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Biomedical subjects

A Heulin

Publications and source records attributed to A Heulin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

[Fitness for sports of patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome].

The fitness of patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome to indulge in sporting activities is a practical cardiology problem. The major risk is sudden death due to atrial fibrillation deteriorating to ventricular fibrillation. This risk is small or even theoretical, but signing a fitness certificate engages the clinician's responsibility. Non invasive complementary examinations are useful. Echocardiography may detect a heart disease that would preclude any sport. Exercise tests explore the behaviour of the accessory pathway and rarely trigger off arrhythmias. Holter recordings mainly investigate disorders of the atrial rhythm. The decision concerning fitness may be based on clinical symptoms. Exercise-induced tachycardia is a classical contra-indication to competitive sports. In patients whose tachycardia is unrelated to exercise, fitness may be discussed according to the results of exercise tests and of the electrophysiological study. A refractory period which would be considered as rather prolonged at rest does not protect against fast ventricular rate during passage to atrial fibrillation. If pre-excitation disappears during the exercise test in an asymptomatic patient, then competitive sports can be authorized without limitations. If not, only surgical excision or fulguration would provide full protection against a potentially dangerous fibrillation. It is concluded that Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome contra-indicates competitive sports in most cases. Games played outside competitions remain possible in the absence of symptoms or when arrhythmias are well controlled by medical treatment.

Ajmaline↗
PubMed1986

[Clinical and developmental aspects of 1-vessel right coronary atheroma. Therapeutic consequences].

This study analysed the clinical profile, prognosis and consequences on left ventricular function of isolated obstructive atherosclerosis of the right coronary artery in order to establish the indications of percutaneous angioplasty. The inclusion criteria were at least one stenotic lesion greater than 75 p. 100 of a dominant or equilibrated right coronary artery and exclusion of stenosis of the other coronary vessels. A questionnaire was sent to the treating physician and to the patient to establish the actuarial survival (Cutler and Ederer's method). The average period of follow-up was 56 months (range 12 to 70 months). Seventy one patients (average age 53 years) were selected from a series of 2,675 consecutive coronary angiograms performed between 1979 and 1984 (2.7 p. 100). The incidence of previous infarction was 60 p. 100; this was located on the inferior wall in 75 p. 100, inferobasal wall in 12 p. 100 and infero-latero-basal wall in 13 p. 100. Bypass surgery was performed in 7 cases and percutaneous angioplasty in 2 cases. Sixty-two cases were managed medically. Analysis of the 71 angiographic films of the series showed in retrospect an indication for percutaneous angioplasty in 29 patients (42 p. 100 of the series). The 5 year mortality rate was 5.6 p. 100. Death was sudden in the 4 cases observed, including one on the 28th day after bypass surgery complicated by perioperative infarction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1986

[Acute degenerative mitral insufficiency caused by rupture of the chordae in the elderly patient].

Five cases of degenerative mitral incompetence due to rupture of the chordae tendinae in patients over 70 years of age were reviewed to determine the clinical features of this pathology which is not rare in elderly patients. Chordal rupture usually involves the posterior leaflet and is a sign of generalised disease of the mitral apparatus of two main types: myxoid infiltration or pellucid degeneration. Although the clinical syndrome of rupture is rare (10 p. 100), the mechanism of the mitral regurgitation can be identified by 2D echocardiography with a sensitivity of 92 p. 100, and the consequences of regurgitation on the left ventricle can also be evaluated. Rapid progression to acute cardiac failure is often observed and early surgical cure may be necessary (valvular replacement with a bioprosthesis is more common than mitral valvuloplasty). Further justification for this surgical approach is the improved myocardial protection which has reduced the perioperative mortality rate to less than 10 p. 100.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

[Lipomyxosarcoma of the pulmonary veins extending into the left atrium. Repetitive surgical treatment].

The case reported here of a 54-year old woman with lipomyxosarcoma of the pulmonary veins successfully excised is the first in the literature. The initial symptoms were febrile left ventricular failure with pulmonary oedema and haemoptysis. The diagnosis was made by angiocardiography. The tumour was excised in two stages: cardiac first, under cardiopulmonary bypass, then thoracic with left pneumonectomy. Two years after surgery, the patient is in good condition without chemotherapy.

Female↗
PubMed1985

[Myocardial infarction caused by electric injury. Value of coronarography].

The authors report the case of a 54 year old surgeon who received an electric shock from his diathermy equipment. The shock caused an anteroseptal myocardial infarction complicated by an apical aneurysm. The clinical course was followed up by myocardial and cavitary scintigraphy. Coronary arteriography was carried out after convalescence and showed proximal occlusion of the left anterior descending artery and an apical aneurysm on ventriculography. Myocardial infarction after electrical injury is a rare event and its pathogenesis remains controversial. Although electrical currents can damage the walls of the coronary arteries, they may also have a direct thrombogenic effect. This would appear to be the most probable mechanism in the case reported in which the myocardial lesions corresponded to acute occlusion of the left anterior descending artery, perhaps favoured by the presence of an atheromatous plaque. Coronary arteriography was the most helpful investigation in assessing the physiopathology of this rare event.

Coronary Angiography↗
PubMed1984

[Pheochromocytoma and aortocoronary bypass. Double surgical procedure].

Based on a personal case of a 47 year old woman with an adrenal medullary pheochromocytoma and stenosis of the left anterior descending artery treated by aorto-coronary bypass grafting after ablation of the pheochromocytoma, the authors illustrate the frequency and precocity of organic coronary artery disease in 27 cases in the literature. Chest pain and electrocardiographic changes are often attributed to functional ischaemia but the high incidence of organic coronary artery disease in the series analysed confirms the need for coronary angiography in doubtful cases. It is reasonable to start by removing the pheochromocytoma and, only then, consider coronary angiography with a view to coronary bypass surgery: the risks of a hypertensive crisis seem to be reduced when this protocol is followed.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed1984

[Enhancement of the effect of captopril in the 1st 48 hours of treating refractory heart failure. A comparison with intravenous trinitrine].

The favourable haemodynamic effects of vasodilator drugs in refractory cardiac failure sometimes alter rapidly after the initial dose. This tachyphylactic phenomenon was looked for during captopril therapy in 14 patients with chronic cardiac failure resistant to digitalo-diuretic therapy and conventional vasodilator drugs. The average age of the patients was 64,4 +/- 3,8 years. Eleven patients had signs of congestive cardiac failure while the remaining three patients had only left ventricular failure. Four patients were classified as Stage III and the other ten Stage IV of the NYHA classification. Right heart catheter studies were performed with a Swan Ganz catheter and systemic pressures were measured by femoral artery catheterisation. Right and left pressures and cardiac output were measured under basal conditions, and 1 and 5 hours after a single dose of captopril (early and late periods). Captopril was given in between meals in 3 to 6 daily doses; in 10 of the 14 cases the dose was 50 mg 6 hourly. The haemodynamic parameters were recorded again during the early and late periods after the dose of captopril 24 and 48 hours after starting therapy. Captopril is a mixed vasodilator and is effective from the first hour of administration. It preferentially lowered pulmonary capillary pressure (PCP) from 29,6 +/- 0,92 mmHg to 21,4 +/- 1,04 mmHg (delta PCP: -27,7%, p less than 0,01). Mean systemic blood pressure (MBP) fell less from 92,4 +/- 3,51 mmHg to 76,6 +/- 3,4 mmHg (delta MBP: -17%, p less than 0,01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Surgical management of late prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Among 32 patients with late prosthetic valve endocarditis selected from two cooperative retrospective studies, ten had valve replacement: six men and four women, mean age being 48 years, ranging from 23 to 65 years old. An emergency reoperation was undertaken for refractory heart failure in seven out of ten cases, with an average delay of 6.6 days after the beginning of antibiotic therapy. In the other three cases, the operation was carried out at the end of 40 days of antibiotic therapy, once for recurrent endocarditis and twice for severe aortic insufficiency. The most common causative micro organism was the staphylococcus (7 out of 10 cases). The infected prosthetic valves were, in 8 out of the 10 cases, in the aortic position. The outcome was poor as the mortality rate was 60% (6 out of the 7 patients operated on in an emergency). Death was attributed to heart failure with conduction disturbances and severe aortic regurgitation (2 cases), cerebral emboli (2 cases), septicopyemia (2 cases). Four patients of the ten, after a mean follow up of 10 months, are cured without prosthetic valve dysfunction. The extreme gravity of prognosis seems related to the microorganism (staphylococcus), to the delay between the beginning of antibiotic therapy and the onset of the fever, and finally to the extension of destructive lesions under the prosthetic valve implantation base; the reimplantation of the prosthesis on frail and abscessed tissue implies a substantial risk of disinsertion. The indications for systematic early reoperation in cases of severe acute heart failure are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

[Cardiovascular manifestations of systemic elastorrhexis (the Grönblad-Strandberg-Touraine syndrome)].

