Cor et Vasa, 2005 (vol. 46), issue 1
Original research articles
Microscopic study of vascular allografts
Petr Štádler, Dáša Slížová, Otakar Krs, Pavel Zdráhal, Jan Vojáček
Cor Vasa 2005, 46(1):10-13
Aims:The aim of our study was to investigate the time course of structural degeneration of arterial and venous allografts during storage in E-199 medium at two different temperature conditions, reflecting real circumstances in vascular surgery. We tried to assess the safe time interval with minimal damage to the vascular wall. Methods:Samples of human veins and arteries were obtained during multiorgan harvesting. They were stored in E-199 medium either (1) at normothermy/hypothermy (+37 °C for 24 hours, then cooled to +4 °C), or (2) at hypothermy (+4 °C since harvesting). Both arterial and venous samples were taken pairwise...
Case reports
Manifestation of Bezold-Jarisch reflex in the course of exercise stress testing. A case report.
Jan Pešek, Tomáš Hájek
Cor Vasa 2005, 46(1):14-17
We present the case of a 63-year-old man with syncope while walking. Based on elevation of myocardial necrosis markers, a non-Q-wave myocardial infarction of uncertain localization was diagnosed upon admission. Echocardiography documented moderate aortic stenosis, while coronary angiography and cardiac catheterization revealed a tight stenosis of the left circumflex and right coronary arteries unsuitable for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI); the peak-to-peak aortic transvalvular gradient was 35 mm Hg. ECG-Holter monitoring did not show arrhythmia, perfusion lung scan excluded pulmonary embolism. Bicycle ergometry was terminated at a workload...
Short communication
New data regarding endotelin-1 and atrial natriuretic factor in pulmonary hypertension
Helena Sládková, Zdeněk Susa, Pavel Jansa, Michael Aschermann, Miroslav Pšenička, Antonín Jindra, Marie Jáchymová
Cor Vasa 2005, 46(1):22-24
We assessed the levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) at rest and during inhalation of a hypoxic mixture in 11 patients with pulmonary hypertension (as against a control group without pulmonary hypertension). The levels of ET-1 and ANF in patients with pulmonary hypertension tend to increase during hypoxia. Both ET-1 and ANF are expressed in the pulmonary vascular bed. Our results are consistent with literary data and confirm that ET-1 and ANF play a role not only in systemic but, also, in pulmonary hypertension. The finding of arterial ANF levels higher than pulmonary arterial levels is a new and surprising one, suggesting...
Abstracts
"Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein" in capillary blood: early evidence of myocyte damage in acute myocardial infarction
Jiří Vondrák, Jiří Kvasnička, Petr Vojtíšek
Cor Vasa 2005, 46(1):18-21
Biochemical markers of myocardial injury allow to detect acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to estimate its extent. The newer markers include Heart-type Fatty Acid-Binding Protein (H-FABP). In addition, a qualitative "one-step" test has recently been devised providing rapid evidence of increased H-FABP levels in a drop of capillary blood obtained from fingertip. The aim of our study was to test the clinical validity of the test in a group of 38 patients. A total of 24 patients with chest pain and EKG-documented ST-segment elevations (STEMI group) and 14 patients with non-cardiac complaints were admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine. The...