[Value of the use of milrinone in the treatment of acute crisis in patients with congestive heart failure]. / Valor do uso da milrinona no tratamento das crises de agudização em portadores de insuficiência cardíaca congestiva.

PURPOSE: To assess the hemodynamic effects of milrinone in a 48h intravenous infusion in patients with severe congestive heart failure (CHF) (NYHA class III or IV). METHODS: Forty patients with CHF were sequentially evaluated. Right heart catheterization was performed in order to measure, before and after administration of milrinone, several hemodynamic parameters (cardiac index, pulmonary wedge pressure, systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance). RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in hemodynamic parameters (cardiac index, cardiac output), and a decrease in systemic vascular resistance and pulmonary vascular resistance. Serious side effects were not observed in these patients. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that milrinone is effective in the treatment of deteriorating phases of CHF and suggest that milrinone should be used in these select patients.

[Use of isosorbide-5-mononitrate in acute myocardial infarction]. / Emprego do 5-mononitrato de isossorbida no infarto agudo do miocárdio.

Isosorbide mononitrate in a dose of 20 mg t.i.d. was used in 25 patients admitted few hours after acute myocardial infarction. The following parameters were analysed: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, clinical features, and laboratory data. Heart rate and diastolic blood pressure remained unchanged, however systolic blood pressure was slightly reduced (p less than 0.01). There was a reduction in the angina episodes post-AMI. None of the patients included in the study had clinical deterioration or showed infarction extension. There were no changes in laboratory data. After the interruption of the drug, one patient died on the 6th day with acute mitral insufficiency. In conclusion, isosorbide mononitrate can be safely used during an uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction, without the risk of haemodynamic deterioration, and helps to prevent post-infarction angina.

[Surgical treatment of infective endocarditis]. / Tratamento cirúrgico na endocardite infecciosa.

PURPOSE: To analyse, retrospectively, 83 patients with infective endocarditis (IE) that were operated during the acute phase of the disease and to identify possible subgroups with distinct mortality. METHODS: Between 1985 to 1990, 83 patients comprised the subject of this analysis. Fifty-one (61%) were male, aged between 3 months to 71 years, mean of 31.4 +/- 16.7 years. RESULTS: We could identify two subgroups that were most frequently operated on: the left side IE and the Staphylococcus aureus; and 77 (43%) had left sided IE (p < 0.001). When discriminated accordingly to the specifically etiologic agent (Staphylococcus aureus) this difference continues to be statistically significant: of 29 left sided IE by this agent 13 (45%) were operated on, whereas from 22 right sided IE by the same agents, just 3 (14%) were operated on (p < 0.05). The two major etiologic agents did not show any statistically significant difference in the number of patients that needed to be operated on: on those 51 patients with Staphylococcus aureus IE, 16 (31%) were treated surgically, while from the 60 patients with Streptococcus viridans, 22 (37%) underwent to surgical procedure (p- NS). The mortality in the patients treated by surgery was 32%, and those with Staphylococcus aureus IE were responsible for 46% of the total surgical deaths. CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment were most frequently used in the patient with left sided IE independently of the etiologic agent.

Prognostic factors of the results of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a cardiology hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the early and late results of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a cardiology hospital and to try to detect prognostic determinants of both short- and long-term survival. METHODS: A series of 557 patients who suffered cardiorespiratory arrest (CRA) at the Dante Pazzanese Cardiology Institute over a period of 5 years was analyzed to examine factors predicting successful resuscitation and long-term survival. RESULTS: Ressuscitation maneuvers were tried in 536 patients; 281 patients (52.4%) died immediately, and 164 patients (30.6%) survived for than 24 hours. The 87 patients who survived for more than 1 month after CRA were compared with nonsurvivors. Coronary disease, cardiomyopathy, and valvular disease had a better prognosis. Primary arrhythmia occurred in 73.5% of the >1-month survivor group and heart failure occurred in 12.6% of this group. In those patients in whom the initial mechanism of CRA was ventricular fibrillation, 33.3% survived for more than 1 month, but of those with ventricular asystole only 4.3% survived. None of the 10 patients with electromechanical dissociation survived. There was worse prognosis in patients included in the extreme age groups (zero to 10 years and 70 years or more). The best results occurred when the cardiac arrest took place in the catheterization laboratories. The worst results occurred in the intensive care unit and the hemodialysis room. CONCLUSION: The results in our series may serve as a helpful guide to physicians with the difficult task of deciding when not to resuscitate or when to stop resuscitation efforts.

