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A A Knight

Publications and source records attributed to A A Knight.

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Measurement of left ventricular contractility using transesophageal echocardiography in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. The Study of Perioperative Ischemia (SPI) Research Group.

Optimal assessment of left ventricular function requires the use of load-independent indices of myocardial contractility, which often are difficult to obtain in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We have investigated whether the relation between left ventricular end-systolic stress (ESS) (derived from high-fidelity intraventricular pressure measurements and transesophageal-derived wall thickness) and end-systolic area (ESA) (derived from transesophageal echocardiography [TEE]) could provide a load-independent index of left ventricular function. We studied seven men undergoing coronary revascularization. Multiple data points at varied loading conditions were generated for each patient by infusions of sodium nitroprusside and phenylephrine during the period immediately after induction of general anesthesia and preceding surgical incision. While peak systolic blood pressure was pharmacologically altered between 78 and 204 mm Hg, the correlations between ESS and ESA were excellent for all patients (range r = 0.90 to 0.99). Additionally, the slopes of these relations showed a close correlation to their respective baseline thermodilution cardiac indices (r = 0.85, p = 0.02). Appropriate shifts of the ESS/ESA relationships were documented during postextrasystolic potentiation. The authors conclude that the left ventricular ESS/ESA correlation, derived using TEE and intraventricular pressure measurements, may provide a load-independent index of left ventricular inotropic state in patients undergoing CABG surgery.

Aged

Myocardial ischemia in patients awaiting coronary artery bypass grafting.

The results of ambulatory ECG monitoring are described in a group of patients that have not previously been characterized. Fifty men who were initially seen for elective CABG surgery underwent 48 hours of continuous ambulatory ECG monitoring. ST segment deviation from baseline, trended every 15 seconds, was quantified for duration, maximum ST segment change, area under the ST segment-time curve (AUC), and average ST segment change for the episode (AUC/duration). Ischemic episodes, 87% of which were silent, occurred in 42% of the patients. Symptomatic episodes had greater maximum ST segment change than silent episodes (-2.4 vs -1.9 mm; p less than 0.05) but were shorter in duration (11 vs 18 minutes; p less than 0.05). Episodes that were unrelated to heart rate, that is, episodes with less than 20% increase in heart rate over the baseline rate at the onset of ischemia, made up 75% of all ischemic events and occurred in 90% of patients (19 of 21). Heart rate-related and unrelated ischemic episodes did not differ in duration, maximum ST segment change, AUC, or average ST segment change. It was concluded that: (1) as with patients with unstable angina, patients with severe coronary artery disease continue to have frequent episodes of silent myocardial ischemia despite intensive medical therapy; (2) painful episodes have greater maximum ST segment change but are shorter than silent ones; (3) most ischemic episodes (75%) occur without an initial increase in heart rate; and (4) heart rate-related and unrelated episodes are quantitatively similar.

Coronary Artery Bypass

Perioperative myocardial ischemia: importance of the preoperative ischemic pattern.

Previous studies investigating the incidence of myocardial ischemia in patients undergoing coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery have not considered the potential significance of the preoperative ischemic pattern in the development of intra- and postoperative myocardial ischemia and infarction. Accordingly, the authors compared the frequency and severity of pre-, intra-, and postoperative ischemic episodes (ST-segment depression greater than or equal to 0.1 mV or elevation greater than or equal to 0.2 mV) in 50 men with severe coronary artery disease scheduled for elective CABG. All subjects were monitored by continuous electrocardiography (ECG) (Holter monitor) for 2 preoperative days, intraoperatively, and 2 postoperative days (total monitoring time = 4,363 h). Routine anti-anginal medications were continued until the morning of surgery, and the anesthetic management of the patient was not controlled. During the preoperative period, 42% of the patients had ECG ischemic episodes, 87% of which were clinically silent. Only 18% developed intraoperative ischemia. Postoperatively, the incidence increased to 40%. The number of ischemic episodes/hour (epis/h) of monitoring among the three monitoring periods was similar (0.09 +/- 0.12 epis/h preoperatively, 0.11 +/- 0.20 epis/h intraoperatively, and 0.05 +/- 0.08 epis/h postoperatively; P = NS). The median duration of ischemic episodes was similar pre- and intraoperatively (16 vs. 18.5 min, P = NS), but greater postoperatively (41 min, P less than 0.05). Seventy-six per cent of the perioperative ECG ischemia occurred without acute change (+/- 20% of control) in blood pressure or heart rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult