Biomedical subjects

B Lorell

Publications and source records attributed to B Lorell.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1979

Right ventricular infarction. Clinical diagnosis and differentiation from cardiac tamponade and pericardial constriction.

Twelve patients with a clinical diagnosis of right ventricular infarction are described. All had acute inferior wall myocardial infarction associated with the bedside findings of jugular venous distension, clear lungs on auscultation, and arterial hypotension. Hemodynamically, there was elevation of right-sided filling pressures not explained by normal or minimally elevated pulmonary wedge pressures. Four patients had an incorrect diagnosis of acute cardiac tamponade. However, a review of the data showed that the hemodynamic features of right ventricular infarction more closely resemble those of pericardial constriction, a point that may be helpful in distinguishing right ventricular infarction from cardiac tamponade. Invasive and noninvasive techniques that exclude the presence of pericardial fluid and suggest enlargement and abnormal contractility of the right ventricle were helpful in establishing the diagnosis of right ventricular infarction in several patients.

Aged↗

PubMed1979

Atrial flutter with exit block.

The mechanism of atrial flutter is controversial. A 76-year-old woman with rheumatic heart disease was referred to our clinic with an unusual rhythm disturbance which initially appeared to be classic atrial flutter at a rate of 300 beats/min. Later tracings, however, demonstrated a rate exactly one-half that of the earlier ECGs, with an identical p-wave morphology and vector. This latter rhythm also behaved in a manner expected for a flutter mechanism in that both spontaneously and with carotid pressure high-degree atrioventricular block occurred without alteration of the underlying atrial mechanism. Finally, the two rates interchanged spontaneously over several days without any significant interval changes in medical therapy. These findings were initially explained as probable digoxin toxicity. The underlying mechanism, however, was more likely atrial flutter with exit block and in this patient may have represented another facet of her sick sinus syndrome. This unusual phenomenon is discussed in terms of previous reports and possible implications for the mechanism of atrial flutter.

Aged↗

PubMed1978

Cardiac sarcoidosis. Diagnosis with endomyocardial biopsy and treatment with corticosteroids.

A 27 year old woman was hospitalized for progressive dyspnea, fatigue and retrosternal chest pain. She had progressive cardiac enlargement with clinical and laboratory confirmation of a dilated cardiomyopathy. Transvenous percutaneous right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy yielded a specimen showing a noncaseating granuloma. The patient's dyspnea responded dramatically to steroid therapy with corresponding improvement in radiographic and echographic measures of ventricular performance. This case illustrates the problem of diagnosing cardiac sarcoidosis when there is no apparent evidence of other organ involvement.

Adult↗