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Biomedical subjects

N Edvardsson

Publications and source records attributed to N Edvardsson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Double-blind trial of aspirin in primary prevention of myocardial infarction in patients with stable chronic angina pectoris. The Swedish Angina Pectoris Aspirin Trial (SAPAT) Group.

Clinical trials have demonstrated a prophylactic role for aspirin in myocardial infarction and in unstable angina pectoris. The Swedish Angina Pectoris Aspirin Trial (SAPAT) is the first prospective study of aspirin in stable angina. 2035 patients were randomised double-blind to treatment with aspirin 75 mg daily or placebo. All patients were treated with sotalol for control of symptoms. The median duration of follow-up was 50 months. Compared with the placebo+sotalol group, the aspirin+sotalol group had a 34% (81 vs 124 patients) reduction in primary outcome events (myocardial infarction and sudden death; 95% confidence interval 24-49%; p = 0.003) and the reduction observed in secondary outcome events (vascular events, vascular death, all cause mortality, stroke) ranged from 22% to 32%. Treatment withdrawal caused by adverse events occurred in 109 patients in the aspirin+sotalol group and 100 in patients in the placebo+sotalol group; major bleeds, including haemorrhagic stroke, occurred in 20 and 13 patients, respectively (not significant). The addition of a low dose of aspirin to sotalol treatment showed significant benefit in terms of cardiovascular events, including a significant reduction in the incidence of first myocardial infarction in patients with symptoms of stable angina pectoris.

Aged

Effects of diltiazem, propranolol, and their combination in the control of atrial fibrillation.

The effect of the combined treatment with propranolol 20 mg tid and diltiazem 60 mg tid in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation treated with digoxin was evaluated. Thirteen patients entered a double-blind, three-phase crossover study. Heart rate was significantly reduced during rest and at maximal exercise (p less than 0.05) during combined treatment compared with treatment with any single drug. No significant changes in maximal work load, exercise time, systolic blood pressure at maximal work load, or subjective sensation of well-being could be demonstrated during combined drug treatment. The RR distribution pattern was unaffected by the addition of propranolol, diltiazem, or their combination to the chronic digoxin treatment. It is concluded that the combination of diltiazem and propranolol has no advantages over any of these drugs singly, in the moderation of heart rate in patients with atrial fibrillation even combined with basic digitalis treatment, and that the intrinsic AV nodal function is unaffected by these drugs or their combination.

Atrial Fibrillation

Prognosis in diabetics with chest pain or other symptoms suggestive of acute myocardial infarction.

We evaluated the prognosis of 599 diabetics who came to the emergency department with chest pain or other symptoms suggestive of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). They made up 8% of the patients with such symptoms (n = 7,157). Diabetics had a 1-year mortality rate of 25% as compared with 10% for nondiabetics (p less than 0.001). The difference remained significant regardless of whether there was a strong or a vague initial suspicion of AMI. On admission, independent risk factors for death were age, acute congestive heart failure and initial degree of suspicion of AMI. We conclude that among diabetics who appear in the emergency department with chest pain or other symptoms suggestive of AMI, 25% are dead within 1 year. The prognosis is directly related to the initial suspicion of AMI.

Aged

One-year mortality rate after discharge from hospital in relation to whether or not a confirmed myocardial infarction was developed.

Consecutive patients admitted to our hospital with suspected acute myocardial infarction during 21 months were prospectively evaluated. One-year mortality after discharge from hospital was related to whether or not an infarction developed (infarct versus non-infarct patients). Of patients discharged alive after developing an infarct, there was a mortality of 17% (n = 777) versus 12% (n = 1830) (P less than 0.001) for all patients not developing infarction. In a high risk group (any of the following: age greater than or equal to 75 years, previous history of myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus or congestive heart failure) patients developing infarction had a mortality of 24% (n = 457) versus 17% (n = 1221) for those who did not (P less than 0.001). In a low risk group (none of the high risk criteria), the corresponding mortality was 8% (n = 316) for patients suffering infarction and 3% (n = 603) for those not having infarction (P less than 0.001). The difference in mortality between patients with and without infarction was most marked in women (21% vs 11%; P less than 0.01) and in hypertensives (25% vs 12%; P less than 0.001), but less marked in men (16% vs 13%; NS) and in patients without hypertension (13% vs 12%; NS). Among patients not suffering infarction, mortality was particularly high in those with previous congestive heart failure (23%) and diabetes mellitus (21%).

Age Factors

Effect of pentisomide (CM 7857) on myocardial excitation, conduction, repolarization, and refractoriness. An electrophysiological study in humans.

