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Texas Heart Institute journal / from the Texas Heart Institute of St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital 01/2011; 38(5):600-1. · 0.65 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Acute right ventricular (RV) failure is a frequent and serious clinical challenge in the intensive care unit. It is usually seen as a consequence of left ventricular failure, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, acute lung injury or after cardiothoracic surgery. The presence of acute RV failure not only carries substantial morbidity and mortality, but also complicates the use of commonly used treatment strategies in critically ill patients. In contrast to the left ventricle, the RV remains relatively understudied, and investigations of the treatment of isolated RV failure are rare and usually limited to nonrandomized observations. We searched PubMed for papers in the English language by using the search words right ventricle, right ventricular failure, pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, shock, acute lung injury, cardiothoracic surgery, mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, inotropes, and pulmonary vasodilators. These were used in various combinations. We read the abstracts of the relevant titles to confirm their relevance, and the full papers were then extracted. References from extracted papers were checked for any additional relevant papers. This review summarizes the general measures, ventilation strategies, vasoactive substances, and surgical as well as mechanical approaches that are currently used or actively investigated in the treatment of the acutely failing RV.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology 10/2010; 56(18):1435-46. · 14.16 Impact Factor
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Mark S Slaughter,
Joseph G Rogers,
Carmelo A Milano,
Stuart D Russell,
John V Conte,
David Feldman,
Benjamin Sun,
Antone J Tatooles,
Reynolds M Delgado,
James W Long,
Thomas C Wozniak, Waqas Ghumman,
David J Farrar,
O Howard Frazier
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ABSTRACT: Patients with advanced heart failure have improved survival rates and quality of life when treated with implanted pulsatile-flow left ventricular assist devices as compared with medical therapy. New continuous-flow devices are smaller and may be more durable than the pulsatile-flow devices.
In this randomized trial, we enrolled patients with advanced heart failure who were ineligible for transplantation, in a 2:1 ratio, to undergo implantation of a continuous-flow device (134 patients) or the currently approved pulsatile-flow device (66 patients). The primary composite end point was, at 2 years, survival free from disabling stroke and reoperation to repair or replace the device. Secondary end points included survival, frequency of adverse events, the quality of life, and functional capacity.
Preoperative characteristics were similar in the two treatment groups, with a median age of 64 years (range, 26 to 81), a mean left ventricular ejection fraction of 17%, and nearly 80% of patients receiving intravenous inotropic agents. The primary composite end point was achieved in more patients with continuous-flow devices than with pulsatile-flow devices (62 of 134 [46%] vs. 7 of 66 [11%]; P<0.001; hazard ratio, 0.38; 95% confidence interval, 0.27 to 0.54; P<0.001), and patients with continuous-flow devices had superior actuarial survival rates at 2 years (58% vs. 24%, P=0.008). Adverse events and device replacements were less frequent in patients with the continuous-flow device. The quality of life and functional capacity improved significantly in both groups.
Treatment with a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device in patients with advanced heart failure significantly improved the probability of survival free from stroke and device failure at 2 years as compared with a pulsatile device. Both devices significantly improved the quality of life and functional capacity. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00121485.)
New England Journal of Medicine 11/2009; 361(23):2241-51. · 53.30 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Patients implanted with left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) may have implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) implanted for sudden cardiac death prevention. This opens the possibility of device-device communication interactions and thus interferences. We present a case of such interaction that led to ICD communication failure following the activation of an LVAD. In this paper, we describe a practical solution to circumvent the communication interference and review the communication links of ICDs and possible mechanisms of ICD-LVAD interactions.
Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology 08/2009; 28(3):221-5. · 1.17 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A 23-year-old male referred for evaluation of a "choking" sensation with exertion and a murmur. A transthoracic echocardiogram demonstrated right atrial and ventricular dilatation, right ventricular volume overload, and a large secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) with left to right shunt and a calculated pulmonary-to-systemic blood flow ratio (Qp/Qs) estimated at 2.3 to 1. Cardiac catheterization also demonstrated evidence of the ASD with Qp/Qs of 4.6 to 1 with a significant step-up in oxygen saturation at the right atrial level. Additionally, an anomalous left main coronary artery (ALMCA) origin from the anterior right coronary cusp was suspected. Using 64-slice multidetector computed tomography coronary angiography (CCTA) the left main coronary artery was seen to arise from the right coronary cusp then traverse between the pulmonary trunk and the proximal ascending aorta before bifurcating into the left anterior descending and circumflex arteries that followed their normal courses distally. Based on the high risk nature of associated sudden death from an anomalous left main coronary artery (ALMCA) coursing between the aorta and the pulmonary trunk, the patient underwent surgical re-implantation of the ALMCA to the left coronary cusp and repair of the ASD. This case highlights a rare finding of a hazardous ALMCA in a patient with a secundum ASD and the utility of CCTA in evaluating the course of coronary anomalies along with other cardiac pathology.
