Investigation of the theory and mechanism of the origin of the second heart sound. (1/2271)

To investigate further the origin of the second heart sound we studied human subjects, dogs, and a model in vitro of the cardiovascular system. Intra-arterial sound, pressure, and, where possible, flow and high speed cine (2,000 frames/sec) were utilized. The closure sound of the semilunar valves was of higher amplitude in be ventricles than in their respective arterial cavities. The direction of inscription of the main components of intra-arterial sound were opposite in direction to the components of intraventricular sound. Notches, representative of pressure increments, were noted on the ventricular pressure tracings and were coincident with the components of sound. The amplitude of the closure sound varied with diastolic pressure, but remained unchanged with augmentation of forward and retrograde aortic flow. Cines showed second sound to begin after complete valvular closure, and average leaflet closure rate was constant regardless of pressure. Hence, the semilunar valves, when closed, act as an elastic membrane and, when set into motion, generate compression and expansion of the blood, producing transient pressure changes indicative of sound. The magnitude of the initial stretch is related to the differential pressure between the arterial and ventricular chambers. Sound transients which follow the major components of the second sound appear to be caused by the continuing stretch and recoil of the leaflets. Clinically unexplained findings such as the reduced or absent second sound in calcific aortic stenosis and its paradoxical presence in congenital aortic stenosis may be explained by those observations.  (+info)

Acetylcholine-induced membrane potential changes in endothelial cells of rabbit aortic valve. (2/2271)

1. Using a microelectrode technique, acetylcholine (ACh)-induced membrane potential changes were characterized using various types of inhibitors of K+ and Cl- channels in rabbit aortic valve endothelial cells (RAVEC). 2. ACh produced transient then sustained membrane hyperpolarizations. Withdrawal of ACh evoked a transient depolarization. 3. High K+ blocked and low K+ potentiated the two ACh-induced hyperpolarizations. Charybdotoxin (ChTX) attenuated the ACh-induced transient and sustained hyperpolarizations; apamin inhibited only the sustained hyperpolarization. In the combined presence of ChTX and apamin, ACh produced a depolarization. 4. In Ca2+-free solution or in the presence of Co2+ or Ni2+, ACh produced a transient hyperpolarization followed by a depolarization. In BAPTA-AM-treated cells, ACh produced only a depolarization. 5. A low concentration of A23187 attenuated the ACh-induced transient, but not the sustained, hyperpolarization. In the presence of cyclopiazonic acid, the hyperpolarization induced by ACh was maintained after ACh removal; this maintained hyperpolarization was blocked by Co2+. 6. Both NPPB and hypertonic solution inhibited the membrane depolarization seen after ACh washout. Bumetanide also attenuated this depolarization. 7. It is concluded that in RAVEC, ACh produces a two-component hyperpolarization followed by a depolarization. It is suggested that ACh-induced Ca2+ release from the storage sites causes a transient hyperpolarization due to activation of ChTX-sensitive K+ channels and that ACh-activated Ca2+ influx causes a sustained hyperpolarization by activating both ChTX- and apamin-sensitive K+ channels. Both volume-sensitive Cl- channels and the Na+-K+-Cl- cotransporter probably contribute to the ACh-induced depolarization.  (+info)

Extent and severity of atherosclerotic involvement of the aortic valve and root in familial hypercholesterolaemia. (3/2271)

OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequency of valvar and supravalvar aortic stenosis in homozygous and heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). DESIGN: Analysis of life time cholesterol exposure and prevalence of aortic atherosclerosis in 84 consecutive cases attending a lipid clinic. SETTING: A tertiary referral centre in London. PATIENTS: Outpatients with FH (six homozygous, 78 heterozygous). INTERVENTIONS: Maintenance of lipid lowering treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Calculated cholesterol x years score (CYS) and echocardiographic measurement of aortic root diameter, aortic valve thickness, and transaortic gradient. RESULTS: Four homozygotes with a mean (SD) CYS of 387 (124) mmol/1 x years had severe aortic stenosis (treatment started after seven years of age), whereas the other two had echocardiographic evidence of supravalvar thickening but no aortic valve stenosis (treatment started before three years of age). On multivariate analysis, mean transaortic gradient correlated significantly with CYS (mean = 523 (175) mmol/1 x years) in heterozygotes (p = 0.0001), but only two had severe aortic valve and root involvement. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia, aortic stenosis is common in homozygotes, and aortic root involvement is always present despite the lower CYS than in heterozygotes. It appears to be determined by short term exposure to high cholesterol concentrations in early life. Conversely, aortic root and valve involvement are rare in heterozygotes and occur only with severe, prolonged hypercholesterolaemia, possibly accelerating age related degenerative effects.  (+info)

