCI and clinical outcomes during and after the procedure. More study is needed to understand whether attempts to alter patient mood can affect clinical outcomes.

Beneficial effects of noetic therapies on mood before percutaneous intervention for unstable coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Many common medical, surgical, and diagnostic procedures performed for conscious patients can be accompanied by significant anxiety. Mind-body-spirit interventions could serve as useful adjunctive treatments for the reduction of stress. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of stress management, imagery, touch therapy, remote intercessory prayer, and standard therapy on mood in patients awaiting percutaneous interventions for unstable coronary syndromes as part of the Monitoring and Actualization of Noetic Training (MANTRA) trial, which explored the feasibility and efficacy of noetic interventions on clinical outcomes in a randomized clinical trial. METHODS: A total of 150 patients were randomized to one of the five treatment conditions. Stress management, imagery, and touch therapy were administered in 30-minute treatment sessions immediately before the cardiac intervention. Intercessory prayer was not necessarily contemporaneous with these treatments. Mood was assessed by a set of visual analog scales before and after treatment for a similar length of time for the standard therapy and prayer groups. RESULTS: Analysis of complete data from 108 patients showed that stress management, imagery, and touch therapy all produced reductions in reported worry, as compared with standard therapy, whereas remote intercessory prayer had no effect on mood. The ratings of other similar moods were not affected, perhaps because of the relatively positive emotional state observed in the participants before treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that at least some noetic therapies may have beneficial effects on mood in the course of medical and surgical interventions. Administration of these interventions was feasible even in the hectic environment of the coronary intensive care unit. Given their relatively low cost and limited potential for adverse effects, these interventions merit further study as therapeutic adjuncts.