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Biomedical subjects

J F Leclercq

Publications and source records attributed to J F Leclercq.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

[Late potentials and arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia].

The authors report on their experience in investigating late potentials (LPs) in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), by comparing 35 patients with ARVD with 40 control subjects. The values of QRS and RMS40 and the duration of the LP showed a marked difference between the control group and the ARVDs, particularly if sustained VT was present. In this case, 68 per cent of patients were found to have LPs (with at least 2 out of 3 parameters abnormal) versus 50 per cent in the ARVDs without sustained VT and 5 per cent in the controls. There was a difference between the diffuse forms (10 per cent) and the localized forms (25 per cent) of ARVD: the LPs were markedly more obvious in the diffuse forms. Likewise, there was a clear relationship between age and the criteria for LPs in ARVD with sustained VT. This is an argument in favour of the evolutive character of the disease, which could be observed directly in a few cases in which the examinations were repeated over the course of time.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Ambulatory sudden cardiac death: mechanisms of production of fatal arrhythmia on the basis of data from 157 cases.

The study of the tapes of ambulatory patients who died while wearing Holter devices allows us to know the terminal electrical events of death in these cases and which are the electrical triggering mechanisms leading to the terminal event. From the evaluation of seven published series with 10 or more cases, we can see that the most frequent causes of sudden death are ventricular tachyarrhythmias (84% of cases) and bradyarrhythmias (16%). VF was the most frequent ventricular tachyarrhythmia, usually secondary to VT. The rest were due to torsades de pointes in patients often without heart disease but who were taking antiarrhythmic drugs. The VT leading to VF was often preceded by sinus tachycardia or new atrial tachyarrhythmia. Only a small percentage of patients presented ischemic ST changes. In patients who died due to bradyarrhythmias, this was more often due to sinus depression than to atrioventricular block.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗
PubMed1989

Surgery for the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome in 73 consecutive patients: what have we learnt from intraoperative mapping?

Intraoperative epicardial mapping data obtained in 73 consecutive patients operated upon for the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome were reviewed. Fifty-six patients had single and 17 patients had multiple accessory pathways. Except for right free wall pathways, all bypass tracts were divided using an endocardial approach. There were 2 operative deaths, 1 of which occurred after a concomitant mitral valve replacement. A total of 78 of the 87 pathways present in the 71 survivors were successfully ablated (90%). All failures occurred in patients with left posterior septal pathways. Epicardial mapping performed prior to bypass was found helpful in identifying multiple distinct accessory pathways which had been missed preoperatively. This occurred in 6 patients and led to appropriate combinations of classic operative approaches which resulted in all of these pathways being successfully divided. Further, by demonstrating that Kent bundles often presented as multiple closely-spaced or arborized accessory pathways, intraoperative mapping led to widening of the margins of surgical dissection, and in particular to an additional left atriotomy in all cases of left posterior septal accessory pathways which resulted in a substantial improvement in our rate of success.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Characteristics, prognosis and treatment of the ventricular arrhythmias of right ventricular dysplasia.

We studied 58 cases of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD). Sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) was present in 50 patients, ventricular fibrillation (VF) in three (two also having VT), and non-sustained VT in the remaining seven. Different morphologies of VT were documented in 24 of the 50 patients with sustained VT. They had a left bundle branch block pattern in 96% of cases, without extreme deviation of the QRS axis, and a QRS relatively narrow and ample. These sustained VTs were triggered by provocative techniques. Holter recordings showed frequent ventricular extrasystoles in the great majority of cases. They were polymorphic in 78%, with runs of VT in 59% of patients. Spontaneous onset of VT occurred during exercise in 60% of cases, preceded by a sinus rate increase when recording was available. This is more frequent in angiographically localized forms of ARVD than in diffuse forms, and tends to disappear during follow-up. Only four cardiac deaths occurred after a follow-up of 8.8 +/- 7.2 years: three by acute heart failure, and only one by recurrent VF. Spontaneous disappearance of VT which became non-inducible was seen in four cases. Single antiarrhythmic drug therapy was judged satisfactory in 21 cases, and combined therapy in 19 other cases. Surgery of fulguration was performed in 17 cases, with 14 successes (nine of them with combined antiarrhythmic therapy). Despite a frequent lack of control of VT by antiarrhythmic drugs, the follow-up of ARVD seems good in patients with sustained VT. Some arguments favour the concept of a diffuse and progressive disease.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1988

Results of electrical fulguration in arrhythmogenic right ventricular disease.

