European heart journal
-
European heart journal · Nov 1990
Exercise testing for assessment of the significance of ST segment depression observed during episodes of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.
Sixteen patients who had manifested ST segment depression during episodes of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) were studied with exercise testing in order to detect coronary artery disease and myocardial ischaemia. No ST segment depression was observed during exercise testing in 15 out of the 16 patients tested. Paroxysms of supraventricular tachycardia associated with ST segment depression occurred during exercise testing in three cases. ⋯ These results suggest that coronary artery disease and myocardial ischaemia are not involved in the genesis of ST segment depression during PSVT. Tachycardia per se may be the cause of ST segment depression by altering the slope of phase 2 of the ventricular action potential. Retrograde atrial activation may also induce ST segment shifts in some of the cases.
-
European heart journal · Nov 1990
Comparative StudyDoppler echocardiographic study of the consequences of aging and hypertension on the left ventricle and aorta.
The aims of the study were (1) to describe the consequences of aging and hypertension on left ventricular geometry and physical properties of the aorta, (2) to study interactions between some physical properties of the aorta and left ventricular geometry in normal (NT) and hypertensive patients (HT) using Doppler echocardiography. Forty-five healthy normotensive subjects (age range 21 to 84 years) and 20 untreated sustained hypertensive patients (age range 20 to 70 years) were studied. We measured (1) resting arterial blood pressure with a Dinamap, (2) left ventricular radius (r), thickness (th), mass (LVM), th/r ratio and aortic diameter (AD) by M-mode echocardiography with 2D control, and (3) pulse wave velocity (PWV) in the descending thoracic aorta from aortic velocity tracings recorded by pulsed wave Doppler in the isthmus and near the diaphragm. ⋯ The Doppler echocardiographic method of PWV measurement is feasible, reproducible and gives similar results to other methods, especially the invasive haemodynamic method. Doppler echocardiography is an adequate method to study left ventricular geometry and some physical properties of the aorta. It can be used to assess the consequences of aging and hypertension on both left ventricle (concentric hypertrophy) and aorta (increase of aortic stiffness).