Reduction in arterial distensibility in hypertensive patients as evaluated by ambulatory measurement of the QKD interval is correlated with concentric remodeling of the left ventricle.

Relationships between ambulatory arterial pressure and arterial distensibility as assessed by ambulatory measure of the QKD interval and echocardiographic measurement of left ventricular mass and relative wall thickness were evaluated in a population of 163 untreated hypertensive patients. The height-corrected QKD100-60 interval was significantly correlated with left ventricular mass (LVM; r = -0.29, P<.

[Hemorrhagic complications of antivitamin K. Report of 75 hospitalized patients].

Hemorrhagic complications are the most frequent complications of antivitamin K (AVK) treatments and can be life-threatening. We report 75 patients from a University Hospital. They were 40 males and 35 females (median age 74 years, 20-94), and were classified into 3 grades according to clinical picture: grade 1 (no surgery or transfusion, grade 2: surgery or blood transfusion needed, grade 3: death).

Echocardiographic definition of left ventricular hypertrophy in the hypertensive: which method of indexation of left ventricular mass?

Objectives: It has been suggested that hypertensives at high risk of cardiovascular complications can be identified on the basis of their left ventricular mass as determined echographically. However, there is as yet a lack of consensus on the mode of indexation (body surface area, height, height 2.7) of left ventricular mass (LVM), and on the cut-off values for definition of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).

Left ventricular filling in the hypertensive patient: long-term course and influence of treatment.

Background: Hypertension is accompanied by abnormalities in left ventricular filling; however, there is a lack of agreement on the extent of the influence of antihypertensive treatment on them.

Hypothesis: The present study was designed to evaluate the long-term course of these abnormalities in both treated and untreated hypertensive patients.

Methods: Left ventricular filling assessed by pulsed Doppler echocardiography of mitral flow was studied over a long follow-up period in both untreated and treated hypertensive patients.

A short standardized protocol for measuring the QKD interval: comparison with 24 h monitoring and reproducibility.

BACKGROUND: Ambulatory measurement for the QKD interval is a new method for evaluation of the rigidity of large arterial trunks. Reliable indices of arterial rigidity can be distilled from the large number of measurements (usually around 100) obtained during 24 h monitoring. OBJECTIVE: To describe a shorter standardized protocol (4 h) including a 15 min effort test on an ergometric bicycle designed to reduce examination time and generate a wider range of heart rates and blood pressures, to test the equivalence of this short protocol with 24 h monitoring and to test its reproducibility.

[Inflammatory arteriopathy of the arms in the course of Horton disease. Report of six cases].

We report 6 cases of upper limb involvement in giant cell arteritis; upper limb involvement revealed the disease in 4 cases and clinical symptoms were present in 5 (upper limb pain, Raynaud's phenomenon). Upper limb pulses were not palpable and blood pressure unmeasurable in all. Duplex ultrasonography found signs of inflammatory arteriopathy in 4 cases (hypoechogenous halo of the arterial wall and acceleration of flow velocity).

Ambulatory measurement of the timing of Korotkoff sounds in a group of normal subjects: influence of age and height.

Ambulatory measurement of timing of Korotkoff sounds (QKD interval) gives an estimate of arterial distensibility derived from the velocity of the pulse wave over a vascular territory that includes the ascending aorta. The main advantages of the method are that it is entirely automatic, non-operator-dependent, and highly reproducible, and produces a measure independent of instantaneous blood pressure. This study of a group of 180 normal subjects aged between 10 and 78 years was designed to produce references values and to study the influence of height.

[Thrombosis of the inferior vena caval and right atrium in amoebic abscess of the liver].

Amoebic abscess of the liver is sometimes complicated by deep venous thrombosis but extension to the right atrium is rarely observed. The authors report the case of inferior vena caval thrombosis extending to the right atrium in a case of amoebic hepatic abscess. The patient was treated initially by antibiotherapy with metronidazole associated with intravenous anticoagulation.