Eleven patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) refractory to antiarrhythmic drugs due to right ventricular disease shown by angiography underwent fulguration. Seven patients always had VT with the same morphology, and 4 had clinical VT with 2 or 3 different QRS waveforms. Five patients underwent a single fulguration and the other 6 underwent from 2 to 5 procedures; 2 to 14 shocks (mean 6) of 150 to 250 J were used. No serious complications occurred. At 31.5 +/- 9 months of follow-up, the arrhythmia was controlled in 8 patients, with continuation of previously ineffective antiarrhythmic drug therapy in 6 of 8. The number of VT episodes the year before and after fulguration was 0.5 +/- 0.7 vs 3.5 +/- 1.7 (p less than 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the success rate and the degree of prematurity of the onset of the local electrogram during VT: -36 +/- 31 ms for successes and -38 +/- 13 ms for failures. In 7 patients with monomorphic VT, there were 6 successes and 1 failure, and in 4 patients with several morphologies of VT, there were 2 successes and 2 failures (1 due to the appearance of a "new" VT). Thus, electrical fulguration of VT in patients with right ventricular disease is safe and most often effective, particularly in patients with monomorphic VT, when combined with antiarrhythmic drugs. In these patients, the usually recommended endocardial mapping criteria for the determination of the optimal fulguration site were not predictive of outcome. Further studies are necessary to better define the optimal site for fulguration.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[The implantable defibrillator. Long-term clinical results].

Between october, 1982 and december, 1986, 17 patients were implanted with an automatic defibrillator. The thoracic route was used in 6 patients with installation of an epicardial patch and an endocavitary electrode. The subcostal route was used in the remaining 11 patients, with 2 epicardial patches. The device, badly tolerated by 2 of the first 6 patients, created no problem in the 11 patients of the second group. One patient died of pulmonary embolism on the 6th post-operative day. At follow-up, there was no inappropriate triggering of the AID-B: 8 patients had neither arrhythmia nor shock, and 8 received from 2 to 55 shocks with documented arrhythmia. Two patients died suddenly: one after end of life of the device, the other after 3 years, while the device was still working. The implantable defibrillator technique has improved and local complications are now seldom observed. The device is reliable and constitutes an effective weapon against sudden death caused by ventricular arrhythmia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Respective role of sympathetic tone and of cardiac pauses in the genesis of 62 cases of ventricular fibrillation recorded during Holter monitoring.

Sixty-two Holter recordings of sudden death due to ventricular fibrillation (VF) were analysed by full disclosure and computerized processing. Thirteen sudden deaths were due to torsades de pointes in noncoronary subjects (11/13), related to quinidine-like drugs and/or hypokalaemia: they were always initiated by a long RR cycle due to a post-extrasystolic pause, and announced by a progressive decrease of mean heart rate (from 77.5 +/- 2.5 to 60.6 +/- 2.7 beats min-1, P less than 0.001), in the three preceding hours. The other cases occurred in coronary patients (45/49), with acceleration of ventricular tachycardia (VT), monomorphic in 24 cases, polymorphic in 13, the ventricular rate increasing from 220.6 +/- 55 to 241.5 +/- 69 beats min-1, rather than with primary VF (12 cases). A cardiac pause (RR cycle exceeding 125% of the mean five preceding cycles) was present in 22/49 cases immediately before the onset of VT/VF. The coupling interval of the extrasystole initiating VT/VF was shorter than the shortest value encountered before: 377.6 +/- 94.5 ms vs 421.4 +/- 92.3. The prematurity index (coupling interval/preceding RR cycle ratio) was lower in primary VF than in VT leading to VF. In the last hour preceding VF, ST changes were unusual (five cases), whereas heart rate increased from 82.8 +/- 20 to 92.0 +/- 26.7 beats min-1, (P less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Long-term follow-up of atrioventricular junctional transcatheter electrical ablation.

