A new system for classification of cardiac death as arrhythmic, ischemic, or due to myocardial pump failure.

Existing classifications of cardiac death fail to incorporate current understanding of the pathophysiology of sudden cardiac death. We developed a new scheme for classifying cardiac death that defines 3 categories of underlying mechanism: primary arrhythmia, acute myocardial ischemia/infarction, and myocardial pump failure. Using this new system, we classified the mechanism of 106 definite cardiac deaths from the Recurrent Coronary Prevention Project.

Effects of anger on left ventricular ejection fraction in coronary artery disease.

This study examined the comparative potency of several psychological stressors and exercise in eliciting myocardial ischemia as measured by left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) changes using radionuclide ventriculography. Twenty-seven subjects underwent both exercise (bicycle) and psychological stressors (mental arithmetic, recall of an incident that elicited anger, giving a short speech defending oneself against a charge of shoplifting) during which EF, blood pressure, heart rate and ST segment were measured. Eighteen subjects had 1-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD), defined by greater than 50% diameter stenosis in 1 artery as assessed by arteriography.

Transesophageal echo-Doppler echocardiographic assessment of pulmonary venous flow patterns.

Unlabelled: Fifty-eight of 61 consecutive patients undergoing transesophageal echo-Doppler echocardiography provided excellent signals to permit assessment of pulmonary venous blood low patterns. Normal antegrade pulmonary venous flow during ventricular systole was biphasic and was characterized by a short, low velocity (28 +/- 17 cm/sec), early systolic jet (P1), and longer, higher velocity (41 +/- 23 cm/sec), late systolic jet (P2). Antegrade pulmonary venous flow during ventricular diastole (P3) was of moderate velocity (34 +/- 17 cm/sec) and was monophasic; during atrial contraction there was transient, low velocity (-17 +/- 11 cm/sec) and reversal of flow (P4).

Enhanced detection of intracardiac sources of cerebral emboli by transesophageal echocardiography.

We performed transesophageal echocardiography in 50 consecutive hospitalized patients with recent transient ischemic attack or stroke of embolic origin to determine whether transesophageal echocardiography is more sensitive than transthoracic echocardiography in detection of possible intracardiac sources of embolism. Twenty-six of 50 patients with a negative transthoracic echocardiogram for potential source of emboli had a transesophageal echocardiography study that demonstrated at least one intracardiac abnormality. Abnormalities noted by transesophageal echocardiography included five of 50 patients with either a left atrial or left atrial appendage clot, four patients with a patent foramen ovale, and nine patients with spontaneous echocardiographic contrast.

Freehand allograft aortic valve replacement and aortic root replacement. Utility of intraoperative echocardiography and Doppler color flow mapping.

Unlabelled: Seventeen consecutive patients undergoing 20 planned aortic valve replacements with allograft valves at Stanford University Medical Center were studied with intraoperative epicardial echocardiography and Doppler color flow mapping before and after cardiopulmonary bypass. Native aortic valves were replaced in 12 of the 20 patients, and eight patients underwent second aortic valve procedures. In 17 of 20 patients allograft selection was guided by prebypass echocardiographic estimates of annular diameter and/or length of allograft aortic root required.