[The use of primary coronary angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction in patients over 70 years of age]. / Emprego da angioplastia coronária primária no infarto agudo do miocárdio em pacientes acima de 70 anos.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the use of primary coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in patients older than 70 years, evolving with acute myocardial infarction, without the previous administration of thrombolytic agents. METHODS: Forty-two patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and more than 70 years of age (m = 76.4y). There were 54.7% men and 43% of them had anterior MI. PTCA was carried out during the first 12 hours of evolution and in the first 3 hours of duration in 47% of them. PTCA was done only to the AMI related artery, which was the left descending artery in 43%, the right coronary artery in 47% and the left circumflex in the remaining patients. Nineteen percent of these patients were in Killip class III e IV. RESULTS: Primary success was achieved in 86%. The in hospital mortality was 14.2%, and it was superior in female gender (26.3%), in Killip class III and IV (37.5%), in those with multivessel coronary disease (16.6%) and in those where primary PTCA failed (33%). There were 9.3% of reinfarction, but no major hemorrhages happened. Late angiography was done in 50% of patients, showing 72% of patency in the AMI related artery, and a significant improval of global ejection fraction and of the wall motion, particularly, in those who maintained arterial patency. CONCLUSION: Primary PTCA, without former use of thrombolytic agents, when applied early in elderly patients evolving with AMI, has a high success rate and low mortality rate in this subset of high risk patients. It also shows no major hemorrhagic complications.

[Surgical management of the aortic valve in patients older than 70 years of age]. / Manuseio cirúrgico da valva aórtica em pacientes acima de 70 anos.

PURPOSE: To assess the short and long-term benefits of patients who were submitted to isolated aortic valve replacement or valve replacement (VR) concomitant myocardial revascularization (MR); to evaluate the incidence of postoperative complications, hospital mortality and late mortality. METHODS: From January 1985, through December 1989, 20 consecutive patients underwent surgical intervention, 15 male (75%) and 5 female (25%), the mean age was 74.8% (ranging from 70 to 86 years old), and the aortic valve gradient ranged between 78 and 180 mmHg (mean = 97 mmHg). They presented preoperative diagnosis to have either isolated aortic stenosis (AS) or As and coronary artery disease (CAD). No patient was in NYHA functional class I; 3 patients (15%) were in class II, 14 (70%) in class III and 3 (15%) in class IV. RESULTS: The most frequent post-operative complications found were: extended intubation in 7 patients (35%), bleeding in 4 (20%), acute renal failure in 3 (15%) and ventricular arrhythmia in 3 (15%). Hospital mortality occurred in 2 patients (10%) who had been submitted to VR and concomitant MR. Late mortality occurred in 1 patient (5%). Through December 1989, 11 patients (64%) were in functional class I (NYHA), 3 (18%) in class II, 3 (18%) in class III and none in class IV. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the surgical treatment is indicate to elderly patients with isolated AS os with AS and concomitant CAD. There was a significant post-operative improvement of the functional class (NYHA) to the surviving patients.

[Acute myocardial infarction in patients under 40 years of age]. / Infarto agudo do miocárdio em pacientes com idade inferior a 40 anos.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the short and long-term prognosis of a group of patients aged 40 and under, who developed an acute myocardial infarction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the last 15 years we studied a group of 73 patients aged 40 and under with a confirmed diagnosis of first acute myocardial infarction. Patients with infarctions caused by coronary embolisms or to revascularization procedures were excluded. RESULTS: Ninety percent were male and mean the age was 35. The most frequent risk factors observed were cigarette smoking in 64 (88%), hypertension in 16 (22%), hypercholesterolemia in 12 (16%) and diabetes in 3 (4%). Seven (9%) patients had no risk factors. The myocardial infarction was anterior em 50 (68%) cases and inferior in the remaining 23 (32%). Severe heart failure (Killip III and IV) was present in 3 (4%). Angiographic studies were performed in 63 (86%). Cineangiography showed critical coronary lesions (obstruction greater than 70%) in one vessel in 38 (60%) patients, multivessel disease in 18 (28%) and 7 (12%) had normal coronary vessels. In-hospital mortality was 5% (3 patients died due to severe heart failure and 1 due to cerebro-vascular accident). The 56 survivors were followed-up to 15 years, with overall survival of 74%. Fourty-nine (71%) were asymptomatic and 7 (10%) had recurrent chest pain. There were 7 (10%) late deaths and follow-up was lost in 6 (9%). Reinfarctions were observed in 5 cases (7%). Revascularization procedures were performed in 12 (17%) patients (bypass-graft surgery in 9 and coronary angioplasty in 3). CONCLUSION: Young patients with acute myocardial infarction have a low mortality rate in the early phase and a favorable outcome after the discharge of the hospital.

Choque cardiogênico / Cardiogenic shock

Choque cardiogênico pós-infarto agudo do miocárdio ocorre em cerca de 8 "por cento" dos pacientes acometidos por infarto do miocárdio. Somente com o tratamento farmacológico, apresenta altas taxas de mortalidade. Medidas agressivas, intervencionistas, devem ser instituídas täo logo o diagnóstico seja feito. A reperfusäo pelo infarto, como terapêutica de primeira linha, promove expressiva reduçäo das taxas de mortalidade. Os métodos mais eficazes para se revascularizar o miocárdio säo angioplastia coronariana, uso de agentes trombolíticos e cirurgia para correçäo de complicaçöes mecânicas (comunicaçäo interventricular, insuficiência mitral). A estratégia de tratamento deve ser iniciada o mais precocemente possível com agentes farmacológicos, além da instalaçäo do baläo intra-aórtico, seguida de terapêutica definitiva (angioplastia ou trombolítico). Essa estratégia reduz as elevadas taxas de mortalidade hospitalar desses pacientes.

Avaliaçäo de risco cirúrgico do paciente cardiopata / Evaluation of surgical risk in patients with heart disease

Pacientes com doença cardíaca prévia podem apresentar certas limitaçöes em sua resposta hemodinâmica, frente ao estresse metabólico da cirurgia e dos agentes anestésicos. A demanda de oxigênio pelo miocárdio encontra-se elevada, em consequência do aumento dos níveis de catecolaminas, secundários à dor, à perda de volume e ao estresse cirúrgico como um todo. Em pacientes com cardiopatia isquêmica, podem acarretar o aparecimento de arritmias, ou entäo, de insuficiência cardíaca, quando existe disfunçäo ventricular esquerda. Cerca de 50 por cento dos óbitos associados com procedimentos cirúrgicos näo-cardíacos säo devidos a complicaçöes cardiovasculares. A mortalidade dos pacientes com doença cardíaca é, praticamente, duas vezes maior quando comparada com os pacientes sem doença cardíaca. Em vista desses fatos, avaliaçöes devem ser realizadas para se estimular sua reserva cardiopulmonar, antes de serem submetidos à cirurgia näo-cardíaca, otimizando-se, assim, o seu prognóstico. Hunter e col., num pequeno trabalho randomizado, mostraram que cerca de 38 por cento de paciente com indicaçäo para cirurgia näo cardíaca apresentavam evidências de doenças cardíacas, hipertensäo ou diabetes melito e 48 por cento apresentavam certas anormalidadesno eletrocardiograma pré-operatório.