Improvement in identification of multivessel disease after acute myocardial infarction following stress-recovery analysis of ST depression in the heart rate domain during exercise.

The demonstration of extensive coronary artery disease (CAD) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has important prognostic implications. Exercise-induced ST segment depression is commonly used for detecting the presence of CAD and evaluating its extension. However, even though there have been many attempts to increase its diagnostic yield, the accuracy of the electrocardiographic signal for identifying multivessel disease (MVD) is relatively low, particularly in post-MI patients.

Abrupt complement activation and transient neutropenia in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with streptokinase.

Background: Whether and to what extent complement is activated in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and how it contributes to inflammation of the ischemic area are not yet clear. Fibrinolytic agents used for thrombolysis are known to activate complement in vitro and may contribute to its activation in vivo. The aim of this study was to measure the extent of complement activation in AMI patients, some treated and some not treated with streptokinase.

Determination of agreement between cardiopulmonary and standard ECG stress testing in coronary artery disease.

The agreement between the results of standard ECG (CX) and cardiopulmonary (CPX) exercise stress tests performed in randomized sequence was evaluated in 40 patients with known coronary artery disease but who were not taking cardioactive therapy. Systolic blood pressure and heart rate were significantly higher during CPX only at low workload (less than 100 W). Exercise time and rate-pressure product at both peak exercise and ischaemic threshold were not significantly different between the two tests, even though their variability exceeded the value of 20%, which is generally accepted as the cut-off point for defining CX parameters as reproducible.

[Late ventricular potentials in the post-infarct patient. A follow-up at 4 years].

We performed a prospective study to evaluate the prognostic significance and the natural history of late ventricular potentials (LPs) in 209 patients (165 males and 44 females; mean age 59.8 +/- 10 years) who survived acute myocardial infarction. Signal-averaged electrocardiograms (SA-ECGs) were performed before hospital discharge (16 +/- 5 days) and after four years (mean follow-up 42 +/- 7 months).

Radionuclide assessment of left ventricular function in patients with myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this study was to compare left ventricular function, assessed by radionuclide angiocardiography, in 54 diabetics and 194 non-diabetics with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The most meaningful results concern the inferior AMI group, whose left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and regional wall motion were significantly lower in diabetics than in non-diabetics (LVEF was 44.2 +/- 11 vs.