Bileaflet mechanical prostheses for aortic valve replacement in patients younger than 65 years and 65 years of age or older: major thromboembolic and hemorrhagic complications. (4/2271)

OBJECTIVE: To determine major thromboembolic and hemorrhagic complications and predictive risk factors associated with aortic valve replacement (AVR), using bileaflet mechanical prostheses (CarboMedics and St. Jude Medical). DESIGN: A case series. SETTING: Cardiac surgical services at the teaching institutions of the University of British Columbia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients 2 age groups who had undergone AVR between 1989 and 1994 were studied. Group 1 comprised 384 patients younger than 65 years. Group 2 comprised 215 patients 65 years of age and older. RESULTS: The linearized rates of major thromboembolism (TE) occurring after AVR were 1.54%/patient-year for group 1 and 3.32%/patient-year for group 2; the rates for major TE occurring more than 30 days after AVR were 1.13%/patient-year for group 1 and 1.55%/patient-year for group 2. The crude rates for major TE occurring within 30 days of AVR were 1.04% for group 1 and 3.72% for group 2. The death rate from major TE in group 1 was 0.31%/patient-year and in group 2 was 0.88%/patient-year. Of the major TE events occurring within 30 days, 100% of patients in both age groups were inadequately anticoagulated at the time of the event, and for events occurring more than 30 days after AVR, 45% in group 1 and 57% in group 2 were inadequately anticoagulated (INR less than 2.0). The overall linearized rates of major hemorrhage were 1.54%/patient-year for group 1 and 2.21%/patient-year for group 2. There were no cases of prosthesis thrombosis in either group. The mean (and standard error) overall freedom from major TE for group 1 patients at 5 years was 95.6% (1.4%) and with exclusion of early events was 96.7% (1.3%); for group 2 patients the rates were 90.0% (3.2%) and 93.7% (3.0%), respectively. The mean (and SE) overall freedom from major and fatal TE and hemorrhage for group 1 patients was 90.1% (2.3%) and with exclusion of early events was 91.2% (2.3%); for group 2 patients the rates were 87.9% (3.1%) and 92.5% (2.9%), respectively. The 5-year rate for freedom from valve-related death for group 1 patients was 96.3% (2.1%) and for group 2 patients was 97.2% (1.2%). CONCLUSION: The thromboembolic and hemorrhagic complications after AVR with bileaflet mechanical prostheses occur more frequently and result in more deaths in patients 65 years of age and older than in patients years younger than 65 years.  (+info)

Minimally invasive aortic valve replacement through a transverse sternotomy: a word of caution. (5/2271)

OBJECTIVES: To compare aortic valve replacement (AVR) using a minimally invasive approach through a transverse sternotomy with the established approach of median sternotomy. DESIGN: Retrospective, case-control study. PATIENTS: Fourteen high risk patients (median age 78, Parsonnet score of 18%) who underwent AVR performed through a minimally invasive transverse sternotomy were compared with a historical group of patients matched for age, sex, and Parsonnet score who underwent AVR performed through a median sternotomy by the same surgeon. OUTCOME MEASURES: Cross clamp time, total bypass time, intensive care stay, postoperative in-hospital stay, morbidity, and mortality. RESULTS: There were two deaths in the minimally invasive group and none in the control group (NS). The cross clamp and total bypass times were longer in the minimally invasive group (67 and 92 minutes v 46 and 66 minutes, p < 0.001). There was a higher incidence of re-exploration for bleeding (14% v 0%) and paravalvar leaks (21% v 0%) in the minimally invasive group but these differences were not significant. The minimally invasive group had a longer postoperative in-hospital stay (p = 0.025). The incidence of mortality or major morbidity was 43% (six of 14) in the minimally invasive group and 7% (one of 14) in the matched pairs (p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: AVR can be performed through a transverse sternotomy but the operation takes longer and there is an unacceptably high incidence of morbidity and mortality.  (+info)

