Anna Antoniou

Pacing within the Ischemic Area Significantly Decreases the Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction during Experimental Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background:  The aim of this study was to examine the effects on left ventricular (LV) function of LV apical or/and lateral wall pacing during an experimental acute myocardial infarction.

Acute Haemodynamic and Echocardiographic Effects of Multiple Configurations of Left Ventricular Pacing Sites in Acute Myocardial Infarction: Experimental Study

BACKGROUND Left ventricular (LV) pacing is unsuccessful in a significant number of patients, mainly due to sub-optimal LV pacing location. Nevertheless, data about the impact of different pacing sites on LV function in ischaemic myocardium are scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of combinations of alternative LV pacing sites on LV mechanics after experimental acute anterior myocardial infarction (AMI), in order to define the optimal configuration. METHODS Atrioventricular epicardial pacing at alternative pacing sites was performed in 16 healthy pigs simultaneously, after experimental AMI. Standard right ventricular (RV) apical pacing was combined with: i) LV apex lateral wall; ii) LV basal posterior wall; iii) LV basal anterior wall, and; iv) LV basal anterior wall + LV basal posterior wall. Moreover the pacing configurations of, v) LV basal posterior wall + LV apex lateral wall; vi) LV basal posterior wall + LV basal anterior wall, and; vii) LV basal anterior wall + LV apex lateral wall were also investigated. Haemodynamic parameters, together with classic and novel echocardiographic indices were used, to evaluate the effect of each pacing combination. A speckle tracking technique using EchoPAC software was used. RESULTS After AMI, the pacing combination of LV apex lateral wall and LV basal posterior wall had the most favourable effect on LV function, leading to similar haemodynamic and torsional effects with sinus rhythm (all variables p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS In pig hearts after AMI, the combination of pacing LV apex lateral wall and LV basal posterior wall managed to maintain the LV function at a level comparable to the sinus rhythm.

Decoding Mass Media Techniques and Education for Sustainable Development

A fundamental objective of environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) is the promotion of critical thinking, through which learners could resist messages (e.g., from TV), leading to unsustainable lifestyles and practices. The analysis of messages from media was used for: identifying influencing techniques; presenting these techniques to secondary school students allowing them to identify the techniques in messages from advertisements and assess their impact. After a very brief educational intervention, 84 per cent of the students were able to identify and decode techniques and make useful reflections. Furthermore, some techniques were tested as potentially useful for enhancing learning and/or environmental-friendly attitudes. The use of advertisement methods in teaching did not facilitate the assimilation of knowledge related to environmental science (chemistry); however, it improved the attitudes towards environmental-friendly and sustainable approaches.