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Biomedical subjects

Luís Raposo

Publications and source records attributed to Luís Raposo.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Subacute left ventricle free wall rupture after acute myocardial infarction: awareness of the clinical signs and early use of echocardiography may be life-saving.

Left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is a fearful complication of acute myocardial infarction in which a swift diagnosis and emergency surgery can be crucial for successful treatment. Because a significant number of cases occur subacutely, clinicians should be aware of the risk factors, clinical features and diagnostic criteria of this complication. We report the case of a 69 year-old man in whom a subacute left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) was diagnosed 7 days after an inferior myocardial infarction with late reperfusion therapy. An asymptomatic 3 to 5 mm saddle-shaped ST-segment elevation in anterior and lateral leads, detected on a routine ECG, led to an urgent bedside echocardiogram which showed basal inferior-wall akinesis, a small echodense pericardial effusion and a canalicular tract from endo to pericardium, along the interface between the necrotic and normal contracting myocardium, trough which power-Doppler examination suggested blood crossing the myocardial wall. A cardiac MRI further reinforced the possibility of contained LVFWR and a surgical procedure was undertaken, confirming the diagnosis and allowing the successful repair of the myocardial tear. This case illustrates that subacute LVFWR provides an opportunity for intervention. Recognition of the diversity of presentation and prompt use of echocardiography may be life-saving.

Aged↗

Glucose metabolism in non-diabetic patients with stable coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes and other forms of impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) can be present in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), despite normal fasting glycemia and no prior evidence of diabetes. Undiagnosed IGM can be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of IGM in patients with CAD and without diabetes and to identify its repercussions on their cardiovascular risk profile. METHODS: Consecutive patients with CAD documented by angiography, without prior history of diabetes and fasting glycemia < 126 mg/dL, were studied. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed to identify and classify IGM. The patients were divided into three groups: normal if fasting glycemia < 100 mg/dL and normal OGTT; prediabetes if fasting glycemia > or = 100 mg/dL and abnormal OGTT, with 2-h glycemia > or = 140 and < 200 mg/dL; and diabetes if 2-h glycemia > or = 200 mg/dL after OGTT. For assessment of the cardiovascular risk profile, various clinical, laboratorial (including lipid profile, fasting insulinemia 2 h after OGTT, insulin resistance index and A1c hemoglobin) and angiographic characteristics were analyzed. The differences between groups were determined. RESULTS: 54 patients were studied (mean age 65 +/- 9 years, 78 % male) and IGM was identified in 37 (69%), with prediabetes in 23 (43%) and diabetes in 14 (26%). Patients with IGM had more dyslipidemia, higher levels of fasting glycemia, triglycerides and urea and lower HDL cholesterol. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 12% of patients in the normal group, 44% in the prediabetes group and 50% in the diabetes group (p = 0.047). CAD was more severe in the presence of IGM, being multivessel in 84% of these patients versus 59% in the normal group (p = 0.046). CONCLUSION: In patients with CAD without clinical suspicion of diabetes, a routine OGTT can identify a significant percentage with prediabetes and diabetes, which can have a negative impact on their cardiovascular risk profile.

Aged↗

Metabolic score--a simple risk marker in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Atherothrombotic coronary artery disease is increasingly recognized as part of a systemic metabolic disorder. However, little is known about the significance of metabolic dysfunction in the setting of acute coronary syndrome. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess the prognostic implications of markers of metabolic dysfunction at hospital admission obesity (BMI > 30), previous history of hypertension, admission glucose > 128 mg/dl, triglycerides > 150 mg/dl, and HDL cholesterol < 40 mg/dl for men, or < 50 mg for women--in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS). METHODS: A total of 303 consecutive patients admitted to the CCU with ACS were included in the study. Mean age was 63 +/- 10 years, and 86% were male. The primary end-point was a composite of death or non-fatal acute myocardial infarction (MI) at one-year follow-up. Each marker was assigned one point, and a metabolic score (MetScore) was calculated for each individual patient by adding together the number of markers present at hospital admission. Three groups were considered: group 1 (MetScore 0) with 0 markers (n = 30); group 2 (MetScore 1 to 3) with 1 to 3 markers (n = 222); and group 3 (MetScore 4 to 5) with 4 to 5 markers (n = 51). RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of death or MI was 14.5%. We found a statistically significant relation between MetScore and outcome at one-year follow-up. The event rate was 3.3% in the MetScore 0 group, 13.9% in the MetScore 1 to 3 group and 23.5% in the MetScore 4 to 5 group (p = 0.0114). MetScore was an independent predictor of death or MI at one year, with a 2.3-fold risk increase (95% CI: 1.32-4.01; p = 0.003) from one group to the next. Other variables identified as independent predictors of outcome were advanced age, Killip class, ST-segment depression and previous CABG. The incidence of the primary end-point in diabetic patients without significant metabolic dysfunction and non-diabetic patients with SMD was similar (21.2% vs. 22.7%; p = NS). CONCLUSION: Assessment of markers of metabolic dysfunction on admission in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes, adds important prognostic information to conventional clinical, ECG and risk stratification markers and could prove useful in establishing secondary prevention strategies.