Role of glutaraldehyde in calcification of porcine aortic valve fibroblasts. (6/2271)

Glutaraldehyde-treated porcine aortic valve xenografts frequently fail due to calcification. Calcification in the prostheses begins intracellularly. In a previous study, various types of cell injury to canine valvular fibroblasts, including glutaraldehyde treatment, led to calcification. An influx of extracellular Ca2+ into the phosphate-rich cytosol was theorized to be the mechanism of calcification. To test the Ca2+ influx theory, cytosolic Ca2+ and Pi concentrations were assessed in glutaraldehyde-treated porcine aortic valve fibroblasts, and their relationship to a subsequent calcification was studied. Glutaraldehyde caused an immediate and sustained massive cytosolic Ca2+ increase that was dose dependent and a several-fold increase in Pi. Calcification of cells followed within a week. The earliest calcification was observed in blebs formed on glutaraldehyde-treated cells. Live control cells or cells fixed with glutaraldehyde in Ca2+-free solution did not calcify under the same conditions. Concomitant increases in Ca2+ and Pi in glutaraldehyde-treated cells appear to underlie the mechanism of calcification, and the presence of extracellular Ca2+ during glutaraldehyde fixation promotes calcification.  (+info)

Perivalvular abscesses associated with endocarditis; clinical features and prognostic factors of overall survival in a series of 233 cases. Perivalvular Abscesses French Multicentre Study. (7/2271)

AIMS: The purposes of this study were to determine the clinical features and to identify prognostic factors of abscesses associated with infective endocarditis. METHODS AND RESULTS: During a 5-year period from January 1989, 233 patients with perivalvular abscesses associated with infective endocarditis were enrolled in a retrospective multicentre study. Of the patients, 213 received medical surgical therapy and 20 medical therapy alone. No causative microorganism could be identified in 31% of cases. Sensitivity for the detection of abscesses was 36 and 80%, respectively using transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography. Surgical treatment consisted of primary suture of the abscess (38%), insertion of a felt aortic or mitral ring using Teflon or pericardium (42%), or debridment of the abscess cavity (20%). The 1 month operative mortality was 16%. Actuarial rates for overall survival at 3 and 27 months in operated patients were 75 +/- 10% and 59 +/- 11%, respectively. Increasing patient age, staphylococcal infection, and fistulization of the abscess were found to be independent risk factors in both 1 month and overall operative mortality. Renal failure was a risk factor predictive of operative mortality at 1 month, whereas uncontrolled infection and circumferential abscess were regarded as risk factors predictive of overall operative mortality. CONCLUSION: The data determined prognostic factors of abscesses associated with infective endocarditis.  (+info)

Syphilitic aortic regurgitation. An appraisal of surgical treatment. (8/2271)

During the 10 years from 1964 to 1973, fifteen patients with severe syphilitic aortic regurgitation were treated surgically at the National Heart Hospital. In thirteen the valve was replaced and in two it was repaired. In addition four had replacement of an aneurysmal ascending aorta with a Dacron graft and seven some form of plastic repair to the coronary ostia. Three patients died within 1 month of surgery and a further six during the follow-up period which varied from 1 to 55 months (mean 25-5). The six survivors have been followed-up for an average of 33 months. Factors contributing to this high mortality were analysed and it was found that the mean duration of effort dyspnoea was 22 months in the survivors compared with 48 months in those who had died. Similarly the average duration of nocturnal dyspnoea was 4 months in the survivors compared with a mean of 8 months in those who had died. Only six out of the fifteen patients had angina; this was present in two of the survivors and in four of the fatalities. The pulse pressure, heart size, and haemodynamic findings were similar in the two groups. The prognostic value of an elevated erythocyte sedimentation rate was also examined. It was concluded that preoperative investigations should include aortography, coronary arteriography, an assessment of left ventricular function, and whenever possible myocardial biopsy. These data were interpreted as suggesting that patients should be referred for surgery at an earlier stage in the disease--certainly before the onset of cardiac failure and--and that if this more aggresive attitude was adopted, as it has been in non-syphilitic cases of aortic valve disease, the present high mortality in this group would be reduced.  (+info)

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