[Left ventricular relaxation and ambulatory blood pressure in mild, untreated arterial hypertension].

Twenty patients with mild, untreated arterial hypertension had ambulatory blood pressure recordings and a digitized echocardiographic study of the left ventricle with measurement of its mass (LVM) and of relaxation parameters. A significant correlation was found between LVM and ambulatory systolic pressure during daytime (r = 0.64; p less than 0.

[Anti-arrhythmia efficacy of propafenone per os in the prevention of paroxysmal supraventricular arrhythmia resistant to class Ia agents].

The efficacy of orally administered propafenone in the prevention of paroxysmal supraventricular dysrhythmias (atrial fibrillation, atrial tachysystole, reciprocal tachycardia) resistant to Vaughan-Williams class Ia drugs was investigated in 10 patients. Propafenone controlled dysrhythmia very well in 4 out of the ten patients, and satisfactorily in another one at a dosage ranging from 450 to 900 mg/day in 3 or 4 divided doses; this result was documented using continuous 24 hr. Holter ECG monitoring.

[Left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients. Ultrasonic and physiopathology: therapeutic implications].

Hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy can easily be diagnosed by echocardiography. It occurs in 30-50 per cent of hypertensive patients and has recently been shown to be a potent and independent predictor of morbidity and mortality, increasing the risk of sudden death, arrhythmia and severe coronary events. The condition usually presents as concentric left ventricular hypertrophy with symmetrically or asymmetrically thickened ventricular walls, but it may also be found with a dilated cavity.

[Spontaneous course of myxoma of the left atrium].

Little is known about the natural history of left intra-atrial myxomas. We report 3 cases of that disease where successive echocardiographic examinations provided figures of 11, 12 and 14 months respectively for the formation of the tumour in the left atrium. Echocardiography is perfectly reliable for the diagnosis of myxoma.

[Comparative effects of pindolol and atenolol on blood pressure and lipids in mild to moderate arterial hypertension].

Twenty-one patients with mild or moderate hypertension were randomised to receive either Atenolol 100 mg (N = 10) or Pindolol 15 mg (N = 11) in a once daily dosage over a two month period. The effects of these two betablockers on the blood pressure and plasma lipid profile were studied. Special attention was paid to the methodology: obese patients (30% over theoretical weight derived from the Lorenz formula) and those with pre-treatment triglyceride levels higher than 1.