Heart rate variability in the early hours of an acute myocardial infarction.

The occurrence of an autonomic disturbance early in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been reported: signs of sympathetic activation were mainly observed in relation to an anterior localization, whereas signs of vagal overactivity were more frequent in inferior wall AMI. Information is limited in relation to the persistence of these alterations during the early hours of AMI. We studied 33 patients with an AMI within 188 +/- 16 minutes from the onset of symptoms and 1 week after hospital admission.

[Reciprocating tachycardias in pregnancy. A clinical case report].

The paper describes the case of a patients suffering from a pre-excitation syndrome who underwent numerous episodes of reciprocal tachycardia during pregnancy. The clinical implications and various methods of therapy used are discussed.

Ketanserin and captopril interaction in the treatment of essential hypertensives.

The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the combination of ketanserin with captopril exerts an additive antihypertensive effect, as compared with single drug treatment. Twelve patients with uncomplicated moderate essential hypertension received, according to a randomized, double-blind, crossover design, ketanserin (40 mg twice daily), captopril (50 mg twice daily), the combination of the two drugs at these dosages, and the corresponding placebo, each treatment being given for 1 month. Both ketanserin and captopril as monotherapy similarly and significantly reduced blood pressure as compared with placebo (p less than 0.

Pituitary - adrenocortical function in patients during treatment with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril.

To study effects on pituitary-adrenocortical activity of a sustained block of angiotensin II formation, six 'drug-resistant' patients with essential hypertension were studied before and during treatment with an inhibitor of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (Captopril, SQ 14,225). The drug was given in increasing doses (100-400 mg/day) for 2 weeks whilst patients received a moderately restricted sodium intake (60-80 mmol/day). Immunoreactive ACTH, cortisol, aldosterone, plasma renin activity (PRA) and the activity of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) were measured in blood samples drawn at 0800-0900 h.

[Study of the carotid pulse with lead II (acceleration carotidogram) in cardiovascular diseases. Introductory note].

The relationship between heart dynamic and the carotid pulse has been studied by using the second derivative as a function of the time of the carotid pulse. This method permits a detailed analysis of the systolic phase of the carotid pulse: in protosystole a positive wave preceeds a negative wave and in telesystole a negative wave preceeds a positive wave. The morphology of the acceleration carotid pulse (CDA Carotidogramma Di Accelerazione), represented by a series of formulas which relate between themselves the protosystolic and the telesystolic waves, is a characteristic as well as statistically significant in each class of the cardiovascular disease in which we examined aortic insufficiency and stenosis, mitral insufficiency and stenosis, aortic angiosclerosis and hypokinetic myocardiopathy.