Invasive reperfusion study. II. Multicentre European randomized trial of anistreplase vs streptokinase in acute myocardial infarction.

IRS II (Invasive reperfusion study II) was a multicentre randomized trial comparing the efficacy of a 2-5-min 30 U anistreplase intravenous injection with a 1,500,000 U 60-min streptokinase (SK) intravenous infusion in acute myocardial infarction. 116 patients were randomized within 6 h of onset of symptoms. Early coronary patency was assessable in 107 patients by coronary angiogram performed 102 min after thrombolytic treatment (range: 30-297 min) in the anistreplase group and 93 min (range: 22-330 min) in the SK group.

Effect of cadralazine on brachial artery hemodynamics and forearm venous tone in essential hypertension.

Forearm venous tone and brachial artery hemodynamics, including determinations of the arterial diameter and compliance by the use of pulsed Doppler systems, were measured in 16 patients with sustained essential hypertension before and after acute oral cadralazine dosing. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures significantly decreased, whereas heart rate increased. Brachial artery diameter and vascular resistance decreased, respectively, from 0.

Myocardial map derived from two-dimensional echocardiography: reproducible and standardized description of infarction topographies.

The aim of this study was to improve the reproducibility and the standardization of the topographical assessment of myocardial infarctions in routine two-dimensional echocardiography. A myocardial map of the left ventricle was derived from a necropsy study of normal human hearts; interventricular grooves and papillary muscles were used as anatomical landmarks defining 16 segments with similar planimetered surfaces. A reporting sheet was prepared, with diagrams of standardized echo sections and with a map showing the position of the corresponding outlines.

[Changes in passive left ventricular pressure-volume relations in acute volume expansion].

The passive left ventricular pressure-volume relationship characterises left ventricular distensibility. However, it has recently been shown that acute pharmacological intervention can significantly change the position of the diastolic pressure-volume curve. We studied the effects of acute volumic expansion on the passive left ventricular pressure-volume relationship.