The effect of isosorbide dinitrate on exertional hypotension in old myocardial infarction.

Four patients with old myocardial infarction (OMI) revealed exertional hypotension in the treadmill exercise test. All had a multivessel disease, severe left ventricular dysfunction and exercise-induced ST depression or angina to indicate additional myocardial ischemia. After 5 mg of oral isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), the response of blood pressure was improved with a delayed onset of ST depression or angina.

Inhibitory action of guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate on thrombin-induced calcium mobilization in human platelets.

During thrombin-induced serotonin release from platelets, phosphorylation of myosin light chain was increased. This protein phosphorylation, which is initiated by Ca2+ mobilization, and serotonin release were inhibited progressively by increasing concentrations of sodium nitroprusside, a potent stimulator of platelet guanylate cyclase, or 8-bromo-cyclic GMP. Thrombin-induced increase in cytoplasmic free Ca2+, which was also inhibited by these drugs in a dose-dependent manner.

Contractile responses of canine coronary collateral vessels.

This study examines the responses of coronary collateral vessels to various vasoconstrictors and compares them with responses of 3 different divisions of the native coronary arterial trees in dogs. Only high concentrations of phenylephrine induced contractions in collateral vessels and medium coronary arteries, whereas even a high concentration of this agent did not affect small coronary arteries. Lower concentrations of serotonin or ergonovine elicited contractions in collateral vessels, and medium and large coronary arteries, but even a high concentration of these agents did not affect small coronary arteries.

Mixed connective tissue disease with fatal pulmonary hypertension and a review of literature.

The paper presents an autopsy case of mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and a review of literature. A 33-year-old woman with Raynaud's phenomenon and dyspnea of one year duration was diagnosed as having MCTD on the basis of a higher titer (1:163,840) of serum antibodies to the ribonucleoprotein (RNP). Cardiac catheterization showed complicating PH, confirmed an autopsy by the findings of concentric intimal cellular proliferation and typical plexiform lesions in the small arteries and arterioles of the lung, suggesting primary PH.

Elevation of cytoplasmic free calcium concentration by stable thromboxane A2 analogue in human platelets.

9, 11-Epithio-11, 12-methano-thromboxane A2 (STA2), a stable analogue of thromboxane A2, caused a rapid rise in cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in human platelets as measured with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator quin2. Concomitantly, this compound induced phosphorylation of myosin light chain which is catalyzed by Ca2+, calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. These reactions were fast enough to trigger serotonin release.

Changes of serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in normal subjects in Japan in the past twenty years. Research committee on familial hyperlipidemia in Japan.

Serum lipid levels of 10,977 normal Japanese subjects in 1980 were determined by a joint study of 14 institutions, specializing in lipid research, located in 9 districts of Japan. The data obtained were compared with those in 1960 and 1970. Total cholesterol (TC) levels in 1980 increased with age except for the 1st decade and reached maximum (205 mg/dl) at the 7th decade.

A long-term follow-up study of acute viral and idiopathic myocarditis.

In order to clarify the prognosis of myocarditis and the relationship between myocarditis and idiopathic cardiomyopathy, 20 patients with myocarditis (one with Coxsackie B; one with rubella and 18 with idiopathic myocarditis) were followed up for a long period using echocardiography and Holter electrocardiographic monitoring. The follow-up period was 49.1 +/- 39.

Effect of cyclic AMP on cytoplasmic free calcium in human platelets stimulated by thrombin: direct measurement with quin2.

With the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator quin2, we measured directly cytoplasmic free Ca2+ [( Ca2+]i) in washed human platelets stimulated by thrombin and examined the effect of cyclic AMP on [Ca2+]i levels and 14C-serotonin release. Thrombin (0.2 U/ml) evoked a rise in [Ca2+]i from the basal level of about 100 nM to integral of 3 microM which was fast enough to trigger serotonin release.

[Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with dilatation of the left ventricle and congestive heart failure: comparison with postmyocarditis cardiomegaly and hypertensive heart failure].

In a total of 114 cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), four cases were regarded to have dilated left ventricle and congestive heart failure. History of myocardial infarction was not present, and significant narrowing of coronary arteries was not detected in each case. The clinical manifestations were analyzed in the light of the differentiation from postmyocarditis cardiomyopathy (PMC: three cases) and hypertensive heart disease ( HHD : five cases).

