BACKGROUND: It has been found that sterss challenge with heat shock produces the acquisition of cellular resistance to ischemin injury in the hearts, which is associated with stress protein induction. The conventional heat shock(42degrees C of rectal temperature for 15min, anesthetized animal), however, is strong enough to endanger the animal life and then not suitable for practiocal application in human. The present study was performedd in an attempt to search the safely applicabel stress modalities to acquire the myocardial tolerance to ischemia-reperfusion in jury. METHODS: Male, Sprague-Ddawley rats(200-250g) were exposed to various stressful conditions, such as heat stimulation(environmental temperature of 42degrees C for 30min, live animal), swimming(20min), immobilization(60min), treadmill exercise(20M/min, 30min) and hyperbaric oxygenation(3atm, 60min) given once a day for 5 days. Twenty-four hours after the last application the hearts were isolated and perfused with oxygenated Krebs-Henseleit buffer solution by Langendorff method. Ischemia-reperfusion injury was produced by 20 min-global ischemia followed by 30 min-reperfusion. Cardiac mechanical function, lactate dehydrogenase release, the induction of stree proteins were assayed and compared dbetween the stressed dand the control animals. RESULTS: Upon reperfusion after ischemia the recovery of cardiac function was significantly improved in the stressed animals. The percentile recovery at 30min of reperfusion was in a range from 55.3%(swimming) to 89.3%(treadmill exercise), which was significantly higher than that of the control hearts(38%). The functional recovery of the conventional heat shocked heart was 57.7%. In stressed animals, lactate dehydrogenase release, which indicates myocardial cell injury, was significantly reduced by 20 to 30% compared to that for the control. The expression of an inducible form of 70 series stress protein, SP72, which was assayed by immunoblotting method, was markedly increased by heat stimulation while the other stress modalities failed to increase, it. There were no appreciable inductions of SP73(constitutive form) and GRR78 in the stressed animals. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the cardiac protection from the ischemia-reperfusion injury could be induced by the repetitive non-fatal stress stimulations and that SP70 family proteins may be partly involved in the cardioprotective effect produced by heat stimulation, but not play the essential roles in anti-ischemic effects produced by other stress modalities.
Animals ; Heart* ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Immunoblotting ; Ischemia ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Male ; Oxygen ; Rats* ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury ; Shock

Two factors of the ventricular function, systolic contractile and diastolic relaxing functions, cooporate in pumping the adequate blood volumes to suffice bodily demands. In some hypertensive patients with marked left ventricular hypertrophy, the intact systolic function of the ventricle associated with clinical symptom of congestive heart failure(CHF), which is considered to be a consequence of diastolic dysfunction. In this study 10 hypertensive patients(group A) complaining of exertional dyspnea or chest pain with increased left ventricular mass index and normal systolic function and 6 normotensive controls(group B) were examined by cardiac catheterization and echocardiography to assess the left ventricular systolic and diastolic function and ventricular responses to constant infusion of nitroprusside. Various systolic and diastolic function indices were measured by cardiac catheterization and echocardiography. 1) The ejection fraction(EF), fractional fiber shortening, mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening, left ventricular(LV) peak+dp/dt, change of slope of LV peak systolic pressure-volume and pressure-dimension relations in group A were not different from those of group B in the resting states. 2) Diastolic dysfunction was evidenced by prolonged A2D time, decreased OR slope, decreased peak negative dp/dt and increased diastolic time constant 'T' in group A. 3) Cardiac index by thermodilution method was negatively related to left ventricular mass index(LVMI) measured by echocardiography, whereas time constant T was positively related to LVMI. 4) With constant infusion of nitroprusside, LV systolic pressure, LV end-diastolic pressure and pulmonary arterial pressure were decreased, and left ventricular end-systolic stress and stroke work index(SWI) derived from left ventricular pressure-volume loop area were decreased, EF was increased, but time constant T was prolonged and cardiac output(CO) by thermodilution method was decreased in group A. 5) In group B, with constant infusion of nitroprusside, EF, SWI and CO were pratically unaffected and time constant T was not prolonged significantly. These reults suggest that patients with hypertensive hypertrophic left ventricle is associated with diastolic dysfunction, which could further be exacerbated by a vasodilator such as nitroprusside.
Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Blood Volume ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Chest Pain ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Heart Diseases* ; Heart Ventricles* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Nitroprusside* ; Stroke ; Theophylline ; Thermodilution ; Ventricular Function

Cardiac output depends on the ability of systolic ejection and diastolic filling of the heart. M-mode echocardiography can provide accurate clinical assessment of left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions. To see whether there are changes of the left ventricular function in asymptomatic hypertensives and if any kind of dysfunction and whether any relationship between the pattern of the ventricular hypertrophy and type of ventricular dysfunction exists, the authors examined the systolic and diastolic function indices of the left ventricle in 50 normotensives and 88 hypertensives composed of 18 patients without left ventricular hypertrophy(group 1), 40 patients with disproportionate septal thickening (group 2) and 30 patients with concentric left ventricular hypertrophy(group 3). Obtained results were as follows : 1) Blood pressure & left ventricular mass index were increased significantly in each hypertensive group compared to normal control. 2) Ejection fraction & fractional shortening in the hypertensive groups were not different from the normotensive control group. 3) Left ventricular isovolumic relaxation time(A2D time) was prolonged in each hypertensive group, especially in group 3. 4) Left atrial emptying index (AEI) was decreased in each hypertensive group. 5) Left ventricular percent ventricular A wave (% VAW) was increased in all hypertensive groups. Above study suggested that the left ventricular diastolic function could be impaired in the hypertensives without associated systolic dysfunction, and the degree of the diastolic dysfunction was not much affected by the type of left ventricular hypertrophy, but the more prolonged A2D time in the concentric hypertrophy group.
Blood Pressure ; Cardiac Output ; Echocardiography ; Heart ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Relaxation ; Ventricular Dysfunction ; Ventricular Function, Left

