Informative value of orthogonal electrocardiogram in the diagnosis of the left ventricular hypertrophy

AIM: To estimate the informative value of orthogonal ECG parameters for the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study comprised 142 apparently healthy individuals and 125 patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and LVH (left ventricular mass index more than 125 g/m2 for males and more than 110 g/m2 for females). Characteristic curves (ROC curves) were used to describe and compare the informative value of vectorcardiographic, demapping criteria for L VH with the informavalue of the Sokolov-Lyons criterion, the Cornelian index, and the Cornelian product. RESULTS: The informative indices of orthogonal ECG were Rx + Sz and IADIM: the area under the ROC curve was 0.89 +/- 0.02 and 0.88 +/- 0.02, respectively, which was significantly higher than with the Sokolov-Lyons criterion (0.64 +/- 0.04; p < 0.05) and similar to the Cornelian product (0.84 +/- 0.03). Of great informative value is the angle phi (area under the ROC curve was 0.88 +/- 0.04) in males and the area of QRS loop in the horizontal plane (area under the ROC curve was 0.89 +/- 0.03) in females. With 96% specificity, the male sensitivity of IADIM was 80%, Rx + Sz--73%, which was significantly higher than that of the Cornelian index (56%; p < 0.05) and the Sokolov-Lyons criterion (27%; p < 0.05). With 96% specificity, the female sensitivity of IADIM was 73%, Rx + Sz--84%, SQRSxz--70%, which was significantly higher than that of the Cornelian index (49%; p < 0.05), the Cornelian product (55%; p < 0.05), and the Sokolov-Lyons criterion (30%; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The threshold values of the most informative indices of orthogonal ECG are presented, which could provide the optimum sensitivity-specificity ratios. These values allow cardiac lesions to be detected in hypertensive patients with normal 12-lead ECG.     

Multi-nodal euthyroid goiter and carcinoma of the thyroid gland

In 66 patients carcinoma was formed on background of euthyroid multinodal goiter (MNG). There was established, that the malignant tumours in patients with euthyroid MNG in principal are the papillare thyroid carcinoma of a small size, do not invade the capsula of thyroid gland, that testifying relatively favourable course of the disease.     

The problem of indexation of left ventricular myocardial mass by body size in obese patients

AIM: To assess efficacy of different ECG-criteria of left ventricular myocardial hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertensive patients as regards body mass (obesity). MATERIAL AND METHOD: Data on 100 patients (42 males and 58 females, age 19-79 years) with diagnosis of hypertension of the first-second degree were analysed. ECG was registered in 12 leads. LVH was determined by ECG by the following criteria: Sokolov-Lion (S-L): Sv1+Rv5(v6) > 35 mm; Cornell voltage (Crn-V): R avL+Sv3 > 28 mm (> 20 mm for women); Cornell product (Crn-P). According to the body mass the patients were divided into 3 groups: with normal weight, overweight and obesity. Crn = P criterion was most sensitive in all the three groups. RESULTS: In the groups sensitivity of ECG criteria depends on several factors: on the method of indexation and on the gender and body mass index. CONCLUSION: Informative value of ECG criteria of LVH depends on the method of indexation and on the amount of the excessive body mass.     

Morphology and function of the duodenal cholinergic nervous system under normal conditions and after subdiaphragmatic vagotomy

A histochemical investigation was made of the intramural nervous system of the albino rat duodenum under normal conditions and after bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagotomy. Morphometric and microspectrofluorometric observations showed a decrease in the number of detectable nerve fibers and in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in them after a transient rise in these indices on the first day after vagotomy, followed by a return to their original levels.Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Internal Medicine, N. I. Pirogov Second Moscow Medical Institute. (Presenten by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR Yu. M. Lopukhin.) Translated from Byulletin' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 85, No. 6, pp. 757–760, June, 1978.     

The changes of immunoreactivity in patients suffering polynodose euthyroid goiter and their influence on the results of surgical treatment

The immunity changes were studied preoperatively in 36 patients suffering polynodose euthyroid goiter and in 85--postoperatively. The immunity system disorders are more profound in the early terms after the operation and their severity directly depends on its volume. The immunity changes are significantly expressed in adenomatous transformation of the thyroid gland tissues and in postoperative hypothyroidism.     

