Cor et Vasa, 2003 (vol. 44), issue 4
Original research articles
Angina Treatment Patterns Survey. Current status of the diagnosis and treatment of patients with stable angina in the Czech Republic
Jaromír Hradec, Václav Chaloupka, Martina Sachová
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(4):173-180
Introduction:A project called "ATP (Angina Treatment Patterns) Survey" was conducted in seven European countries in 2001. The aims of the survey were to obtain the yet lacking demographic data on patients with stable angina pectoris (AP), to characterize the current methods of diagnosis and risk stratification, and to map the current therapeutic practices. Results of the international survey have not been published to date. This communication provides data from the Czech Republic. Method:In the Czech Republic, a total of 75 outpatient physicians took part in the survey enrolling 640 outpatients with stable AP. Data were obtained...
22q11 microdeletion in conotruncated heart malformations
Jaroslav Homola, Sultán Karamanov, Vladimír Satrapa, Josef Kofer, Petr Homola
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(4):181-184
Aim:To evaluate the incidence of chromosome 22q11 microdeletion in the prenatal and postnatal populations of patients, resident in North Bohemia, with conotruncated heart malformations. Method:In the 1998-2002 period, 22q11 microdeletion was assessed in all 78 prenatally diagnosed cases of congenital heart disease; conotruncated type disease was present in 26 fetuses. The diagnosis of congenital heart disease was established using fetal echocardiography at a mean fetal gestation age of 19.9 weeks. In the postnatal period, 22q11 microdeletion was assessed in 94 children and adolescents with a mean age of 7.8 years. The only...
Hypertension in chronic heart failure in the Czech and Slovak Republics. A causal factor not yet adequately addressed
Jiří Widimský, John G. F. Cleland, Martina Sachová
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(4):187-191
Aim of study:To map the current situation in hypertension control in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) in a group of patients from the Czech and Slovak Republics, participants in a program called IMPROVEMENT of Heart Failure were studied. The reason for our study was that hypertension belongs to the basic pathogenic factors for the development of heart failure; moreover, hypertension control markedly reduces the incidence of CHF. Group of patients and methods:A total of 96 general practitioners (GPs) from the Czech and Slovak Republics took part in IMPROVEMENT of Heart Failure, a European project. The medical records...
Review articles
Tissue Doppler imaging I. Basic modes of imaging
Eva Mandysová, Pavel Henyš, Petr Niederle
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(4):193-198
Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is a new technique adopting the same principles, codification and criteria as the original Doppler technique. Using appropriate filters, low-velocity high-amplitude signals of the myocardial wall motion can be identified and displayed. This gave rise to a new noninvasive method for evaluating regional and global cardiac function. Due to the excellent temporal resolution, events that could not be described by other previously available graphic methods can now be studied. Another advantage is the ability to quantify the events. A broad spectrum of potential applications of TDI in cardiology is currently being tested in clinical...
The evolution of knowledge about the pulmonary circulation I. Until the twentieth century
Martin Riedel
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(4):201-211
This review describes the fascinating story of events and discoveries that led to our present understanding of the structure, tasks and function of the pulmonary circulation. Although an important part of our scientific heritage goes back to the ancient Greeks, who desired to know without a need for practical application, the real story begins four hundred years ago, in the times of Vesalius and Harvey, Copernicus and Galileo, to mention a few of the founders of modern scientific methods. It is surprising and amazing at the same time that the most important element for life, oxygen, and the real purpose of the pulmonary circulation were completely...
Short communication
MORE - MOexipril and REgression of left ventricle hypertrophy in combination therapy. A multicentric, open-label clinical trial
Jindřich Špinar, Jiří Vítovec, v zastoupení řešitelů studie
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(4):212-219
In a nationwide multicentric clinical trial, 420 hypertensive patients were treated, by 40 physicians across the country, by combination therapy using moexipril plus another basic antihypertensive agent of the classes of diuretics, beta-blockers, or calcium-channel blockers. The ACE inhibitor moexipril was added to established therapy in cases of uncontrolled blood pressure, and where blood pressure on existing therapy was greater 140/90 mm Hg.Moexipril was added in 304 (72.3%) patients monotherapy to a double combination, in 101 (24%) cases to a double combination to form a triple combination, and, in 15 (3.6%) to a triple combination to produce...
The effect of a combination of digoxin and amiodarone, diltiazem, or betaxolol on the exercise capacity and heart rate in chronic atrial fibrillation
Viktor Bureš, Jan Lukl
Cor Vasa 2003, 44(4):221-224
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study describes the effect of amiodarone with digoxin on exercise tolerance and heart rate in 8 patients with chronic atrial fibrillation. The results were compared when using digoxin in monotherapy, digoxin combined with 240 mg diltiazem, and digoxin with 20 mg betaxolol. Bicycle ergometry test-derived exercise capacity was not changed. Heart rate during amiodarone therapy was significantly slowed only when sitting at rest. In supine patients at rest and during peak exercise, the results were at the limit of significance.