Complete data concerning long-term results of transcatheter electrical ablation of the atrioventricular junction is not available. At the request of the French Cardiac Arrhythmia Working group we undertook an inquiry in October 1983. All centers potentially able to perform such procedures were asked to report their experience. Eight centers have performed one case or more, over a period of 3 years, for a total of 91 patients. The mean follow-up completed in all patients in April 1986 was 12 +/- 10 months. The procedure was indicated for a supraventricular arrhythmia resistant to a mean of 3.9 +/- 1.3 classes of antiarrhythmic agents. Atrial flutter or fibrillation in 54 (59%) and atrioventricular nodal reentry in 17 (18%) were the most common arrhythmias. A mean of 2.6 +/- 2.3 electrical shocks (range 1-14 shocks) with a stored energy of 130-400 joules was delivered during 1-5 sessions. Complete heart block was obtained in 83 patients and persisted at the time of discharge from the hospital in 46 patients (50.5%). The immediate complication (within 24 hours after the procedure) included ventricular fibrillation successfully converted (one patient) and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (three patients). Late complications included one death 3 days after the procedure, in a patient in whom sustained ventricular tachycardia was documented, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia in two patients, sepsis in three patients and pericardial effusion in one patient. At the time of the follow-up, there were three additional deaths related to sepsis due to pacemaker pocket infection in one patient and to preexisting congestive heart failure in two patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Characteristics and prognosis of ventricular arrhythmia in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia].

The authors report their findings in 47 cases of ventricular arrhythmias due to arrhythmogenic dysplasia. The 47 patients were selected on the presence of ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation associated with dysplasia affecting selectively (44/47) or predominantly (3/47) the right ventricle at angiography. In this series males were predominant (38/47, 81 p. 100), familial incidence was high (13/47, 28 p. 100) and ECG abnormalities were constant. Most of the dysrhythmias (40/47) consisted of sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) with left bundle branch block pattern (96 p. 100), occurring at the rate of 1.6 per patient on average and seldom with extreme axial deviation, as seen in post-infarction VT or VT associated with cardiomyopathy. The QRS complex was slightly prolonged (151 +/- 28 ms) and of high amplitude (2.5 +/- 1 mV on a VR, a VL and a VF leads), these values being intermediate between those of mild VT bursts and those of post-infarction or cardiomyopathy-related VT. The tachycardia was easily tippered by EP study, Intercritical Holter recordings showed frequent ventricular extrasystoles in the vast majority of cases; these were usually polymorphous and grouped into short bursts in one-half of the patients. On an 8.3 +/- 7 years' follow-up starting with the first attack of VT, it was found that only during the initial phase the spontaneous onset of VT was mediated by the adrenergic system (triggered by sports). Only 3 patients died during the follow-up period: one of ventricular fibrillation, 2 of right heart failure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Arrhythmias as predictors of sudden death.

Two methods are available for exploring arrhythmias in cardiac patients who are at risk of sudden death: Holter monitoring and invasive electrophysiology. Despite numerous studies, the predictive value of these techniques, in terms of prognosis, remains poor for many reasons. Neither technique considered individually can give reliable prognostic indications simply because each technique addresses different issues which are only partially involved in the mechanism of sudden death. Invasive electrophysiology, by artificially provoking an arrhythmia, detects the potential substrate which may ultimately lead to lethal arrhythmias. Although this is an important technique it is insufficient because merely identifying the substrate for an arrhythmia does not necessarily mean that arrhythmia will occur. On the other hand, ambulatory ECG allows monitoring of spontaneous arrhythmias which may be considered as potential initiating factors in arrhythmias. However, even if initiating factors and potential substrates are present, they are not sufficient conditions to cause lethal arrhythmias to occur. When there is an opportunity to scrutinize the mechanism of arrhythmias which are indeed lethal, as in sudden death, it appears that the lethal event results from the intervention of a new factor which was either absent or not considered during preceding investigations. In coronary patients, curiously, ischemia more often provokes cardiac arrest or an electromechanical dissociation rather than a ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. Sudden death is not infrequently of iatrogenic origin, because of the arrhythmogenic effect of powerful antiarrhythmic drugs. More important, ventricular fibrillation often occurs in the setting of a progressively increased sympathetic tone, which explains either the particular seriousness of a previously known arrhythmia or the occurrence of an arrhythmia which was never before observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1987

