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Biomedical subjects

D K Stewart

Publications and source records attributed to D K Stewart.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Characteristics of peak aerobic capacity in symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects with left ventricular dysfunction. The Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD) Investigators.

Expired gas analysis was used to determine the aerobic exercise performance of subjects with depressed left ventricular (LV) systolic function and congestive heart failure (CHF). To determine whether subjects with no or minimal CHF have better aerobic exercise performance than do those with overt CHF, oxygen consumption (VO2) at anaerobic threshold (AT) and peak exercise was measured in 184 subjects with LV ejection fraction less than or equal to 0.35 who participated in the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction. Subjects were divided into those with overt CHF needing treatment (treatment trial; n = 20) and those who had neither overt CHF nor treatment for CHF (prevention trial; n = 164). Treatment trial subjects had a lower LV ejection fraction (0.25 +/- 0.07) than did prevention trial ones (0.29 +/- 0.05; p = 0.001), but there were no differences in age, gender, body weight, resting heart rate and blood pressure. Treadmill exercise testing was performed after 2 to 3 weeks of placebo (no angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor) treatment. Treatment trial subjects exercised for a shorter time (493 +/- 160 seconds) and attained a lower peak VO2 (13 +/- 4 ml/kg/min) and VO2 at AT (11 +/- 4 ml/kg/min) than did prevention trial ones (842 +/- 277 seconds, and 20 +/- 6 and 16 +/- 5 ml/kg/min, respectively). Analysis of covariance showed that the differences in peak VO2 and VO2 at AT were statistically significant between the 2 trials after adjusting for age, gender, LV ejection fraction and New York Heart Association functional class.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery early after acute myocardial infarction.

Seven hundred ninety-three patients had coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery within 30 days after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) between August 1982 and July 1987. Hospital mortality was 5.7%. Age, surgical priority, prior CABG surgery, congestive heart failure (CHF), and type of AMI were associated with increased hospital mortality by logistic regression analysis of nine independent variables. When the analysis was carried out separately for men and women, the same predictive variables were identified for men, but only surgical priority and age were predictive of operative mortality for women. Elective CABG surgery can be carried out at low risk following AMI in stable patients regardless of the interval between AMI and surgery. Patients who undergo urgent or emergency surgery and those who have CHF, Q wave infarction, or a history of prior AMI are at increased risk.

Adult

Oral nifedipine for the treatment of patients with severe hypertension.

Ten mg of nifedipine was administered to 19 patients with severe hypertension (mean blood pressure 187 +/- 17/122 +/- 12 mm Hg) without intensive care monitoring. Patients were instructed to bite and swallow the contents of the capsule. Blood pressure declined significantly to a mean of 149 +/- 17/92 +/- 10 mm Hg. No adverse side effects or hypotension occurred. Ten patients required an additional dose 30 to 60 minutes after the initial dose. Mean heart rate increased from 79 to 95 beats per minute without symptomatic consequences. Laboratory parameters measured before and after the four-hour study did not change significantly, although peripheral renin activity rose transiently. Urinary sodium excretion increased 43 percent over four hours after therapy in three patients in whom it was measured. Cardiac output, which was measured noninvasively in seven patients, rose nonsignificantly whereas systemic vascular resistance declined from 2,070 dynes/second/cm-5 to 1,271 dynes/second/cm-5 (statistically significant difference) in 20 minutes. These results indicate that oral nifedipine, when bitten and swallowed, effectively lowers blood pressure in patients with severe hypertension without the occurrence of adverse side effects or hypotension. Oral nifedipine may be used safely in an outpatient setting when urgent intervention is required.

Administration, Oral

Left ventricular function before and following surgical treatment of mitral valve disease.

