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M Lupia

Publications and source records attributed to M Lupia.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Regression of cardiac abnormalities after replacement therapy in Addison's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate by echocardiography the cardiac structure and function in patients with primary adrenocortical insufficiency. DESIGN AND METHODS: Two-dimensionally guided M-mode echocardiograms and spectral Doppler studies were performed in seven consecutive patients with newly diagnosed autoimmune primary adrenal failure before and 4-8 months after an adequate regimen of steroid substitution. Echocardiographic parameters were also studied in ten healthy controls. RESULTS: In the cases with untreated Addison's disease, both left ventricular end-systolic and end-diastolic dimensions were significantly reduced in comparison with those in controls (P<0.01). Four patients had echocardiographic signs of mitral valve prolapse (MVP) at the anterior leaflet, with no evidence of mitral regurgitation by Doppler echocardiography. Systolic clicks characteristic of MVP were present on auscultation in two of these cases. Left ventricular chamber size normalized, i.e. significantly increased (P<0.01), and both echocardiographic and physical signs of MVP resolved after steroid substitution in all patients. All other echocardiographic indices were normal before and after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with untreated Addison's disease have cardiac abnormalities which regress after steroid substitution. A valvular-ventricular disproportion due to the hypovolemic state could explain these findings.

Addison Disease↗
PubMed1998

[Percutaneous mitral and aortic valve dilatation in the same session].

Percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty is used successfully for mitral and aortic rheumatic stenosis. Its application is limited in elderly degenerative aortic stenosis because of its poor long-term results. It is thus indicated only in selected groups of patients at high surgical risk. We describe three cases affected with mitral and aortic stenosis who underwent simultaneous mitral and aortic percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty. Etiology was rheumatic in the first two cases, while it was rheumatic and degenerative in the third case. Immediately after the procedure, mitral and aortic gradients decreased, with a simultaneous increment in aortic and mitral areas and cardiac index. There were no major complications. The follow-up after seven years revealed the persistence of relatively good results in the first two cases affected with rheumatic valvulopathies. In the last case, restenosis recurred a few years after the procedure.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Mitral valvuloplasty in pregnancy: a report of 4 cases].

Normal gestation is associated with adaptative cardiovascular changes. Pregnant women with mitral stenosis may be unable to tolerate these changes despite optimal medical therapy, and life-threatening complications can occur. Commissurotomy or valve replacement during gestation are very high-risk procedures both for mother and fetus. Percutaneous valvuloplasty is a valid alternative to cardiac surgery. In this study, we describe four pregnant women with mild or severe mitral stenosis who underwent percutaneous valvuloplasty after the first trimester of gestation. Despite tailored medical therapy with diuretics and beta blockers, all patients were symptomatic: NYHA class II in two cases, and class III in the last two. In order to protect the fetus from radiation, the patient's pelvic-abdominal area was shielded and left ventriculography was not performed. Fluoroscopy time was 7 +/- 3 min. No major immediate complications were observed after the procedure. Mitral valve area (sec. Gorlin) increased from 1.05 +/- 0.08 cm2 to 2.52 +/- 0.26 cm2 and mitral gradient decreased from 26.7 +/- 5.7 mmHg to 8.5 +/- 3 mmHg. The four women delivered healthy full-term babies. At a mean follow-up of 22 +/- 8 months, all patients are free of symptoms, two patients with diuretics and two without therapy. Percutaneous valvuloplasty can be considered the treatment of choice for pregnant women with symptomatic mitral stenosis refractory to medical therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Should right-sided fibroelastomas be operated upon?

There is general agreement that left-sided elastomas must be removed to avoid systemic complications. Right-sided localization is less risky and surgical treatment is not agreed upon. We report a case of surgical resected fibroelastoma of the tricuspid valve and discuss the indications to surgery by reviewing the literature on the few reported cases. We feel that, if surgery is timely, the tumor can be resected, thus preserving the native valve. This provides an opportunity to prevent possible right-sided complications due to increasing tumor size and embolization.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle: a report of 2 cases].

Two cases of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm following myocardial infarction are presented. In the first patient a two-dimensional echocardiography study revealed a small posterior echo-free space that appeared to communicate with the left ventricle through a small defect in the left ventricular posterior wall. Conventional Doppler echocardiography and colour flow imaging demonstrated flow between the left ventricle and the paraventricular chamber. In the other patient, the same study detected an enormous false aneurysm. We found a large extramyocardial echo-free space within the pericardial cavity. The site of this space was posterolateral and communicating with the left ventricular cavity. Cardiac catheterization and surgery confirmed the diagnosis. A postoperative echocardiographic study demonstrated a persistent but smaller saccular echo-free space and a residual shunt through one site of repair in the first patient; in the other, after surgical treatment there was no residual flow, but a left ventricular dysfunction was detected. Two dimensional and color Doppler echocardiography is the best technique among the noninvasive methods, for detecting and following up left ventricular pseudoaneurysms.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Atrial natriuretic factor in patients with cardiac decompensation before and after chronic therapy with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor].

