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Biomedical subjects

D S Blondheim

Publications and source records attributed to D S Blondheim.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Dilated cardiomyopathy with mitral regurgitation: decreased survival despite a low frequency of left ventricular thrombus.

Ninety-one patients with dilated cardiomyopathy were studied by two-dimensional, pulsed, and color Doppler echocardiography (1) to detect and quantify mitral regurgitation (MR), (2) to record apical flow velocities in systole and diastole, and (3) to detect the presence of left ventricular thrombi. MR was detected in 57% of the patients and thrombi were present in 40%, but the occurrence of both MR and thrombus was rare (8%). Apical flow velocity was significantly higher throughout the cardiac cycle in the group with MR (diastole 15 +/- 7 vs 9 +/- 7 cm/sec; systole 29 +/- 12 vs 16 +/- 13 cm/sec; p less than 0.001 for both), accounting for the rarity of thrombi in this group. Follow-up data on 89% of the patients showed markedly decreased survival in the group with MR (22% vs 60% at 32 +/- 6 months, p less than 0.005), and this was evident even in patients with mild MR. Thus although MR is a noninvasively obtainable marker of a large subgroup of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy "protected" from left ventricular thrombus formation, it is a sensitive marker of decreased survival.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Method for noninvasive measurement of central aortic systolic pressure.

A method for noninvasive generation of central aortic systolic pressure curves is presented. The method is based on plotting the occlusive pressure values applied at the brachial artery level against the time intervals needed for the aortic pressure wave to equalize and break through the occlusive pressure at the brachial artery level. These time intervals were obtained by measuring the time from the beginning of depolarization (the QRS complex) to the detection of the pressure wave at the temporarily occluded brachial artery. The validity of the method was documented by 3 different approaches. The pressure values measured by a device developed by us were superimposed on the simultaneously measured central intra-aortic pressure waves and all values were within one standard deviation from the central aortic recordings in 8 of the 10 patients studied. At the same time, the noninvasively recorded pressure waves were completely different from the peripheral artery pressure recorded simultaneously at the femoral artery site. The DP/DT values derived from the central aortic recordings and the noninvasive device correlated (r = 0.83). These results indicate that the noninvasive device measures the central aortic pressure or a close approximation of it. By combining noninvasive pressure measurements with volume measurements obtained by radionuclide angiography, noninvasive pressure-volume curves were generated in 10 subjects. Possible clinical application of the systolic noninvasive pressure-volume curves is suggested.

Aorta↗
PubMed1985

Early detection of diastolic impairment in long-standing hypertension by a noninvasive volume challenge method.

A simple, easily reproducible, noninvasive, provocative test for the assessment of early diastolic impairment in long-standing hypertension is presented. Volume challenge of the heart was produced by elevating the subject's legs to 45 degrees for 5 minutes, thus increasing the venous return to the right heart. Using gated radionuclide ventriculography and Fourier analysis, the atrial structures were delineated and time-activity curves were generated. Early diastolic emptying slope of the left atrium was used to assess left ventricular compliance changes in hypertensives. The left atrial early diastolic emptying rate was markedly reduced in 38 hypertensive patients (45.5 +/- 15.4 counts/s) when compared with 14 healthy subjects (78 +/- 16 counts/s). The legs-up procedure induced subsequent decrease in left atrial emptying rate in patients with long-standing hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (-27.4 +/- 11%). In patients with recent onset hypertension there was a depressed early diastolic emptying rate (55.79 +/- 10 counts/s), but a "normal" response to the legs-up procedure (an increase in left atrial emptying rate: 12.84 +/- 7%). Global ejection fraction was normal in all subjects studied, decreasing after induction of augmented venous return in long-standing hypertension. Reduction in left atrial early diastolic emptying rate, caused by the legs-up manoeuvre appears to be an early and sensitive indicator of the left ventricular diastolic impairment in essential hypertension.

Blood Volume↗
PubMed1984

Trichinosis in southern Lebanon.

An outbreak of trichinosis in two villages in southern Lebanon affected over 100 patients, aged 3 to 70 years, who celebrated Christmas and New Year's of 1981 by feasting on rare pork. Six were hospitalized in Israel. The diagnosis was made on clinical and histological grounds. The clinical picture included the classical features, but was unusual in that rarely reported pedal or pretibial edema, pruritus and vertigo, were prominent. There was one case with suspected myocarditis. Two women in the first trimester of pregnancy had miscarriages. All patients recovered. With the unstable political situation in Lebanon in recent years, veterinary and sanitary supervision has deteriorated, and most pigpens are infected with trichinosis.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1979

Effect of a 24-hour food-and-water fast on viscosity of whole blood and plasma.

As a result of abstaining from food and water for 24 h during the midsummer Tishah-b'Ab fast, blood viscosity increased by 16.5% in 27 subjects studied; plasma viscosity increased by 10.3% in nine; hematocrit, by 3.1% in 27; serum total protein, by 6.3% and albumin, by 7.7%, both in 29 subjects. These changes were statistically significant. Plasma fibrinogen did not increase significantly. Fasting-induced changes could impair blood supply to vital organs in patients with vascular insufficiency.

Adult↗