Hyperreactivity of coronary arterial smooth muscles in response to ergonovine from rabbits with hereditary hyperlipidemia.

This study was undertaken to examine the response to ergonovine, an agent used to provoke spastic constriction of large epicardial coronary arteries, to elucidate the responsible underlying mechanism, and to determine the impact of endogenous hyperlipidemia on contractile properties of isolated vessels from different beds. The isolated arteries from both control and Watanabe hereditary hyperlipidemic rabbits (WHHL rabbits) were suspended for recording isometric force in oxygenated Krebs buffer and exposed to agonists and antagonists. In atherosclerotic aortas from WHHL rabbits, the concentration-response relations for ergonovine and serotonin exhibited a marked leftward shift with significantly depressed constrictor threshold concentration and lowered one-half maximally effective concentration values.

[Two-dimensional echocardiographic findings in a case of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia].

Two-dimensional echocardiographic findings in a patient with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia ( ARVD ) were described. A 38-year-old male was admitted to our hospital on January 1982 because of palpitation and dyspnea caused by ventricular tachycardia. A cardiothoracic ratio was 45% and electrocardiogram revealed right axis deviation and T wave inversion in right precordial leads.

[Intracardiac flow pattern in dilated cardiomyopathy studied with pulsed Doppler echocardiography].

Left ventricular (LV) flow dynamics were analyzed by pulsed Doppler echocardiography in patients (pts) with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Subjects consisted of five normal controls, 27 pts with DCM, five with myocardial infarction and five with valvular heart disease. The equipment used was a two-dimensional echocardiograph ( Toshiba SSH- 11A ) coupled with a pulsed Doppler flowmeter ( Toshiba SDS-10A).

Protein phosphorylation and diglyceride production during serotonin release induced by epinephrine plus ADP in human platelets.

Epinephrine (1 microM) plus ADP (5 microM) induced serotonin release from human platelets although neither epinephrine nor ADP alone brought about such a release. During this release reaction, the phosphorylation of 40K-dalton protein was induced to an extent similar to that induced by 0.5 unit/ml thrombin.

The effect of oxygen on the development of atherosclerosis in WHHL rabbits.

The effect of hyperoxic or hypoxic inhalation on blood lipid levels and on the development of atherosclerosis was studied in young male WHHL rabbits. They were exposed to ordinary room air containing different concentrations of oxygen: 6 animals were exposed to 40% oxygen (hyperoxia group) or 5-10% oxygen (hypoxia group) for 5 h a day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks. Four control rabbits inhaled ordinary room air.

Assessment of left ventricular dysfunction by thallium-201 lung uptake during exercise in coronary artery disease.

To determine the clinical significance of an increased thallium-201 (Tl-201) activity in the lung and of its clearance from the lung after exercise, computer-quantitated Tl-201 lung activity was measured and compared with hemodynamic parameters at rest and during exercise in 35 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). All patients underwent a supine bicycle ergometer exercise test and mean pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) was measured by a Swan-Ganz catheter. Coronary angiography was also performed.

Two cases of myocardial infarction with coronary arteriovenous fistula.

Myocardial infarction in the presence of coronary arteriovenous fistula (CAVF) has rarely been reported. Two young male patients with dual abnormalities, an organic stenosis and a CAVF in the left anterior descending artery, were reported. Each fistula originated closely proximal to the stenotic lesion and drained into the main pulmonary artery.

Effects of ergonovine-induced vasoconstriction on the genesis of myocardial ischemia during coronary stenosis in dogs.

We developed a canine model with coronary stenosis produced by intraluminal obstruction with a micro-balloon occluder to assess the role of vasomotor tone of a large coronary artery with a preexisting fixed stenosis in the genesis of myocardial ischemia. Hemodynamic and electrocardiographic responses to ergonovine, an agent capable of provoking coronary spasm, were evaluated. In the absence of coronary stenosis, intracoronary infusion of 4 micrograms/min ergonovine had no systemic and coronary hemodynamic effects.

Beneficial effects of the coronary collateral circulation on tachycardia-induced myocardial ischemia during experimental coronary stenosis.

This study was designed to determine whether coronary collaterals have preventive effects on tachycardia-induced myocardial ischemia under partial restriction of proximal coronary artery inflow. Studies were carried out in dogs with developed coronary collaterals and control dogs. ST-elevation in epicardial and intramyocardial electrograms was used for assessing the degree of regional myocardial ischemia.