The role of tissue myocardial dopplerechocardiography in early detection of structural-functional changes in the myocardium of patients with mild and moderate arterial hypertension

AIM: To study structural and functional changes in left ventricular myocardium (LVM) of patients with mild and moderate arterial hypertension (AH) with application of tissue myocardial dopplerechocardiography (TMD), correlation between these changes and parameters of electrophysiological remodeling and circadian profile of blood pressure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-give hypertensive patients were divided into two groups: the study group 2A consisted of 28 patients with mild AH (144.2 +/- 5.8/89.4 +/- 6.6 mm Hg), group 2B - of 17 patients with moderate AH (160.5 +/- 9.1/101.3 +/- 10.2 mm Hg). The control group consisted of 10 normotensive subjects. All the patients were examined using standard echocardiography with assessment of transmitral blood flow, tissue doppler investigation, circadian monitoring of blood pressure, electro-, vector- and decartocardiography. RESULTS: No significant differences in standard doppler, electro- and vectorcardiographic parameters between the patients with mild and moderate hypertension were found. LVM mass index and LV wall relative thickness significantly increased both in 2A and 2B groups vs controls (p < 0.05). Most patients of group 2A and 50% patients of group 2B had no alterations in LV geometry. Lower blood pressure was associated with LV concentric remodeling, higher - with concentric and excentric hypertrophy. In the presence of LV remodeling hypertensive patients developed more pronounced disorders of diastolic function according to TMD compared to hypertensive patients with normal LV geometry (p < 0.05). TMD detected LV diastolic disorders in 82% patients of group 2A and in 94% - of group 2B, while transmitral doppler study detected diastolic dysfunction only in 14 and 29% patients, respectively. A significant difference by Em/Am was registered between patients with mild and moderate AH only in the area of the mitral ring at the side of LV posterior wall (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: TMD is able to detect earleast structural-functional myocardial changes in hypertensive patients and to determine significant differences in LV diastolic disorders in patients with mild and moderate AH. No significant differences in LVM mass, standard doppler, electro- and vector-cardiographic parameters were found between AH patients' groups.     

Three-dimensional echocardiography in assessment of left ventricular myocardial mass: comparison of the results of one-dimensional, two-dimensional echocardiography and MR tomography

AIM: To compare different techniques of calculation of left ventricular myocardial mass (LVMM) by one-, two- and three-dimentional echocardiography (EchoCG) and by MRT. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We calculated LVMM by formulas Penn-cub and modified ASE in one-, two- and three-dimentional EchoCG regimes and MRT; evaluated structural-geometrical characteristics of the left ventricle at various stages of hypertension in 53 hypertensive patients (42 males and 11 females). RESULTS: Mean LVMM values calculated according to two formulas in one-dimentional regime did not differ significantly but were higher than in two- and three-dimentional regimes. LVMM value according to three-dimentional EchoCG was closer to the results of the summation estimation in MRT. CONCLUSION: Conventional EchoCG methods of LVMM calculation in M-regime (Penn-cub, ASE) overestimate the results. Most compatible with three-dimentional EchoCG results are those of EchoCG in two-dimentional regime (area-length).     

Viable myocardium: comparative evaluation of surgical and pharmacological treatment of patients with ischemic heart disease, post-infarct cardiosclerosis and chronic cardiac failure

AIM: To compare surgical and drug therapies of viable myocardium in IHD patients with left ventricular dysfunction (LVD), to show how to choose between them basing on the presence or absence of viable myocardium in the dyssenergy zones in such patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study enrolled 55 IHD patients with postinfarction cardiosclerosis, left ventricular ejection fraction under 35%, circulatory disorder class I-III (NYHA classification). Coronary artery bypass operation (CABO) was made in 24 patients, 31 patients received drugs. The examination included dobutamin echo-CG, perfusion myocardial scintigraphy. Viability of the myocardium was assessed before and 6 months after the treatment. RESULTS: The patients were divided by the treatment and number of segments of viable myocardium: group 1--patients with viable myocardium subjected to CABO, group 2--patients with non-viable myocardium subjected to CABO, group 3--patients with viable myocardium treated with drugs, group 4--patients with non-viable myocardium treated with drugs. The greatest rise in LV EF, reduction of the end diastolic volume, end systolic volume of the left ventricle and functional class was observed in group 1. In group 2 these parameters changed less than in group 3. Patients of groups 2 and 4 were similar by parameters of LV global contractility. CONCLUSION: Improvement of central hemodynamics and functional class was the greatest in IHD patients after CABO having viable myocardium. If myocardium is not viable surgical treatment has no advantage over conservative in improvement of the pump cardiac function and is inferior to pharmacological treatment in effect on myocardium function in patients with viable myocardium in dyssynergia zones.