Clinical use of automatic implantable defibrillators.

We implanted the automatic implantable defibrillator model B (AID-B) in 11 patients (pts). Seven pts had coronary disease with sustained VT, and/or VF. Two had syncopal VT due to primary cardiomyopathy, and two pts had syncopal torsades de pointes (Tdp) without cardiac disease (1 long QT syndrome). These arrhythmias occurred despite antiarrhythmic drugs or beta blockers. Four pts had implanted: an epicardial patch by thoracotomy, an intra-atrial string electrode by the jugular vein, then AID-B by abdominal route. In 7 pts, subcostal approach was used, for implanting simultaneously 2 epicardial patches and the AID-B itself. During the operation, VT, Tdp and/or VF were induced in all pts by 50 Hz alternating current. The defibrillation threshold (DT) between atrial catheter and epicardial patch was less than 15 J in 4 pts, and greater than 25 J in two, requiring a larger patch in 1, and replacement of atrial electrode by another patch in the 2nd pt to obtain a DT less than 20 J. In the 6 pts implanted with 2 patches, DT was always less than 25 J. In 3 pts, DT was markedly higher for VF (25 J) than for VT (less than 15 J). One pt died from pulmonary embolism, another died after 3 years, before replacement of a failing battery, and a third died from progressive congestive heart failure, 6 months later. Eight pts are alive with a follow-up greater than 6 months. Local aseptic reactions obliged a removal of the implant in 2 pts operated by bifocal approach, and none when the subcostal route was used.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

[Value of beta blockers in the treatment of recurrent ventricular tachycardia in cardiac insufficiency].

Beta-blockers were used to treat 20 patients (mean age 55 +/- 12 years) presenting with severe ventricular arrhythmia on chronic heart failure (NYHA stages II to IV; mean ejection fraction 29.7 +/- 7.8%) due to coronary disease (18 cases) or to cardiomyopathy (2 cases). Ventricular tachycardia sustained (7.6 +/- 6.3 attacks/patient) in 19 patients, unsustained in 18, monomorphous in 8 and polymorphous in 12, had been present for 12.4 +/- 18 months. In all but one hitherto untreated patient, the condition had failed to respond to amiodarone combined with a type Ia (19 patients) and type Ic (16 patients) antiarrhythmic drug. Short-term results were: 17 successes, 2 failures and 1 death due to cardiogenic shock. Fifteen patients were followed up for 14 +/- 6.7 months. Thirteen of them benefited from smaller doses of a formerly ineffective treatment; there was one failure, and one patient in whom the attacks of tachycardia, but not the numerous and polymorphous extrasystoles, were controlled by the beta-blockers suddenly died at night. The actuarial mortality rate was 11.4% as against an expected figure of 30% in such a high risk group. Although no significant changes in ejection fraction were observed, heart failure became worse in 8 patients, but it was compensated by diuretics and/or vasodilators. The effects of beta-blockers in resistant ventricular arrhythmia on heart failure suggest that an adrenergic factor is involved in the mechanism of arrhythmia. Provided treatment is progressive and its haemodynamic consequences carefully monitored, beta-blockade is well tolerated. Its effectiveness on severe arrhythmia and on mortality rate seems to confirm that it prevents sudden death by an anti-arrhythmic mechanism.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1987

[Long-term clinical results of the implantable automatic defibrillator].