Myocardial bridge is not a rare congenital malformation of the coronary artery which takes an intramural course. Most of the lesions are found in proximal half of the left anterior descending coronary artery, but one which occurs in the left circumflex artery is extremely rare. During systole, the intramural coronary artery is compressed by contraction of over bridging ventricular muscle, therefore blood flow distal to the lesion in impaired and angina pectoris or acute myocardial infarction may occur. We experienced a 54-year-old man who complained of severe precordial pain during exercise and at rest for several months, and was diagnosed as myocardial bridging in the left circumflex coronary artery by coronary arteriography. Thus we report this case with literature review.
Angina Pectoris ; Angiography ; Arteries ; Coronary Vessels* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Bridging ; Myocardial Infarction ; Systole

A 15 year-old boy who was supposed to have had rheumatic myocarditis manifested acute heart failure and transient left ventricular hypertrophy in the early phases of the disease process. Serial echocardiographic examination was very helpful to follow the clinical course and observe the anatomic and functional changes of the heart in conjunction with the clinical status.
Adolescent ; Echocardiography ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular* ; Male ; Myocarditis*

For the evaluation of the left ventricular diastolic function in mild to moderate hypertensive patients without left ventricular hypertrophy, 15 hypertensive patients (group A) and 15 normotensive subjects (group B) were examined by 2-D guided M-mode echocardiography. Various systolic and diastolic indices were derived from computer-assissted analysis of differential curves of left ventricular dimension and posterior wall thickness. The systolic and diastolic function indices of each of the two groups were compared. The results were as follows : 1) There were no significant differences in ejection fraction, left ventricular peak ejection rate and posterior wall thickening rate between two groups. 2) There were no significant differences in % ventricular A wave, left ventricular peak filling rate and posterior wall peak relaxation rate between two groups. 3) One third filling rate was 2.07+/-0.41 EDD/sec in group A and which was significantly lower than 3.29+/-0.88 EDD/sec of group B. Above result suggests that computer-assisted analysis of differential curves of left ventricular dimension and posterior wall thickness could be helpful in the early detection of diastolic dysfunction, and that left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in its early filling period may develop in the mild to moderate hypertensive patients even before left ventricular hypertrophy develops.
Echocardiography ; Humans ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular* ; Relaxation

Hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy(LVH) was considered to be a physiologic adaptation to the increased afterload of left ventricle, but recent studies revealed that LVH was one of the most important target organ damage in essential hypertensive patients & cardiovascular morbidity was increased in patients with hypertensive LVH. Hypertensive LVH could be classified into three types : concentric LVH, disproportionate septal thickening(DST), and left ventricular dilatation. Relatively high incidence of DST in hypertension has bee reported after clinical introduction of echocardiogram. But, the mechanisms for the development of DST and its clinical significance have not been elucidated exactly. In order to assess left ventricular diastolic function in hypertensives with DST, the authors performed phonocardiogram, M-mode, and pulsed Doppler echocardiogram in 15 normotensive control(group A : 5 male, 10 female, 44.4+/-7.7 years), 15 hypertensives without LVH(group B : 5 male, 10 female, 45.5+/-8.6 years), 85 hypertensives with DST(group C : 9 male, 16 female, 47.5+/-8.6 years) and 15 hypertensives with concentric LVH(group D : 8 male, 7 female, 47.7+/-6.1 years). The obtained results were as follows : 1) Left ventricular ejection fraction was 71.6+/-6.3% in group A, 71.9+/-7.5% in group B, 731+/-7.0% in group C, and 70.3+/-10.3% in group D. Ejection fraction was not significantly different in each other group. 2) Left ventricular mass index(LVMI) by echocardiogram was 87.8+/-20.6g/m
Adaptation, Physiological ; Bees ; Deceleration ; Dilatation ; Female ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy ; Incidence ; Male ; Relaxation ; Stroke Volume

Celiac plexus block with neurolytic agents is widely recommended for the management of intraabdominal pain due to malignant disease as a simple, asafe and effective method. We performed neurolytic celia: plexus block with 60% ethanol in lidocaine in 8 patients: with gastric cancer(4), hepatoma(2), pancreatic cancer(1), and chronic pancreatitis(1). Good to excellent pain relief was obtained in the 2 hepatoma cases, 1 pancreatic cancer, and a gastric cancer patient. In one patient with gastirc cancer, analgesia lasted for about 3 months but the second block was entirely unsatisfactory. The result was uncertain in one patient with chronic pancreatitis because the pain was non-specific and responded even to saline solution(placebo). In the remaing 2 patients, the result was entirely negative and eventually, epidural morphine was given periodically through an indwelling catheter.
Analgesia ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Catheters, Indwelling ; Celiac Plexus* ; Ethanol ; Humans ; Lidocaine ; Morphine ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Pancreatitis, Chronic ; Stomach Neoplasms

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*