Heart and vessels
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Observational Study
Novel use of the ultra-short-acting intravenous β1-selective blocker landiolol for supraventricular tachyarrhythmias in patients with congestive heart failure.
The purpose of this study was to find a safe dosing regimen for landiolol, an ultra-short-acting β-adrenergic blocking agent, to rapidly control supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVTs) in patients with heart failure (HF). Landiolol is reported to have good effects in the treatment of SVTs after cardiac surgery. We evaluated 52 patients with SVT and symptoms of HF (NYHA class III/IV, 10/42; EF 32 ± 12 %) on admission because of ischaemic disease (n = 10), non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy (n = 32), or valvular disease (n = 10). ⋯ Within 60 min after initiation of therapy, all patients had achieved a 20 % reduction in HR at the maintenance dose. Transient asymptomatic hypotension requiring cessation of landiolol therapy occurred in three patients. Intravenous administration of landiolol was both effective in rapidly controlling HR for up to 24 h and useful as bridging treatment to additional therapy of oral β blockade, pulmonary vein catheter ablation, or cardiac resynchronisation therapy in patients with HF.
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Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by a progressive increase in pulmonary arterial pressure and vascular resistance. Despite advances in therapy for PAH, its treatment and prognosis remain poor. We aimed to investigate whether the transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) overexpressing hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), alone or in combination with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), attenuates the development of experimental monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH. ⋯ The TGF-β and ET-1 concentrations in the plasma of pulmonary hypertensive rats were markedly lower in the HGF and HGF+G-CSF groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, HGF induced the expression of VCAM-1, and HGF treatment together with G-CSF synergistically stimulated MMP-9 expression. Transplanted HGF-MSCs combined with G-CSF potentially offer synergistic therapeutic benefit for the treatment of PAH.