Heart : official journal of the British Cardiac Society
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To study the possible occurrence of left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic asynchrony in patients with systolic heart failure (HF) and narrow QRS complexes. ⋯ LV systolic and diastolic mechanical asynchrony is common in patients with HF with narrow QRS complexes. As QRS complex duration is not a determinant of systolic asynchrony, it implies that assessment of intraventricular synchronicity is probably more important than QRS duration in considering cardiac resynchronisation treatment.
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To describe the change in survival and factors associated with survival during a 20 year period among patients suffering from out of hospital cardiac arrest and being hospitalised alive. ⋯ There was no improvement in survival over time among initial survivors of out of hospital cardiac arrest during a 20 year period. Major indicators for an increased chance of survival were initial ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, arrest being witnessed, and the patient being conscious on admission. Major indicators for a lower chance were high age, requirement for atropine in the emergency department, and chronic treatment with diuretics before cardiac arrest.