Catheter ablation for control of ventricular tachycardia: a report of the percutaneous cardiac mapping and ablation registry.

Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia is a procedure of last resort in critically ill patients. The Percutaneous Cardiac Mapping and Ablation Registry was able to collect data on 88 patients undergoing ablation of ventricular tachycardia foci. The mean following interval for the group was 10 +/- 8 months.

Left main coronary artery spasm following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

A patient with reversible spasm of the left main coronary artery occurring shortly after successful angioplasty of a mid-LAD lesion is reported. Prompt recognition of this rare entity may be life-saving.

Reentrant ventricular arrhythmias in the late myocardial infarction period in the dog. 13. Correlation of activation and refractory maps.

Isochronal maps of ventricular activation were analyzed in dogs 3-5 days after ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery utilizing a 64-channel multiplexer. Isochronal maps of the effective refractory period were determined from 62 epicardial sites and correlated with the activation maps. The ischemia occurring in the surviving epicardial layer prolonged refractoriness in a spatially nonuniform manner.

Autonomic dependence of ventriculoatrial conduction.

To evaluate the effects of isoproterenol and atropine on patients with poor ventriculoatrial (VA) conduction, 17 patients were studied who did not have 1-to-1 VA conduction during ventricular pacing at a rate slightly faster than sinus rate (group I) and 11 patients were studied who had 1-to-1 VA conduction, but only at constant ventricular pacing cycle lengths longer than 600 ms (group II). Isoproterenol infusion at a rate causing a 20 to 30% increase in sinus rate or up to 4 micrograms/min shortened the ventricular pacing cycle lengths that induced VA block in all group II patients. Atropine administration at a dose causing a 20 to 30% increase in sinus rate or up to a total dose of 2 mg also shortened the ventricular pacing cycle lengths that induced VA block in all group II patients.

Reentrant ventricular arrhythmias in the late myocardial infarction period. 12. Spontaneous versus induced reentry and intramural versus epicardial circuits.

One to 5 days after one-stage ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery in dogs, reentrant excitation can be induced by programmed premature stimulation in the surviving electrophysiologically abnormal, thin epicardial layer overlying the infarct. In experiments in four dogs, reentrant excitation occurred "spontaneously" during a regular sinus or atrial rhythm. A tachycardia-dependent Wenckebach conduction sequence in a potentially reentrant pathway was the initiating mechanism for spontaneous reentrant tachycardias and was the basis for both manifest and concealed reentrant extrasystolic rhythms.

Quantitative analysis of the high-frequency components of the signal-averaged QRS complex in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a prospective study.

We performed a prospective study of the high-frequency components of the terminal portion of the QRS complex in 50 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (mean age 63 +/- 10 years) within 3.25 +/- 2.45 days of the acute event.

Surgical management of synchronous coronary artery disease and multiple aortic stenosis: a case report with brief review of the literature.

One-stage surgery was successfully performed in a 44-year-old hypertensive man with uncontrolled angina, multiple coarctations of the thoracic and abdominal aorta, and a previous subtotal gastrectomy. There was a gradient of 120 mm Hg between the thoracic and abdominal aorta. A graft was placed retroperitoneally from the infrarenal aorta to the ascending aorta and was followed by a coronary artery bypass graft.

Effect of labetalol on exercise tolerance and double product in mild to moderate essential hypertension.

Maximal exercise capacity after control of resting blood pressure with labetalol was studied in nine hypertensive men aged 34 to 69 years (average 52 years). Subjects exercised to exhaustion on an upright cycle ergometer with workload increased as a step function by 25 watts every three minutes, both before and after control of blood pressure was obtained. Mean exercise capacity expressed as total time of exercise until exhaustion was 936 seconds prior to control of the resting blood pressure and 884 seconds (no significant difference) after control of resting blood pressure with labetalol.

Late potentials and arrhythmogenesis.

There are three current prognostic indicators of ventricular electrical instability: categorization and stratification of spontaneous ventricular arrhythmias from standard ECG recordings; programmed electrical stimulation; direct recording of delayed depolarization potentials, usually referred to as late potentials. Of the three, the latter offers a new and promising approach. Late potentials represent delayed activation potentials of diseased myocardial zones and may prove to be a strong independent marker of the propensity to develop reentrant ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac electrical death.

Enhancement of triggered activity in ischemic Purkinje fibers by ouabain: a mechanism of increased susceptibility to digitalis toxicity in myocardial infarction.

Enhanced susceptibility to toxic arrhythmias by digitalis administration has been reported in clinical and experimental myocardial infarction. To investigate the mechanism responsible for this phenomenon, the effects of superfusion with normal Tyrode's solution and superfusion with Tyrode's solution containing 4 X 10(-8)M of ouabain in ischemic Purkinje fibers were compared. Ischemic Purkinje fibers of small endocardial preparations from 1 day old myocardial infarcts in 18 dogs were used for the study.

Changed learning curve for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Implication for the future treatment of coronary artery disease.

As with all skilled techniques, there is a learning curve for percutaneous coronary angioplasty. This curve has been well described in the literature and it is generally quoted that an initial success rate of 70 to 75 percent in reaching and crossing lesions is to be expected during the first 20 cases. However, the introduction of the steerable or guidewire-directed dilation catheter has altered the learning curve.