Peripheral arterial involvement is common in pseudoxanthoma elasticum. It can be the first symptom. Small and medium size arteries are most often involved. The arterial lesions are diffuse, stenotic and often with marked calcium deposition. This arterial involvement can be developed early and if happening in young patients it is of great diagnostic significance. Peripheral vascular disease is most common in the limbs. Its evolution is remarkably slow. Coronary arterial disease can induce angina pectoris but seldom myocardial infarction. In cerebral arteries, lesions consist in stenoses and aneurysmal dilatation. They are responsible for thrombotic or hemorrhagic accidents. High blood pressure is frequent. It increases the hemorrhagic risk. Aortic lesions are exceptional, and if encountered one must discuss a Marfan disease association. Visceral hemorrhages, gastrointestinal or uterine, often the first symptom, are secondary to arteriolar lesions. Histologic studies reveal narrowed arterial lumen, due to medial thickening. Media is invaded by irregular and anarchic elastic fibers. Elastic laminae are fragmented and disorganized. The abnormal elastic tissue tends to be calcified. When compared to the arterial lesions, cardiac involvement is uncommon. It has been described in the first case of literature. It essentially consists in an endocardial thickening of the auricles and of the mitral and tricuspid valves.

Aortic Diseases↗
PubMed1983

[Cardiac complications of radiotherapy].

Radiotherapy is an effective tool in the treatment of thoracic cancers. However, radiotherapy also carries a risk of severe cardiac complications. The cancers most commonly concerned are Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (90 per cent of cases), breast cancers, especially on the left side (4 per cent) and bronchogenic cancers (2 per cent). Ionizing radiation can damage the three layers of the heart and the coronary arteries. Pericardial involvement is the most frequent, occurring in 10 to 12 per cent of cases. It generally occurs 6 to 18 months after the radiotherapy and may present either acutely (35 per cent of cases) or chronically (65 per cent of cases). It is often latent, only detected on X-rays or on ultrasound. Constrictive forms can occur, which require pericardiectomy. Myocardial fibrosis, which is anatomically common, may present as disturbances of repolarization, arrhythmia or disturbances of conduction, or even cardiac failure. Rarely, radiation damage of the coronary arteries can cause angina or myocardial infarction. These cases can benefit from coronary artery by-pass grafts. All of these lesions have a common anatomical denominator:fibrosis, which develops progressively following the radiotherapy. It has now been demonstrated that the incidence of cardiac radiation lesions can be reduced by homogeneous distribution of the dose of radiation administered to the mediastinum, by treating each side alternately, by fractionating the radiation and staggering the sessions and by reducing the cardiac mass which is irradiated.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

[False failure of an aortocoronary bypass. Spasm of an artery revascularized by 2 saphenous vein graft].

The cause of recurrent resting angina one year after aorto-coronary bypass is presented. A 65 year old female with effort and resting angina with syncope had an isolated narrowing of the proximal portion of the left anterior descending artery on coronary angiography. Saphenous vein aorto-coronary bypass and cardiac plexectomy were performed on the 18 . 12 . 78, and an excellent result was obtained in the first postoperative year. Nocturnal angina with syncope recurred on the 31 . 12 . 79 and anterior subendo-cardial ischaemic changes were noted on the post critical electrocardiogramme. On control angiography 10 days later, the bypass graft was shown to be patent. A provocative test with methylergometrine showed spasm of the whole of the revascularised artery without any changes in the other vessels. Attacks of spontaneous angina with ST depression on Holter monitoring continued despite treatment with Nifedipine (6 capsules/day). The substitution of Diltiazem (3 capsules/day) prevented further recurrence with a follow-up of three months. The authors conclude that spontaneous angina after aorto-coronary bypass is not synonymous with graft dysfunction, and suggest that the effects of cardiac denervation in vasospastic angina, where Nifedipine and Diltiazem seem to have different modes of action, need further confirmation.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

[Study of coronary perfusion by radioisotopes].

The study of coronary blood flow by radio isotpopes may determine the casual relationship between coronary artery narrowing and myocardial ischemia. Total coronary flow is measured without cardiac catheterisation by double counter technique using 84 Rb and by radionuclide angiography using 42 K and 113m in fixed on siderophilin. This is an easier method, which is very reproductible and which may be sensitised by atrial pacing. The measurement of regional coronary flow gives a better estimation of the physiological effects of coronary artery disease. Two indicators are used; radioactive gases (113 Xe and more recently 81 m Kr) and microspheres tracers. Selective coronary injection of biodegradable microspheres labelled with 99m Tc and 113m In may be used to assess the hyperemic reaction in the coronary arteriolar territory to the triiodide contrast media used in coronary angiography, and to estimate the reserve coronary blood flow. The transmural perfusion may be studied in animal experiments with non-biodegradable microspheres. Tomographic techniques should allow quantification of myocardial perfusion in man.

Animals↗