European heart journal. Acute cardiovascular care
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Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care · Dec 2012
Synchronized defibrillation for ventricular fibrillation.
Optimization of defibrillation success is important to improve efficacy and minimize post-shock sequelae. Previous work has suggested an improvement in shock success when an intracardiac shock is delivered synchronized to the upslope of a VF wave. We investigated the efficacy of transthoracic defibrillation success using a novel external biphasic defibrillator which delivers shocks synchronized to the upslope of the surface ECG. ⋯ The novel defibrillator used in this study was able to consistently deliver shocks on the upslope portion of the VF wave but did not show an improvement in shock success.
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Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care · Dec 2012
ACHTUNG-Rule: a new and improved model for prognostic assessment in myocardial infarction.
THROMBOLYSIS IN MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (TIMI), PLATELET GLYCOPROTEIN IIB/IIIA IN UNSTABLE ANGINA: Receptor Suppression Using Integrilin (PURSUIT) and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) scores have been developed for risk stratification in myocardial infarction (MI). The latter is the most validated score, yet active research is ongoing for improving prognostication in MI. ⋯ All versions of the ACHTUNG-Rule have shown excellent discriminative power and good calibration for predicting intrahospital, post-discharge and combined in-hospital plus post-discharge mortality. The ACHTUNG version for intrahospital mortality prediction was not inferior to its equivalent GRACE model, and ACHTUNG versions for post-discharge and combined/total mortality demonstrated apparent superiority. External validation in wider, independent, preferably multicentre, registries is warranted before its potential clinical implementation.
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Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care · Dec 2012
Emergency coronary angiography in comatose cardiac arrest patients: do real-life experiences support the guidelines?
To describe the use of emergency coronary angiography (CAG) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and the association with short- and long-term survival in consecutive comatose survivors after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). ⋯ In comatose survivors of OHCA presenting with STEMI, a high prevalence of coronary disease and culprit lesions suitable for emergency PCI was found, whereas in patients without STEMI pattern, significant coronary stenosis was less frequent. Clinical benefits of emergency CAG/PCI in comatose survivors of OHCA presenting without STEMI could not be identified.
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Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care · Dec 2012
Peripheral venous blood gases and pulse-oximetry in acute cardiogenic pulmonary oedema.
The role of venous blood gases as an alternative to arterial blood gases in patients with severe acute heart failure has not been established. ⋯ In patients with cardiogenic pulmonary oedema, arterial blood gas disturbances may be estimated from peripheral venous samples. By monitoring SpO2 simultaneously, arterial punctures could often be avoided.
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Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care · Dec 2012
Use of levosimendan in critically ill patients with severe aortic stenosis and left ventricular dysfunction.
Congestive heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction in the setting of severe aortic stenosis are associated with a high mortality rate. Evidence on optimal medical therapy is scanty. ⋯ The use of levosimendan, which has positive inotropic, vasodilatory and cardioprotective properties seems attractive. We describe a small series of exceedingly ill patients with severe aortic stenosis and left ventricular dysfunction, in different clinical settings (acute heart failure, cardiogenic shock and difficult-to-wean ventilatory support), in which levosimendan was successfully used.