Nineteen patients with mitral valve disease were studied before and a mean 11 months +/- 9 months following valve replacement or reconstruction, which resulted in good postoperative valve function. Biplane left ventricular angiography and pressures were utilized to determine end-diastolic volume/M. (EDV), end-systolic volume/M. (ESV), ejection fraction (EF), left ventricular mass/M. (LVM), and stroke work/M. (SW). There were 19 patients--six with mitral stenosis (MS), six with mitral stenosis and regurgitation (MS + MR), and seven with mitral regurgitation (MR). Those with MS and MS + MR preoperatively had no significant change in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), EDV, ESV, LVM, or EF following surgery. Patients with MR had a significant reduction in LVEDP, EDV, SV, and SW. More importantly, the EF fell in four of these seven patients and LVM did not decrease following surgery. It is concluded that surgical treatment for MS and MS + MR had little effect on left ventricular performance. Following surgical treatment for MR, reduction in EDV is not associated with reduction in LVM, and frequently left ventricular performance deteriorates as judged by the EF.

Angiocardiography

Left ventricular volume during maximal supine exercise: a study using metallic epicardial markers.

Changes in left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction between rest and maximal supine exercise were evaluated in 11 patients who had had four epicardial markers placed during coronary artery surgery. After calibrating marker distances with respect to volume (r = 0.92--0.99) over one cardiac cycle for each patient, regression equations were used to compute LV volume from marker measurements for beats before and during exercise. The response of the left ventricle to exercise and the extent of revascularization could not be predicted from resting LV volume or ejection fraction. Ten patients had normal resting end-diastolic volumes and eight had normal resting ejection fractions. With exercise, three had a rise in end-diastolic volume and four had a fall in ejection fraction. Graft patency was greater in the group with an unchanged or increased ejection fraction (86 vs 50%, P less than 0.05). Epicardial clip motion can be used to determine LV volumes and ejection fraction during supine maximal exercise in man. The revascularized ventricle with normal or nearly normal performance in studies done at rest responds by decreasing end-diastolic and end-systolic volume and by increasing the ejection fraction. Increases in volumes or decreases in ejection fraction reflect old myocardial damage from infarction, fibrosis or ischemia from incomplete revascularization.

Adult

Nonuniform contraction in the isolated cat papillary muscle.

Microspheres infused into the coronary microcirculation were used as markers to define segments within isolated cat papillary muscles. Video recording and analysis provided measurements of the variations of segment lengths as the muscles contracted at lengths of 76-100% Lmax. In all muscles, segments in the center region were found to shorten during muscle isometric contraction while those in the end regions lengthened. Central shortening was typically 10-15%. In the passive state, segment lengths varied directly with muscle length over a broad range characterized by low force. Segments in the center region, however, displayed an abrupt transition to high stiffness at a certain length while end regions continued to stretch. Force-length relationships obtained for the presumably healthy center segment are significantly different from those obtained for the whole muscle. These results suggest that there may be major difficulties with the interpretation of mechanical measurements on papillary muscles unless contractile inhomogeneity is eliminated or taken into account.

Animals

Immediate effect of contrast medium injection on left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction. A study using metallic epicardial markers.

The immediate effect of contrast medium injection on left ventricular (LV) volume, stroke volume (SV) and ejection fraction (EF) was evaluated from postoperative LV biplane cineangiograms of 10 patients with 4-6 epicardial markers placed at the time of coronary artery surgery. After calibrating marker distances with respect to volume (r = 0.97-0.99) over one cardiac cycle for each patient, regression equations were used to compute LV volume from marker measurements for beats prior to, during and following injection. End-diastolic volumes (EDV) prior to injection ranged from 93-263 ml and did not change significantly with injection. End-systolic volumes (ESV) showed a mean decrease of 7.3 ml by beat 7 following injection; this was of borderline significance. Similarly, there was no significant change of SV or EF until beat 7 when there were small but significant increases of 6.4 ml and 0.04, respectively. The injection of moderate amounts of contrast in man does not cause significant changes in LV volume or EF through the sixth post-injection beat.

Cardiac Output

Left ventricular function before and following aortic valve replacement.