Acute Disease↗

Cholesterol pericarditis--relapsing pericardial effusion in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

Cholesterol pericarditis is an uncommon form of pericardial disease, of unknown pathophysiology, that is characterized by chronic relapsing, usually large, pericardial effusions that are distinctive due to a high level of cholesterol. Usually it is idiopathic, but it can be associated with various systemic diseases such as hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis, among others. Its clinical course is usually indolent and complications such as cardiac tamponade and chronic constrictive pericarditis are relatively rare. However, the need for surgery for complete treatment has been reported in at least 10 % of cases. When rheumatoid arthritis is the underlying cause, this outcome is more frequent among those with an acute episode of pericarditis during the course of the disease. We report the case of a 61-year-old female rheumatoid arthritis patient, who presented with heart failure due to a large pericardial effusion and was successfully treated by a surgical approach.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

Prognosis of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome in patients with prior percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: There is disagreement concerning the prognostic value of a prior history of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS). This study characterizes these patients and investigates the impact of prior PCI on their prognosis. METHODS: 448 consecutive patients admitted due to ACS between 1998 and 2000 were evaluated. Patients with prior PCI were compared to the others with regard to baseline demographic and clinical features. The study endpoint was death or myocardial infarction at one-year follow-up. The impact of prior PCI on the outcome was analyzed. In patients with prior PCI, the prognostic value of the time interval between PCI and current admission was assessed. In those patients who underwent coronary angiography during the index hospitalization, the culprit lesion features were evaluated. RESULTS: 134 patients (30%) with prior PCI were identified. Overall ACS patients had an event rate of 19% at one year. A history of prior PCI was not an independent predictor of outcome, but in the 44 patients with PCI performed during the 117 days before the index hospitalization, the event rate was significantly higher (30% versus 13%). Prior PCI in the previous 117 days was an independent risk predictor (adjusted OR 4.81; 95% CI, 1.57-14.71; p = 0.006). In these patients restenosis was the most frequent culprit lesion (60% versus 30%; p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: In ACS patients, a history of PCI in the previous four months is an independent predictor of adverse outcome at one-year follow-up.

Adult↗

Atrial flutter ablation: correlation between isthmic activation times and flutter cycle.

BACKGROUND: Ablation of typical atrial flutter relies on the suppression of electrical conduction along the cavo-tricuspid isthmus. Bidirectional isthmus block is a criterion of successful ablation and is associated with the presence of different activation times on each side of the ablation line. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether the difference in isthmic activation times correlates with the length of the atrial flutter cycle. POPULATION AND METHODS: We studied 31 patients with typical atrial flutter (93.6% male, mean age 66 +/- 9 years) who underwent successful ablation during tachycardia. CARTO electroanatomic mapping was used to confirm diagnosis of isthmus-dependent atrial flutter, guide the ablation line creation and assess its efficacy. At the end of the procedure, a three-dimensional activation map of the right atrium was constructed, under pacing from the coronary sinus ostium (with a 500 ms cycle). Activation times on the lateral (right) and septal (left) sides of the ablation line were measured. The difference between these two activation times was termed the difference in isthmic activation times (delta IAT), and was compared to the flutter cycle length. RESULTS: Mean activation times were 173.7 +/- 34.3 ms on the lateral border of the ablation line and 19.1 +/- 12.5 ms on the septal border. Mean delta IAT was 154.6 +/- 27.8 ms and mean atrial flutter cycle length was 257.5 +/- 30.6 ms. delta IAT and flutter cycle length were significantly correlated (r = 0.503, p = 0.0039). The linear regression equation that best described this result was: delta IAT = 37 + (0.46 x flutter cycle). CONCLUSION: After atrial flutter ablation, a difference in isthmic activation times of more than half the flutter cycle length was associated with isthmus conduction block.

Aged↗

Percutaneous ablation of atrial fibrillation: assessment of outcomes at 1-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: Current non-pharmacologic treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation (AF) involve discrete ablation of ectopic foci or isolation of the pulmonary vein (PV) ostia, which have been implicated in the genesis of this rhythm disorder. The aim of this study was to determine intermediate and long-term outcomes after percutaneous AF ablation and predictors of successful treatment. POPULATION AND METHODS: We studied 29 consecutive patients (72% male, mean age 52.3 +/- 13 years) who underwent percutaneous ablation of AF refractory to antiarrhythmic drug therapy. AF was idiopathic in 22 patients and the remaining 7 patients were hypertensive. Six patients had permanent AF and the others had recurrent paroxysmal AF (with at least 1 episode a week). Left atrial size was 40.3 +/- 6.1 mm. A total of 35 ablation procedures were performed, 12 using the focal ablation technique and 23 by PV isolation. Six patients underwent a redo procedure. Patients were evaluated at 1-year follow-up (symptoms, medication, ECG and Holter monitoring). Predictors of successful treatment were identified among baseline clinical variables (age, gender, hypertension), LA size, AF sub-type, ablation technique, and number of isolated PV, using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: At 1-year follow-up, 20 patients presented sinus rhythm (69%), of whom 7 were taking antiarrhythmic drugs and remained free of AF relapse. Out of the total of 35 procedures, 2 immediate complications occurred: pericardial tamponade in one patient and right phrenic nerve palsy in another. Predictors of long-term success were absence of a prior history of hypertension and isolation of at least three PV (p = 0.01 for both independent predictors). CONCLUSION: Two out of three patients who underwent AF ablation presented sinus rhythm one year after the intervention. Isolation of at least three PV and idiopathic etiology are independent predictors of successful treatment.

Atrial Fibrillation↗

[Thyroiditis and pregnancy].

Authors develop the concept of immunity tolerance and its importance in thyroiditis occurrence and evolution during pregnancy as well post-partum pathology. They also refer the mechanisms that can induce to change the immunity response during pregnancy involving maternal, placental and fetal cytochemistry. It is also proposed a constant and precocious screening of the thyroid dysfunction in pregnant woman with thyroid antibodies, because their positivity prevalence is extremely high as far as the associated risk of abortion.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