Between October 1982 and May 1986, 12 patients were implanted with an automatic defibrillator AID-B; 7 had coronary artery disease, 2 had dilated cardiomyopathies and 3 had torsades de pointe with or without long QT intervals. Five patients had a thoracic approach with a left ventricular patch and implantation of a right atrial endocavitary electrode. Thereafter a subcostal approach was used with 2 patch electrodes. Two of the first 5 patients rejected the device, but this complication was not observed in the remaining 7 cases. The threshold of defibrillation was greater than 25 joules in 1 case out of 5 with a patch and endocavitary electrode. This threshold was less than 25 joules in all patients with 2 patch electrodes. The AID-B was triggered in less than 20 seconds. One patient died of pulmonary embolism 8 days after implantation; 2 others had a temporary aggravation of their arrhythmias. There were no cases of inappropriate activation of the AID-B device during follow up: 5 patients had no arrhythmia or defibrillation. The 6 others had 2 to 35 defibrillations with documented arrhythmias before or after defibrillation. One patient suffered a sudden death after exhaustion of the device which had functioned on two occasions but had not been replaced for economic reasons. The technique of implantation has been simplified, so limiting local complications. This device is reliable and represents an effective palliative treatment of sudden death due to ventricular arrhythmias.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

[Surgery of Wolff-Parkinson-White: value of the epicardial approach. Apropos of 28 surgically treated cases].

The authors report their experience of 28 cases of the Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome treated by surgery. Four patients had multiple accessory pathways; of the 32 bundles of Kent detected, 16 were in the postero-septal region. Surgery, performed under cardio-pulmonary bypass after epicardial mapping, consisted in atrioventricular disconnection using no special physical agent. With the exception of 2 cases, the left lateral accessory pathways were operated using a classical left intraatrial approach whereas in the right lateral and septal forms the main procedure of dissection of the right atrioventricular groove was carried out by an epicardial approach. There was one operative death due to haemodynamic and haemorrhagic problems in a top class athlete with two bundles of Kent, the interruption of which required two consecutive bypass procedures. In the 27 survivors, 29 of the 30 accessory pathways were successfully interrupted (96 p. 100). The only failure occurred in a patient with two bundles of Kent. On the other hand, in 2 patients, complete atrioventricular block was successfully obtained by surgical section of the His bundle during the same procedure in one case, and by postoperative catheter ablation in the other case in which surgery had failed. There were no cases of accidental permanent atrioventricular block. The results in this series confirm the value of surgery in the treatment of the WPW syndrome, especially in the septal forms which are reputed to be the most difficult but in which the approach is greatly simplified by the initial dissection of the tricuspid ring by an epicardial approach.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Determinants of the spontaneous ectopic activity in repetitive monomorphic idiopathic ventricular tachycardia.

Twenty-four hour ambulatory electrocardiographic tape recordings of 30 patients (16 men and 14 women, mean age 42 +/- 17 years) with repetitive monomorphic idiopathic ventricular tachycardia were analyzed using a new computerized system designed to study 15 RR cycles and mean heart rate of the 3 minutes preceding any defined event. The mean (+/- SD) number of events analyzed per patient in 24 hours was 610 +/- 483 for single premature ventricular complexes, 622 +/- 490 for couplets, 260 +/- 411 for runs of 3 complexes, 186 +/- 476 for runs of 4, 108 +/- 173 for runs of 5, 82 +/- 129 for runs of 6 to 10 and 83 +/- 116 for runs of more than 10 complexes. The heart rate was faster before runs of ventricular tachycardia than before isolated extrasystoles (p less than 0.01) and a positive linear correlation was observed between the mean preceding heart rate and the type of extrasystolic activity, the length of the runs increasing with increasing preceding heart rate (r = 0.98, p less than 0.001). A long RR interval just before the occurrence of runs was present in 77% of the cases (23 of 30) with or without an oscillatory pattern of RR intervals due to bigeminy or trigeminy, and the length of the runs correlated positively with the duration of this long preceding diastole (r = 0.90, p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