Twenty-four patients with aortic valve disease were studied before and 19+/-12 months following valve replacement with a well functioning prosthesis. Biplane left ventricular angiography and pressures were utilized to determine end-diastolic volume/m2 (EDV), end-systolic volume/m2 (ESV), ejection fraction (EF), left ventricular mass/m2 (LVM) and stroke work (SW). There were nine patients with aortic stenosis (AS), ten patients with combined stenosis and regurgitation (AS-AR), and five patients with aortic regurgitation (AR). Following surgery, patients with regurgitation preoperatively showed marked regression in EDV and ESV. All groups demonstrated regression in LVM. Fifteen patients with a normal EF preoperatively (65+/-11%) had no change after surgery; the nine patients with a low EF before surgery (38+/-8%) had a normal EF after surgery (60+/-16%). We conclude that left ventricular dilatation, hypertrophy, and reduced left ventricular pump function are largely reversible after successful aortic valve replacement.

Angiography

Length-dependent calcium inotropism in cat papillary muscle.

We studied changes in the relationship of isometric developed force to muscle length when extracellular calcium concentration was altered in isolated cat papillary muscles. In two series of experiments at temperatures of 30 degrees C and 32 degrees C, and rates of 12 and 30 beats/min, 21 muscles were exposed to calcium concentrations of 1.125, 2.25 and 4.5 mM. Muscle lengths were varied between 80% and 100% of the length at which maximum developed force occurred (Lmax). Peak developed force and the time from stimulus to peak were measured. The data indicate that force is not altered proportionately at all lengths when calcium concentration is changed. Rather, we found that a substantially greater modification of force occurs at short lengths than at long lengths. Similarly, the time to peak force increases with length at a rate which is more than 4 times greater at the low calcium concentration than it is at the high concentration. Small but consistent shifts of Lmax also are seen. We observed that Lmax is longer when inotropic changes reduce force and shorter when force is increased. These results indicate that the inotropic effect of extracellular calcium concentration changes is dependent on muscle length.

Animals

Quantitative measurement of left ventricular volumes in man from radiopaque epicardial markers.

The distances between three or four radiopaque markers located on the left ventricular epicardial surface at the apex and in the region of the minor axes in 22 subjects showed close correlations with left ventricular chamber radii, length, volume and wall thickness determined from biplane angiograms over the range of stroke volume. The markers were previously placed during heart surgery. Regression equations relating the distances between epicardial markers and chamber volumes were used to predict volumes for other beats. There was close agreement of end-diastolic, end-systolic, and stroke volumes as determined by the angiographic and epicardial marker methods for premature atrial contraction beats and post premature contraction beats, and in studies performed during rest and exercise. Time-volume curves determined by the epicardial marker and angiographic methods were similar. It is concluded that epicardial marker measurements can be used to quantitate beat-to-beat left ventricular chamber volume and dimension changes.

Angiocardiography

Chlamydia pneumoniae strain TWAR antibody and angiographically demonstrated coronary artery disease.

A recent case-control study from Finland reported a strong association between high antibody titers to Chlamydia pneumoniae, strain TWAR, and both chronic coronary heart disease and acute myocardial infarction. The current case-control study investigated the relation between C. pneumoniae immunoglobulin G antibody titers and angiographically diagnosed coronary artery disease. Cases (n = 461) were angiography patients with at least one coronary artery lesion occupying at least 50% of the luminal diameter. Controls (n = 95) were angiography patients with no demonstrable coronary artery disease. After standardization for age and gender, the geometric mean antibody titer was higher for cases than for controls (30.0 versus 24.0, p = 0.04). The estimated risk of coronary artery disease, adjusted for age and gender, was greater among subjects with high (greater than or equal to 1:64) antibody titers than among subjects with low (less than or equal to 1:8) antibody titers (relative risk, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-4.0). The risk associated with a high antibody titer was particularly great for coronary artery disease with five or more lesions (relative risk, 2.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-7.0). The results of this cross-sectional study support an association between infection with C. pneumoniae and coronary artery disease.

Antibodies, Bacterial