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Biomedical subjects

G H Hendrix

Publications and source records attributed to G H Hendrix.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Effect of oral milrinone on mortality in severe chronic heart failure. The PROMISE Study Research Group.

BACKGROUND: Milrinone, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, enhances cardiac contractility by increasing intracellular levels of cyclic AMP, but the long-term effect of this type of positive inotropic agent on the survival of patients with chronic heart failure has not been determined. METHODS: We randomly assigned 1,088 patients with severe chronic heart failure (New York Heart Association class III or IV) and advanced left ventricular dysfunction to double-blind treatment with (40 mg of oral milrinone daily (561 patients) or placebo (527 patients). In addition, all patients received conventional therapy with digoxin, diuretics, and a converting-enzyme inhibitor throughout the trial. The median period of follow-up was 6.1 months (range, 1 day to 20 months). RESULTS: As compared with placebo, milrinone therapy was associated with a 28 percent increase in mortality from all causes (95 percent confidence interval, 1 to 61 percent; P = 0.038) and a 34 percent increase in cardiovascular mortality (95 percent confidence interval, 6 to 69 percent; P = 0.016). The adverse effect of milrinone was greatest in patients with the most severe symptoms (New York Heart Association class IV), who had a 53 percent increase in mortality (95 percent confidence interval, 13 to 107 percent; P = 0.006). Milrinone did not have a beneficial effect on the survival of any subgroup. Patients treated with milrinone had more hospitalizations (44 vs. 39 percent, P = 0.041), were withdrawn from double-blind therapy more frequently (12.7 vs. 8.7 percent, P = 0.041), and had serious adverse cardiovascular reactions, including hypotension (P = 0.006) and syncope (P = 0.002), more often than the patients given placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that despite its beneficial hemodynamic actions, long-term therapy with oral milrinone increases the morbidity and mortality of patients with severe chronic heart failure. The mechanism by which the drug exerts its deleterious effects is unknown.

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PubMed1991

Dobutamine-201Tl imaging. Assessing cardiac risks associated with vascular surgery.

The prevalence of coronary artery disease among patients considered for vascular surgical reconstructive procedures is appreciable though often clinically not apparent. One hundred and twenty-six patients underwent dobutamine-201Tl imaging (DTI) in preparation for vascular reconstruction. Fifty-four patients (43%) had a normal study and underwent vascular reconstruction, with one postoperative myocardial ischemic event (1.8%). 30 patients (24%) had a fixed defect present on DTI, which was indicative of prior infarction. Twenty-eight of these 30 patients underwent vascular reconstruction, with three postoperative myocardial ischemic events (11%, p = NS). The presence of a fixed defect on DTI did not significantly increase the risk of ischemic events in patients undergoing vascular procedures. Forty-two (33%) patients had reperfusion of their defects on DTI, which was indicative of myocardial ischemia. Fifteen of these 42 (36%) were denied vascular reconstruction. Nine of the 42 (21%) had either coronary artery bypass graft surgery or coronary angioplasty performed before vascular reconstruction without any postoperative myocardial ischemic events. The remaining 18 patients with reversible ischemia identified by DTI underwent vascular reconstruction without preoperative cardiac intervention, and nine of these 18 (50%) suffered a postoperative myocardial ischemic event (p less than 0.0001). Although there was a difference in the incidence of ischemic events among patients undergoing peripheral vascular compared with aortic reconstruction (71% versus 36%), if there was reversible ischemia identified on DTI this did not reach statistical significance. DTI is a reliable screening test that allows for an accurate means of predicting cardiac risks associated with vascular reconstruction, as well as identifying patients that might benefit from further cardiac evaluation and preoperative intervention.

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PubMed1990

Preoperative evaluation of cardiac risk using dobutamine-thallium imaging in vascular surgery.

Coronary artery disease is frequently present in patients undergoing evaluation for reconstructive peripheral vascular surgery. Dobutamine-thallium imaging has been shown to be a reliable and sensitive noninvasive method for the detection of significant coronary artery disease. Eighty-seven candidates for vascular reconstruction underwent dobutamine-thallium imaging. Forty-eight patients had an abnormal dobutamine-thallium scan. Twenty-two patients had infarct only, while 26 had reversible ischemia demonstrated on dobutamine-thallium imaging. Fourteen of 26 patients with reversible ischemia underwent cardiac catheterization and 11 showed significant coronary artery disease. Seven patients underwent preoperative coronary bypass grafting or angioplasty. There were no postoperative myocardial events in this group. Three patients were denied surgery on the basis of unreconstructible coronary artery disease, and one patient refused further intervention. Ten patients with reversible myocardial ischemia on dobutamine-thallium imaging underwent vascular surgical reconstruction without coronary revascularization and suffered a 40% incidence of postoperative myocardial ischemic events. Five patients were denied surgery because of presumed significant coronary artery disease on the basis of the dobutamine-thallium imaging and clinical evaluation alone. Thirty-nine patients with normal dobutamine-thallium scans underwent vascular reconstructive surgery with a 5% incidence of postoperative myocardial ischemia. Dobutamine-thallium imaging is a sensitive and reliable screening method which identifies those patients with coronary artery disease who are at high risk for perioperative myocardial ischemia following peripheral vascular surgery.