BACKGROUND: Patients with severe congestive heart failure often have high plasma Atrial Natriuretic Factor (ANF) and neurohormonal activation. Ace inhibitors give clinical and hemodynamic benefits and lower plasma angiotensin and norepinephrine levels. The interactions between ANF and the Ace inhibitors are mainly modulated via the renin angiotensin system. METHODS: Plasma ANF, renin activity, urinary aldosterone and catecholamine levels were evaluated in 10 patients with congestive heart failure (at baseline, after 15 days of adequate treatment with digoxin and diuretics, and after 45 days of enalapril) in order to assess the changes of ANF and vasoconstrictor neurohormones with chronic Ace inhibitor therapy. RESULTS: ANF increased significantly in the congestive heart failure group compared to a normal subject control group (P < 0.001). After digoxin and diuretic therapy NHYA class improved significantly, but no significant hormonal changes were found. On the contrary, the addition of enalapril caused a significant decrease of plasma ANF and urinary aldosterone and catecholamines (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between the renin angiotensin system and catecholamines is complex but our findings indicate that: 1) Traditional therapy is effective in improving symptoms, but cannot induce a decrease of vasoconstrictive neurohormones; 2) ACE inhibitor therapy reduces ANF and neurohormonal activation. 3) ANF is a useful marker in evaluating the response to treatment.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Reduction of complex ventricular arrhythmias after enalapril treatment in patients with advanced stable heart failure.

We studied, by 48-hour Holter monitoring, 33 patients with chronic stable heart failure (radionuclide ejection fraction less than 35%), complex ventricular arrhythmias and no electrolyte abnormalities, after a period during which they were treated with digoxin and diuretics. Before Holter monitoring blood samples were analyzed for serum concentration of sodium, potassium, magnesium, urea, creatinine, digoxin, aldosterone and for plasmatic renin activity in addition to urinary aldosterone and catecholamines determination. After these investigations in 23 patients, 5-20 mg of enalapril were progressively added to the conventional therapy, while 10 patients continued the previous therapy. After 8 weeks 30 patients were subjected to a second 48-hour Holter monitoring and to the same biochemical and hormonal tests. One patient died and 2 were lost to follow up. Only the enalapril group showed a significant decrease in the number of premature ventricular complexes (PVC) (p less than 0.01), and the frequency of couplets and episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT) declined significantly (P less than 0.01). In the two groups there were no significant changes in digoxin, sodium, or magnesium, while potassium concentration increased in both groups (p less than 0.01). In the enalapril group heart rate and systolic and diastolic pressure declined significantly (p less than 0.01), and New York Heart Association class (NYHA) improved (p less than 0.001). In the other group there were no significant changes in these parameters. Enalapril caused a significant increase in the plasmatic renin activity (p less than 0.01) and a significant fall of plasma and urinary aldosterone (p less than 0.01; p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1986

[Correlation between QT interval, ventricular arrhythmias and left ventricular function in chronic alcoholics].

Prolonged QT interval and arrhythmias have been reported to occur in chronic alcoholics. To investigate the role of chronic alcohol consumption in the onset of arrhythmias and the development of the preclinical left ventricular dysfunction, in a group of 12 asymptomatic chronic alcoholics with no clinical evidence of heart disease, with histologically proven hepatic damage, after a week of abstinence from alcohol, the following investigations were performed: measurements of the corrected QT interval (QTc), 24-hours Holter monitoring, systolic time intervals, M-mode echocardiograms. The results were compared to those of 10 normal subjects. Our data suggested no difference in QTc interval between chronic alcoholics and normal persons. The distribution of arrhythmias was not statistically different in the two groups, particularly frequent and complicated arrhythmias occurred in only one subject in each group. Preejection period corrected for heart rate (PEPI) was significantly longer in alcoholics (132 +/- 16 vs 119 +/- 11, p less than 0.05). All echocardiographic parameters examined were not significantly different in the two groups. On the basis of our results, our impression is that the arrhythmogenic role of alcohol, not under acute ingestion, is relatively unimportant and further studies are needed to become a definitive conclusion about subclinical alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Study of the arrhythmia in patients with chronic uremia in periodic hemodialysis with Holter dynamic electrocardiography].

For the purpose of evaluating cause, frequency, type and seriousness of arrhythmias in dialysis patients, 14 chronic uremics, 8 on bicarbonate-dialysis, 6 on acetate-dialysis underwent a basal ECG, echocardiography and a Holter dynamic electrocardiography (ECGD) for a duration of 96 hours. Before and after dialysis PAO, body weight, serum electrolytes and arterial pH were controlled. In 11 patients (78%) supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias were discovered of equal frequency and seriousness both in the inter and intra dialytic phase, even if more frequent in ventricular hypertrophic patients (IVSn) the complex ventricular arrhythmias (Lown greater than 2). The seriousness and frequency of ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias in the dialytic phase did not seem to depend either on the type of tampon or on the presence or absence of cardiopathies while in the inter-dialytic phase the seriousness of ventricular arrhythmias seems to depend upon the presence of cardiopathies. The Authors conclude that the pathogenesis of arrhythmias in uremic patients on dialysis is multifactorial and that their elevated incidence makes the use of a Holter in these patients recommendable.

Aged↗