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Biomedical subjects

E L Alderman

Publications and source records attributed to E L Alderman.

162 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Circulatory effects of diazepam in heart disease.

Diazepam was administered to ten patients with heart disease during diagnostic cardiac catheterization, in order to determine whether or not this drug's circulatory actions could alter results obtained during the procedure. Diazepam produced no change in baroreceptor sensitivity; however, there was a significant rise in heart rate and a significant fall in aortic systolic and left ventricular end-diastolic pressures. Cardiac index was unchanged, whereas stroke volume fell significantly. Systemic vascular resistance and peak left ventricular dp/dt did not change throughout the study. Clinical response in terms of sedation was judged to be satisfactory in eight patients, and no adverse effect on respiration was noted. Diazepam has little effect on basal circulatory and respiratory parameters when changes in these parameters are averaged for our ten patients. However, substantial changes in hemodynamic parameters did occur in several individuals, and such alteration in circulatory function must be considered when this agent is used routinely in patients having diagnostic cardiac catheterization.

Blood Pressure↗

Distribution and morphologic features of coronary artery disease in cardiac allografts: an intracoronary ultrasound study.

The longitudinal distribution and circumferential pattern of coronary intimal proliferation were studied with intravascular ultrasonography in 135 patients after heart transplantation. Eighty-seven (64%) of 135 patients had significant intimal thickening, with most lesions (63%) concentric and free of fibrosis or calcification. Both diffuse and nonuniform longitudinal patterns of intimal thickening were found.

Adult↗

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in end-stage dilated cardiomyopathy: simultaneous Doppler echocardiography and hemodynamic evaluation.

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is an integral component of end-stage dilated cardiomyopathy. To better characterize this disorder we studied 15 patients undergoing catheterization during cardiac transplant screening evaluation. Pulsed-wave Doppler echocardiographic recordings of mitral inflow were obtained with simultaneous high-fidelity left ventricular and phase-corrected pulmonary capillary wedge pressures. Doppler-derived isovolumic relaxation times were within normal limits, despite a prolonged coefficient of relaxation (tau), and correlated with pulmonary capillary wedge--left ventricular crossover pressure. Peak velocity of early diastolic filling was similar to that reported in normal subjects and did not correlate with crossover pressure or tau. Early diastolic acceleration and deceleration times were shortened compared with reported normal values. Acceleration time correlated with mean negative dP/dt from mitral valve opening to left ventricular minimum pressure and with crossover pressure, and deceleration time correlated with mean dP/dt from left ventricular minimum pressure to the peak of the rapid filling wave. Late diastolic filling at atrial contraction was absent in 12 patients, all of whom had a significant early diastolic rapid filling wave and an elevated end-diastolic pressure. Despite an increase in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure during atrial contraction, the failing ventricles were unable to generate detectable forward transmitral flow. Poor cardiac pump function was shown by low left ventricular stroke volume, which correlated with the diastolic flow velocity integral. Thus, in end-stage cardiomyopathy, the transmitral flow velocity pattern is characterized by normal peak early filling velocity, low normal isovolumic relaxation time, shortened acceleration and deceleration times of early diastolic flow, decreased early flow velocity integral, and absent or decreased filling during atrial contraction. This pattern reflects interaction between elevated transmitral driving pressure and the compromised relaxation and compliance of a left ventricle functioning on an elevated pressure-volume curve.

Adult↗

Institutional differences in therapeutic decision making in the Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS).

This article examines institutional differences in therapeutic decision making in the Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS). The initial decision to use medical therapy or coronary artery bypass surgery for coronary artery disease is studied. Data from the CASS registry and a survey of CASS principal investigators were used to examine the effects of institutional characteristics, individual physician characteristics, and decision making responsibility on the recommended therapy, the actual therapy, and the ratio of the observed to expected number of surgeries. The results indicated that the experience and involvement of the surgeon in the decision making process were related to actual and recommended rates of surgery. The percentage of urgent transfers from other hospitals and the percentage of surgical referrals to outside hospitals were related to the ratio of the observed to expected numbers of surgery, an adjusted rate of surgery. A major conclusion of this study is that despite the effects of certain institutional constructs, scientific criteria in the form of clinical and angiographic data are the most important determinants of whether a patient receives coronary artery bypass surgery.

Adult↗