[Intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke. A four years’ experience in a Chilean public hospital].

Background: Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) with alteplase (tissue plasminogen activator) is the standard pharmacological treatment in acute ischemic stroke (AIS), reducing disability in patients.

Aim: To report the results a thrombolysis protocol during four years in a regional public hospital.

Material And Methods: Data from 106 consecutive patients aged 68 ± 13 years (57% men) who were treated with IVT, from May 2012 until April 2016, was analyzed.

Pacemaker diagnostics: a critical appraisal of current technology.

Diagnostic information retrieved from a pacemaker offers the ability to improve patient care. Pacemaker diagnostic data provides information regarding pacemaker function and activity, lead function, arrhythmia occurrence, and data to aid in optimal pacemaker programming. Current pacemakers incorporate greater storage capabilities, more efficient means of storing and presenting data between follow-up visits, and more options for programming diagnostic functions and algorithms.

High-output congestive failure in a patient with pulmonary arteriovenous malformations.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations are rare vascular malformations that usually present with dyspnea and cyanosis in young adults. With the exception of infants and newborns, pulmonary arteriovenous malformations rarely cause congestive heart failure. The authors describe an unusual case in which an elderly female presented with severe dyspnea, hypoxemia, and high-output heart failure.

Clinical utility of intraatrial pacemaker stored electrograms to diagnose atrial fibrillation and flutter.

The purpose of this study was to determine if intraatrial electrograms (EGMs) are required to diagnose specific types of atrial tachyarrhythmias detected by pacemaker diagnostics. DDD pacemakers in 56 patients were programmed to store episodes of atrial tachyarrhythmias. Some episodes had a stored atrial EGM snapshot of the atrial tachyarrhythmia.