Prior myocardial infarction and prognostic outcome in patients with unstable angina in a postdischarge follow-up.

The authors investigated how a previous myocardial infarction (MI) affects the prognosis of unstable angina pectoris in patients with maintained or slightly reduced left ventricular performance. From January 1991 to August 1993, 131 patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of Braunwald's class II-III unstable angina and ejection fraction > 40% were included. The enrolled patients were divided into two groups: (1) group I: unstable angina with prior MI (n = 70, 49 men, 21 women, aged between fifty-one and eighty years, mean: 65.

NIDDM as unfavorable factor to the postinfarctual ventricular function in the elderly: echocardiography study.

Background: Aging and diabetes mellitus have been recognized as strong predictors of heart failure in patients with acute myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to assess, by echocardiography, the influence of aging and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus on the changes of left ventricular parietal kinesis in patients with acute myocardial infarction over the 6 months after hospitalization.

Methods: The study population consisted of 82 patients (42 male, 40 female) aged 70 years, consecutively admitted to coronary care unit with acute myocardial infarction from January 1991 to May 1993.

Sudden cardiac death rate in an area characterized by high incidence of coronary artery disease and low hardness of drinking water.

From January 1992 to January 1993 the incidence of sudden cardiac death among the population of the Media Valle del Serchio area (Tuscany, Italy), composed of a population of 35,000, was found to be twice that of the European average; 32 cases have been reported over this period in that area (9 per 10,000 in the examined year), with a male/female (M/F) ratio of 2.5:1 (23 M, 9 F). In Italy the mean incidence of sudden death was calculated as 6/10,000 and in Europe 5/10,000.

[Severe left ventricular dysfunction caused by multivessel coronaropathy in a 27-year-old man at low risk of cardiovascular complications from atherosclerosis].

When chronic heart failure develops in a young adult without history of ischemic heart disease, differential diagnosis between coronary artery disease and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy may be difficult. We describe a case of chronic heart failure in a 27-year-old male, apparently due to a dilated cardiomyopathy on the basis of clinical and instrumental data. Subsequent coronary angiography showed a severe tri-vascular coronary artery disease.

[The effect of physical exercise on the response to exertion in the elderly].

Background: A decrease in adaptation to exertion has been observed as age progresses. Although this decline may also be affected by factors such as health conditions and age, physical inactivity related to sedentary behaviour plays a dominant role.

Methods: In order to evaluate the influence of physical activity on cardiovascular response to exertion in the elderly, 4 groups of 22 subjects each were submitted to maximal electrocardiographic exercise test on a cycloergometer (multistage program with 30 Watts x 3 min.

[Right atrial masses: role of two-dimensional echocardiography in indications for emergency surgery. Description of a case of right and left atrial thromboembolism with pulmonary and paradoxical embolism].

Two-dimensional echocardiography is the chosen method for the detection of mobile right atrial masses. In this report we describe a case of pulmonary and paradoxical embolism in which 2D echocardiography was useful for the detection of a thromboembolus entrapped in the patent foramen ovale. The right and left atrial thromboembolus was removed surgically with success.