Julie Bradley

Biventricular Pacing for Severe Mitral Reguritation Following Atrioventrgicular Nodal Ablation

DISNEY, P.J.S., et al.: Biventricular Pacing for Severe Mitral Regurgitation Following Atrioventricular Nodal Ablation. A 69‐year‐old woman developed acute pulmonary edema and severe mitral regurgitation (MR) 2 days following an uncomplicated AV nodal (AVN) ablation and insertion of VVI pacemaker for chronic atrial fibrillation. There was no history of significant mitral valve disease. Left ventricular function was normal and there was no evidence of an acute cardiac ischemic event. Transthoracic echo and right heart catheterization studies showed reduction in the severity of MR with biventricular pacing as opposed to RV pacing alone. A permanent pacemaker configured for biventricular pacing was implanted with complete resolution of symptoms and significant reduction in degree of MR. (PACE 2003; 26[Pt. I]:643–644)

Lipid parameters and apolipoprotein B RFLP studies: comparison of normal and coronary heart disease groups as defined by angiography

We have compared the lipid and apolipoprotein values and the frequency of DNA polymorphisms of the apolipoprotein B gene detected with the restriction enzymes, Xba I and Eco RI in 122 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and 80 control subjects. The patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) were defined by > 70% stenosis in at least one major coronary artery whereas the controls showed no signs of coronary artery narrowing at angiography. When males and females were considered separately, differences in triglyceride, total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) between CHD and control subjects were significant only for females. The polymorphism studies showed no significant differences between the control and CHD subjects except for a difference in the frequency in the females of the Xba I polymorphism (p < 0.05). The X1 allele (absence of the restriction enzyme cutting site) occurred significantly more often in the patient group than in the controls. Individuals with the X1X2 genotype had the highest serum total cholesterol whereas those with the X1X1 genotype had the lowest HDL-cholesterol value. Generally, the associations between the Xba I and Eco RI alleles and serum lipid levels were weak and inconsistent. Furthermore, even after careful selection of disease and control groups, a useful role for restriction fragment length polymorphism studies in assessing CHD risk in individual patients was not demonstrated.

Like a House Afire: Cardiac Sarcoidosis

James D. Richardson, Michael S. Cunnington, Adam J. Nelson, Julie A. Bradley, Karen S. L. Teo, Stephen G. Worthley, Matthew I. Worthley

Optimal planimetry location for MRI-derived mitral inflow velocity assessment of diastolic function

Background Diastolic function is almost exclusively assessed using transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), however velocityencoded phase-contrast imaging permits diastolic evaluation with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). However, previous studies have utilized heterogeneous planimetric contour locations to measure mitral valve (MV) inflow velocities and the optimal contour is uncertain. We therefore evaluated CMR MV inflow velocities measured at various regions against TTE to identify the optimal method.