Dichloroacetate as metabolic therapy for myocardial ischemia and failure.

This article critically reviews the pharmacologic effects of the investigational drug dichloroacetate (DCA), which activates the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme complex in cardiac tissue and thus preferentially facilitates aerobic oxidation of carbohydrate over fatty acids. The pharmacologic effects of DCA are compared with other interventions, such as glucose plus insulin, inhibitors of long chain fatty acid oxidation and adenosine, that are also thought to exert their therapeutic effects by altering myocardial energy metabolism. Short-term clinical and laboratory experiments demonstrate that intravenous DCA rapidly stimulates pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme complex activity and, therefore, aerobic glucose oxidation in myocardial cells.

Furosemide-associated fever.

We describe a 5-month-old infant who had fever of unknown origin leading to an exhaustive evaluation during a 7-week period. Fever caused by the use of furosemide was proved; the fever resolved after discontinuation of this medication and recurred after its reintroduction.

Mobile cardiac catheterization: comparison with outpatient and inpatient catheterization at tertiary facilities.

The study group included 1,553 consecutive patients from areas serviced by our mobile catheterization laboratories: 719 procedures were performed in the mobile unit at their local hospitals, 277 were performed at a tertiary hospital with less than a 24 hr hospital stay, and 557 were performed at a tertiary hospital as inpatients. The indications for mobile catheterization were predominantly atypical chest pain, angina pectoris, or positive treadmill stress test, whereas patients with less than 24 hr hospitalization at the tertiary center had their catheterization performed for additional reasons. The majority of the inpatient indications were for recent myocardial infarction or unstable angina.

Mobile cardiac catheterization registry: report of the first 1,001 patients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate prospectively the efficacy and safety of mobile cardiac catheterization. Mobile cardiac catheterization was introduced into clinical practice in 1989, but there has been no systematic study of its performance and safety. A registry was established in 1989 to monitor outcomes with mobile cardiac catheterization and is reported here.

Intravascular extraction of chronic pacemaker leads: efficacy and follow-up.

Extraction of chronic pacemaker leads has been recommended for infections, prevention of venous thrombosis, migration, and possible perforation. Success with constant traction techniques has been variable, and the cost and morbidity of open chest surgical procedures are prohibitive. Efficacy of a new system for lead extraction using intravascular techniques was analyzed.

Balloon rupture during peripheral stent implantation: a new technique for balloon retrieval.

Balloon rupture is a known technical problem with implantation of vascular stents. In most cases, the ruptured balloon can be retrieved with simple maneuvers. In this case report, a peripheral balloon became trapped within an undeployed peripheral vascular stent and could not be removed by application of standard maneuvers.

Lesion-specific technique considerations in directional coronary atherectomy.

Directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) has expanded over the past several years to include treatment of a wide variety of complex coronary lesions in difficult vessel locations. Ulcerated, eccentric, and hazy lesions; ostial, mid, distal, and bifurcation lesions; saphenous vein graft lesions; tandem and long lesions; and "rescue" of failed angioplasty lesions are all potentially well-suited for DCA. This paper describes a lesion-specific strategy for DCA and outlines equipment selection and techniques helpful for performing DCA in a broad range of cases.

Surgical division of posterior septal accessory pathways in the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome: a new modified approach.

A new modified surgical approach for the division of posterior septal accessory pathways is described. This method incorporates some of the desirable components of previously reported techniques, while eliminating difficult and unreliable aspects of those same techniques. Interestingly this procedure was initially illustrated by Sealy and Mikat in 1983, although it has not been used clinically until now.

Functional role of the epicardium in postinfarction ventricular tachycardia. Observations derived from computerized epicardial activation mapping, entrainment, and epicardial laser photoablation.

Background: Conventionally, monomorphic sustained ventricular tachycardia in patients with remote myocardial infarction is believed to originate from the subendocardium. In a previous study, we demonstrated that electrical activation patterns during ventricular tachycardia occasionally suggest a subepicardial rather than subendocardial reentry.

Methods And Results: This study prospectively evaluated the functional role of the epicardium in postinfarction ventricular tachycardia with complex intraoperative techniques including computerized electrical activation mapping, entrainment, observation of changes in activation pattern during successful epicardial laser photoblation, and histological study.

Preservation of regional myocardial function during coronary angioplasty with an autoperfusion balloon catheter: a case report.

Echocardiographic assessment of regional myocardial function was performed during standard balloon coronary angioplasty followed by autoperfusion balloon angioplasty of a proximal left anterior descending artery stenosis. Septal and apical akinesis occurred within 60 seconds of standard balloon inflation, but regional function was well preserved during prolonged autoperfusion balloon inflation.

Termination of ventricular tachycardia with epicardial laser photocoagulation: a clinical comparison with patients undergoing successful endocardial photocoagulation alone.

Electrical activation-guided laser photocoagulation was used intraoperatively to terminate ventricular tachycardia in patients with ischemic heart disease. During ventricular tachycardia, laser irradiation was delivered to mapped sites with local diastolic activation. In 30 long-term survivors, 85 ventricular tachycardia configurations were terminated by ablation; 72 (84.

The complex posterior septal space in the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Surgical experience with 47 patients.

Forty-seven consecutive patients with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome due to posterior septal accessory pathways were operated on from August 3, 1983 to March 23, 1989. Seven of these patients had Ebstein's anomaly, another three coronary sinus aneurysms, one a persistent left superior vena cava, and five others complex multiple pathway combinations. Two additional patients required surgery following unsuccessful catheter ablation and one after failed surgery at another institution.

Hypothermia: its possible role in cardiac surgery.

The current safety of operations on the heart requiring cardiopulmonary bypass occurred because of a series of step-by-step laboratory and clinical investigations that were compromises between the time needed for heart repair and the brain's requirement for oxygen. The first step, so clearly shown in a paper by Bigelow and associates in 1950, was the reduction of the brain's need for oxygen by surface cooling to 28 degrees to 32 degrees C, limited to this level by cardiac and pulmonary failure at levels lower than this. The six to eight minutes of circulatory arrest permitted time for repair of simple defects.

Laser ablation of ventricular tachycardia.

About 5-10% of patients after myocardial infarction experience sustained ventricular tachycardias. Drug therapy is successful only in 60% of these patients, so that a number of them is on a high risk of a sudden cardiac death. Indirect surgical approaches like myocardial revascularization, or aneurysm resection have proven to be ineffective in the treatment of these malignant tachycardias.

Surgical treatment of arrhythmias.

Surgical treatment of arrhythmias is often more expeditious and more cost-effective in the long run than pharmacologic therapy. In the past, surgical treatment of arrhythmias has been reserved for patients with disabling paroxysmal or incessant tachycardia refractory to medical management, severe life-threatening arrhythmia or aborted episodes of sudden death. However, tachyarrhythmias that are refractory to pharmacologic therapy because of drug inefficacy, noncompliance or limiting side effects are not uncommon.

Neodymium:YAG laser photocoagulation: a successful new map-guided technique for the intraoperative ablation of ventricular tachycardia.

Neodymium:YAG laser photocoagulation was used in the intraoperative treatment of drug-resistant ventricular tachycardia (VT) in 17 consecutive patients. The cause of VT was previous myocardial infarction in 15, sarcoid in one, and idiopathic in one patient. Electrophysiologic studies were performed preoperatively, before hospital discharge, and 8 to 12 weeks and 1 year after surgery.