The radiographic appearance of arterial sheath kinking.

A case of arterial sheath kinking is reported. Radiographically, sheath kinking has some features which mimic sheath fracture. The radiographic appearance of sheath kinking is, however, distinctive and clearly separable from sheath fracture, the hallmark of which is extravasation of contrast at the fracture site.

Asynchronized direct-current electrical energy causing acceleration of ventricular tachycardia.

Asynchronized direct-current (DC) shock was delivered inadvertently to a 67-year-old man with ventricular tachycardia. The electrical shock, which fell on the T-wave of the ECG, accelerated the tachycardia. A synchronized DC shock then converted the accelerated tachycardia to sinus rhythm.

Nonrandom occurrence of single-vessel coronary artery disease.

The location of obstructive coronary artery lesions in single-vessel disease is nonrandom. The circumflex coronary artery is protected relative to the right coronary artery. This may have important implications regarding the causation of coronary obstructive lesions.

Recurrent pulmonary embolization following implantation of transvenous pacemaker.

A 44-year-old man developed recurrent pulmonary embolization after implantation of a permanent transvenous DVI pacemaker connected to polyurethane leads. Thrombus was found in the left innominate and subclavian veins around the pacemaker leads, but not in the right atrium or in the venous system of the pelvis and the lower extremities. The recurrence of pulmonary embolization followed discontinuation of treatment with Coumadin.

Reentrant ventricular arrhythmias in the late myocardial infarction period. II. Burst pacing versus multiple premature stimulation in the induction of reentry.

Isochronal maps of ventricular activation were analyzed in dogs 1 to 5 days after infarction utilizing a 64 channel multiplexer. Only dogs in which circus movement reentry could not be induced by a single premature stimulus were analyzed. Reentrant rhythms could be successfully induced equally by multiple (double or triple) premature stimuli and by burst pacing.

Electrophysiologic effects of propafenone on canine ischemic cardiac cells.

The electrophysiologic effects of propafenone were studied by conventional microelectrode techniques in ischemic myocardial and Purkinje fibers from 1-day-old myocardial infarction in the dog. Propafenone reduced the amplitude and rate of rise of normal myocardial and Purkinje action potentials and had little effect on the resting potential. In the control state, both ischemic myocardial and Purkinje fibers had reduced resting potential, action potential amplitude and upstroke velocity.

Atrioventricular block. Mechanism, clinical presentation, and therapy.

The mechanism of AV block and bifascicular block and the role of His bundle electrocardiography in localizing the site of AV block are reviewed. The clinical presentation and therapy of the different types of AV block and the indications for permanent pacing are discussed.

Programmed electrical stimulation in patients with high-grade ventricular ectopy: electrophysiologic findings and prognosis for survival.

The significance and treatment of ventricular premature beats (VPBs) in patients without sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT), sudden death, or syncope remains unclear. We undertook a prospective study of programmed electrical stimulation (up to two extrastimuli and burst pacing) in 73 patients (age 60 +/- 10 years) with high-grade VPBs who had no evidence of sustained VT, sudden death, or syncope as determined by 48 hr of monitoring in the cardiac care unit and 48 hr Holter monitoring. Fifty-six patients (76.

Effects of diltiazem on triggered activity in canine 1 day old infarction.

Triggered activity arising from a delayed after-depolarisation occurs in canine subendocardial Purkinje fibres 1 day following infarction. Standard microelectrode techniques were used to study small preparations (less than 50 mm2) in vitro. Diltiazem, 1 mg X litre-1, reversibly suppressed triggered activity by reducing maximum diastolic potential, action potential amplitude and the rate of depolarisation of the delayed after-depolarisation.

Effects of intravenous amiodarone in patients with inducible repetitive ventricular responses and ventricular tachycardia.

We studied the effects of intravenous amiodarone administration (5 mg/kg) on reproducible repetitive ventricular responses and ventricular tachycardia (VT) induced by programmed electrical stimulation of the heart in 32 patients. Intravenous amiodarone prevented induction of bundle branch reentry in only 2 of 11 patients (18.2%) and did not change His-Purkinje conduction and refractoriness in the remaining 9 of 11 (81.

Recording of diastolic slope with catheters during junctional rhythm in humans.

Junctional diastolic slopes were recorded in 11 of 15 patients (73.3%) with junctional rhythm that occurred spontaneously, after intravenous administration of atropine (1 mg), or during carotid sinus massage. The diastolic slopes were recorded through a unipolar lead consisting of a terminal of an electrode catheter placed in the His bundle area paired with an indifferent terminal on the superior vena cava.

Electrophysiologic effects and mechanisms of termination of supraventricular tachycardia by intravenous amiodarone.

Electrophysiologic studies were performed in nine patients with reentrant paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) during a control period and following 5 mg/kg body weight of intravenous amiodarone (Cordarone, Labaz) administered as a slow continuous infusion over 15 to 20 minutes. All nine patients had induction of sustained PSVT during control studies. In seven of nine patients (group 1) the tachycardia was due to atrioventricular (AV) nodal reentry, and in two of nine patients (group 2) a concealed retrograde bypass tract was incorporated in the reentrant process.