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PubMed1989

Left ventricular dysfunction in symptomatic mitral valve prolapse.

Idiopathic MVP is characterized by a late systolic click or murmur from myxomatous mitral valvular dysfunction. It may be complicated by atypical chest pain, ventricular arrhythmias, and ECG changes that can mimic the symptoms of coronary artery disease. We prospectively performed radionuclide cineangiograms before and after stress tests in MVP patients with chest pain compared with asymptomatic MVP patients and symptomatic normal control patients. In ten patients with MVP, chest pain, and normal coronary anatomy, the LVEF remained essentially unchanged (increase of -0.5 +/- 4 percent) after exercise. In ten patients with MVP and no chest pain and in nine with normal cardiovascular system and chest pain, the exercise LVEF increased by 11.5 +/- 2 percent (p less than 0.05) and 17.4 +/- 3 percent (p less than 0.005), respectively. The resting LVEF was significantly lower (p less than 0.02) in the symptomatic MVP patients (59 +/- 3 percent) than in the asymptomatic MVP (76 +/- 5 percent) or symptomatic normal patient control subjects (70 +/- 3 percent). Patients with MVP and chest pain had a lower resting LVEF and an abnormal left ventricular functional response to exercise compared with asymptomatic MVP patients or symptomatic normal subjects. Therefore, exercise radionuclide ventriculography may not adequately differentiate between chest pain due to MVP or coronary artery disease.

Cineangiography↗
PubMed1987

Incidence of acute myocardial infarction in patients with exercise-induced silent myocardial ischemia.

Fifty-five patients with angiographically proved coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent Bruce protocol exercise stress testing with thallium-201 imaging. Twenty-seven patients (group I) showed myocardial hypoperfusion without angina pectoris during stress, which normalized at rest, and 28 patients (group II) had a similar pattern of reversible myocardial hypoperfusion but also had angina during stress. Patients were followed for at least 30 months. Six patients in group I had an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 3 of whom died, and only 1 patient in group II had an AMI (p = 0.05), and did not die. Silent myocardial ischemia uncovered during exercise stress thallium testing may predispose to subsequent AMI. The presence of silent myocardial ischemia identified in this manner is of prognostic value, independent of angiographic variables such as extent of CAD and left ventricular ejection fraction.

Angina Pectoris↗
PubMed1987

Predictors of outcome for aortic valve replacement in patients with aortic regurgitation and left ventricular dysfunction: a change in the measuring stick.

Although left ventricular function is generally regarded as a key determinant of prognosis in aortic regurgitation, predictors of outcome of aortic valve replacement based on this factor have recently been questioned. This study was performed to examine the role of indexes of left ventricular function in predicting the outcome of surgery in patients with aortic regurgitation and left ventricular dysfunction. Fourteen patients with aortic regurgitation with a preoperative ejection fraction of less than 0.55 (average 0.45 +/- 0.02) who underwent aortic valve replacement were studied. The patients had 82 (58%) of a possible 140 predictors of negative outcome preoperatively, but 12 of the 14 patients had a decrease in symptoms and an increase in ejection fraction into the normal range after operation (average postoperative ejection fraction 0.59 +/- 0.04). Although improvement occurred despite the presence of many negative predictors of outcome, there was a significant correlation between postoperative ejection fraction and eight of the tested preoperative predictors. Preoperative end-systolic dimension correlated best (r = -0.91) with postoperative ejection fraction. An end-systolic dimension of 60 mm correlated with a postoperative ejection fraction of 0.55. The results indicate that preoperative ventricular function is still an important determinant of outcome of aortic valve replacement for aortic regurgitation. However, current medical and surgical techniques permit a better prognosis in the presence of reduced ventricular function than was previously considered possible.

Aortic Valve Insufficiency↗
PubMed1986

Thoracic surgical implications of the yellow nail syndrome.

Idiopathic lymphedema associated with yellow discoloration of the nail beds constitutes the yellow nail syndrome. Pleural effusions and chronic sinusitis are also frequently present. This report describes a case of yellow nail syndrome in a 65-year-old woman.

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