The electrophysiological effects of pentisomide upon the intact human heart were evaluated using programmed stimulation and recording of intracardiac monophasic action potentials (MAP) in 17 patients with various ventricular arrhythmias. After i.v. administration of pentisomide, 85-135 mg, the atrial-His interval increased by 8 +/- 12 ms (p less than 0.05) during sinus rhythm and by 13 +/- 21 ms (p less than 0.05) at atrial pacing of 600 ms cycle length (600 ms pacing). The His-ventricular interval also increased by 6 +/- 10 ms during sinus rhythm (p less than 0.05) and by 5 +/- 9 ms at 600 ms pacing (NS). The QRS duration prolonged by 9 +/- 10 ms (p less than 0.01) and 6 +/- 8 ms (p less than 0.01) during 600 and 500 ms ventricular pacing, respectively. The right ventricular MAP duration to 90% repolarization was significantly shortened, by 20 +/- 21 ms (p less than 0.01) during sinus rhythm, by 16 +/- 17 ms (p less than 0.01) at 600 ms ventricular pacing, and by 11 +/- 16 ms (p less than 0.01) at 500 ms ventricular pacing. The corrected QT interval was shortened by 21 +/- 28 ms (p less than 0.01). The present study supports that pentisomide is a class-I antiarrhythmic agent with a marked effect on depolarization (action of class Ia and Ic) and on repolarization (action of class Ib). This unique combination of cellular electrophysiological properties indicates that the clinical antiarrhythmic efficacy of pentisomide may differ from that of hitherto available antiarrhythmic drugs.

Action Potentials

Effects on chest pain of early thrombolytic treatment in suspected acute myocardial infarction: results from the TEAHAT Study.

In a randomized, double-blind study, in which recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) administered at an early stage was compared with placebo in patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the effects on pain were studied in 312 patients. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (a) chest pain of duration less than 2 h and 45 min; and (b) age less than 75 years. Chest pain was estimated subjectively by the patients, using a 10-point numerical rating scale, at hourly intervals for the first 24 h, and by the requirement for narcotic analgesics. Compared with placebo, rt-PA treatment resulted in a 43% reduction in mean total pain score (P less than 0.0001), a 26% reduction in pain duration (P less than 0.01), and a 33% reduction in morphine requirement (P = 0.01). Fifty-seven per cent of all patients developed a confirmed AMI. In these subjects rt-PA reduced the pain score by 46% (P less than 0.001). Among patients without confirmed AMI, a 37% reduction in pain score was observed (P = 0.05). The effect on pain was most marked in patients with ST-elevation on the initial ECG. We conclude that early treatment with rt-PA in suspected AMI reduces chest pain considerably. The effect is most marked in patients with ST-elevation on the initial ECG.

Aged

Prophylactic treatment after electroconversion of atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia. Sinus rhythm can often be restored by electroconversion, but the relapse rate is high. Various antiarrhythmic drugs have been used to maintain sinus rhythm after electroconversion. This article reviews the experience with these drugs and suggests a treatment strategy.

Anti-Arrhythmia Agents

Eligibility for intravenous thrombolysis in suspected acute myocardial infarction.

Based on the registration of all the 7,157 patients admitted during a 21-month period to the emergency ward of a single hospital in an urban area with chest pain or other symptoms suggestive of acute myocardial infarction, we studied eligibility for intravenous thrombolysis in suspected acute myocardial infarction. We have limited the present analysis to those 1,715 patients with a strong suspicion of myocardial infarction, and for these patients, we have calculated the percentages eligible for thrombolysis when various electrocardiographic and delay time criteria are applied, but we have not considered contraindications to thrombolysis. We have also calculated the proportions of all infarctions in this group that would thereby receive the treatment, and the proportions of patients treated that would develop a confirmed infarction. Using the criteria ST elevation on the initial electrocardiogram and arrival in hospital within 6 hours from onset of symptoms, 18% of patients would have been given early intravenous thrombolysis, 37% of confirmed infarctions would have been treated, and 91% of all treated patients would have developed a confirmed infarction; with a delay time criterion of 12 hours, these percentages would have been 20%, 41%, and 91%, respectively; with a criterion of 24 hours, they would have been 22%, 45%, and 90%, respectively. By not considering the initial electrocardiogram and applying only the criterion of delay time, these percentages would have been 70%, 72%, and 45%, respectively, for a delay time of 6 hours; 83%, 84%, and 45%, respectively, for a delay time of 12 hours; and 91%, 92%, and 44%, respectively, for a delay time of 24 hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Electrocardiography

Sotalol versus quinidine for the maintenance of sinus rhythm after direct current conversion of atrial fibrillation.

This open, parallel-group study compares quinidine and sotalol treatment for maintenance of sinus rhythm after direct current conversion of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation. The patients from 15 centers in Sweden were randomized to sotalol (98 patients) or quinidine (85 patients) after 2 hours of sinus rhythm after direct current conversion. According to primary efficacy assessment, 52% of the patients in the sotalol group and 48% of the patients in the quinidine group remained in sinus rhythm during the following 6-month treatment period (NS). Furthermore, 34% of the patients treated with sotalol and 22% of the patients treated with quinidine relapsed into atrial fibrillation (NS). Heart rate after relapsing into atrial fibrillation was higher in the patients treated with quinidine (109 beats/min) than in the patients treated with sotalol (78 beats/min, p less than 0.001). Patients treated with sotalol were found to be less symptomatic at the time of relapse compared with relapsing patients in the quinidine group. In terms of safety, more patients were withdrawn from quinidine than from sotalol treatment (26% vs. 11%, p less than 0.05), and sotalol was generally better tolerated than quinidine. Twenty-eight percent of the patients treated with sotalol and 50% of the patients treated with quinidine reported side effects (p less than 0.01). The difference was primarily a result of early (within the first month of treatment) gastrointestinal and skin side effects in the group of patients treated with quinidine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent