Cardiac memory versus likelihood of ischemic heart disease in hypertensive patients with ventricular repolarization abnormalities after repetitive uniform ventricular extrasystoles.

Objectives: To investigate the value of T-wave inversion after premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) for the prediction of hypertensive patients with a likelihood of ischemic heart disease (IHD).

Patients And Methods: Ambulatory 24-hour ECG, ambulatory 24-hour blood pressure (BP) recording, echocardiography, treadmill exercise ECG test and thallium-201 scintigraphy were performed for 210 hypertensive patients.

Results: Predictive indices showed that persistent symmetrical T-wave inversion after repetitive uniform PVCs equaling 30 min can be considered an indicator for the prediction of IHD in hypertensive patients as sensitivity was 80%, specificity: 73%, accuracy: 78%, positive predictive value: 83%, and negative predictive value: 69%.

Early changes in ventricular repolarization after thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction as indicators for prediction of epicardial coronary artery reperfusion.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between early T-wave inversion after thrombolytic therapy and the likelihood of successful epicardial coronary reperfusion.

Subjects And Methods: Thrombolytic therapy was given to 195 patients with ST segment elevation due to acute anterior myocardial infarction (AMI). Coronary angiography was performed.

Predictive accuracy of tissue Doppler imaging for assessment of noninfarct myocardial region in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Objectives: To investigate the value of pulsed tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in order to predict significant coronary artery stenosis supplying the noninfarct region in patients after acute anterior myocardial infarction.

Subjects And Methods: Transthoracic echocardiography and coronary angiography were performed on 220 patients with acute anterior myocardial infarction. The TDI-derived variables of the mitral valve annulus in the noninfarct region, systolic velocity (Sm), early diastolic velocity (Em) and late diastolic velocity (Am), were estimated in centimeters per second, and the Em/Am ratio was calculated.