Vascular Health and Risk Management 01/2008; 4(1):259-62.
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Stephen G Sawada,
Anas Safadi,
Rajdeep S Gaitonde,
Nisha Tung,
Jothiharan Mahenthiran,
William Gill, Waqas Ghumman,
Irmina Gradus-Pizlo,
Masoor Kamalesh,
Naomi Fineberg,
Harvey Feigenbaum
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ABSTRACT: Patients with left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction due to coronary artery disease (CAD) may develop stress-induced wall motion abnormalities (SWMA) with low-dose (10 microg/kg/min) dobutamine infusion. The clinical significance of low-dose SWMA is unknown.
We investigated the clinical, hemodynamic and angiographic correlates of low-dose SWMA in patients with chronic ischemic LV systolic dysfunction.
Seventy patients with chronic ischemic LV systolic dysfunction who had dobutamine stress echocardiography were studied. Clinical, hemodynamic, and angiographic parameters at rest and low-dose were compared between 38 patients (mean ejection fraction (EF) of 30 +/- 8%) with low-dose SWMA and 32 patients (EF 30 +/- 11%) without low-dose SWMA.
Multivariate analysis showed that the number of coronary territories with severe disease (stenosis > or =70%)(P = 0.001, RR = 6.3) was an independent predictor of low-dose SWMA. An increasing number of collateral vessels protected patients from low-dose SWMA (P = 0.011, RR = 0.25). A higher resting heart rate was a negative predictor of low-dose SWMA (P = 0.015, RR = 0.92) but no other hemodynamic variables were predictors. In the patients with low-dose SMA, regions with low-dose SWMA were more likely to be supplied by vessels with severe disease than regions without low-dose SWMA (92% vs 58%, P < 0.001).
In patients with ischemic LV systolic dysfunction, the extent of severe disease and a lower numbers of collaterals predict the occurrence of low-dose SWMA. Low-dose SWMA is a highly specific marker for severe disease.
Echocardiography 09/2007; 24(7):739-44. · 1.24 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Patients with extensive regional wall motion abnormalities are predisposed to development of ventricular tachyarrhythmia. The prognostic effect of this in patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and coronary artery disease (CAD) is not known. Echocardiographic left ventricular systolic indexes, wall motion score index (WMSI), and extent of regional akinesia in 140 patients (65 +/- 10 years old; 92% men) with an ICD and CAD were studied. Arrhythmic events requiring ICD therapy and causing death (n = 41, 29%) were recorded over a mean follow-up of 1.4 +/- 0.8 years. Left ventricular basal fractional shortening, ejection fraction, global WMSI, and extent of akinesia, especially in the inferoposterior regions of a right coronary artery territory, were univariate predictors (all p values <0.05). Global WMSI (hazard ratio 2.18, 95% confidence interval 1.03 to 4.65, p = 0.04) and fractional shortening (hazard ratio 0.93, 95% confidence interval 0.88 to 1.00, p = 0.04) were multivariate predictors. Global WMSI (p = 0.04) and > or =2 right coronary region akinetic segments (p = 0.05) provided incremental risk prediction to left ventricular ejection fraction in a global risk-assessment model (chi-square p = 0.001). Presence of right coronary region akinesia better identified those at increased risk of events (p = 0.02) compared with the presence of left anterior descending region akinesia (p = 0.2), independent of systolic function. In conclusion, global WMSI and left ventricular basal fractional shortening were important additional risk predictors of ICD events in CAD. Global WMSI and right coronary region inferoposterior akinesia provided independent and incremental risk assessment to left ventricular ejection fraction and improved identification of those at increased risk of ICD-related events in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.
The American Journal of Cardiology 11/2006; 98(10):1301-6. · 3.37 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) patterns from the left atrial appendage (LAA) were evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography. Reproducible, characteristic triphasic or biphasic tissue velocities similar to Doppler flow of the LAA were obtained. Patient peak TDI velocities correlated well with flow and were measurable in atrial fibrillation. Patients with an embolic cerebrovascular accident and in sinus rhythm had higher tissue TDI velocities from the LAA compared with patients without an event, and the groups had similar flow velocities. Hence, Doppler tissue contraction dynamics determined by TDI may complement flow velocities in evaluating LAA function for risk assessment of thromboembolism.
The American Journal of Cardiology 05/2005; 95(8):1011-4. · 3.37 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a useful noninvasive test to detect the recurrence of myocardial ischemia after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, the role of myocardial SPECT imaging to detect early recurrence of ischemia after surgery is limited, and its utility in asymptomatic CABG patients remains poorly established.
Journal of Nuclear Cardiology 11(2):E1-3. · 2.67 Impact Factor
