[Prevalence of congestive heart failure after ventriculomectomy in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy]. / Prevalência de insuficiência cardíaca congestiva após ventriculomiectomia em portadores da cardiomiopatia hipertrófica obstrutiva.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of congestive heart failure in the late post-operative follow-up in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) submitted to ventriculomectomy (VM). METHODS: Thirty six patients with HOCM, all of them with basal intraventricular systolic pressure gradient (BPG) > or = 50 mmHg, were studied. Sixteen (group I) were submitted to VM and 20 (group II) remained under clinical treatment. At group I the ages were 1 month to 61 years (28.25 +/- 15.39), 10 male (62.5%); BPG ranged from 50 to 192 mmHg (98.09 +/- 42.76) with mean follow-up of 13.06 +/- 7.19 years. At group II the age ranged from 2 months to 58 years (31.01 +/- 18.61); 12 male (60%); BPG ranged from 52 to 185 mmHg (83.47 +/- 35.08) with mean follow-up of 9.6 +/- 4.93 years. RESULTS: At group I the follow-up was good in 4 patients (25%), stable in 2 (12.5%) and poor in 3 (18%). Seven patients (43.75%) developed congestive heart failure at mean time of 7.53 +/- 8.44 years; there was one operative death and the follow-up control was lost in 7 patients. In group II, the follow-up was good in 3 patients (15%), stable in a 6 (30%) and poor in a 9 (45%); no deaths occurred. Two patients had heart failure within 3 years after the onset of the disease. The follow-up control was lost in 8 patients (40%). CONCLUSION: 1) congestive heart failure was more frequent in patients submitted to VM rather than the non-operated ones (p < 0.05); 2) the short-term follow-up was better in operated patients rather than in non-operated ones.

[Clinical aspects and development of dilated cardiomyopathy in infants and children]. / Aspectos clínicos e evolutivos da miocardiopatia dilatada nos lactentes e na infância.

PURPOSE: The evaluation of the clinical aspects of the dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in infants and children regarding, mainly, to the evolution and prognostic of this disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 38 patients divided in two groups: A) 22 infants till 22 (11.60 +/- 6.50) months of age, 15 female, and B) 15 children of 2 to 12 years of age (5.23 +/- 3.13) the majority males (10). A retrospective study was carried out based on the data from the patients's records. It was performed, in all the cases, a clinical, electrocardiographic, echocardiographic (M module and two dimensional echocardiography) and radiologic evaluation. RESULTS: The dyspnea on exercise (included sucking) was the predominant symptom in 15 (65.22%) patients of the A group and 10 (66.67%) of the B group followed by perilabial cyanosis in 7 (30.43%) and 6 (40%) patients, respectively. In the A group the clinical diagnostic hypothesis was inspecific myocarditis (IM) in 12 (52.17%), endocardial fibroelastosis (EFE), in 8 (34.79%), and "idiopathic" dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM) in 3 (13.04%). In the B group to the diagnostic conclusion of myocarditis was made in 10 patients (66.67%)--5 of them IM--EFE in 3 (20%); and IDCM in 2 (13.33%). The average time of evolution was 5.48 months in the A group and 18.56 in the B group. In the A group the evolution was excellent in 3 (3.04%), good in 10 (43.46%), stable in 2 (8.70%) and bad in 1 (4.35%). In the B group, excellent in 8 (53.33%), good in 2 (20%) stable in 1 (6.67%). No bad evolution in this group. There was a decrease in the A group (4.34%); 6 patients in this group (26.09%) and 3 (20%) of the B group interrupt the follow-up. CONCLUSION: 1) The prognosis of infants with DCM including those with the diagnostic hypothesis of EFE seems to be less adverse than it could be supposed to be; 2) the prognostic in children with the diagnosis of DCM established above 2 years of age seems to be good; 3) the differential clinical diagnosis between EFE and IM is difficult and with no accuracy; 4) it is possible that the IM could be more prevalent in infants till 6 months of age than we suppose it was.