Marcia M. Barbosa

An evaluation of the cardiotoxicity of imatinib mesylate

We studied 103 consecutive patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia on treatment with imatinib (IM) and 57 patients with chronic myeloproliferative disorders not treated with IM in order to evaluate its cardiotoxicity. There was no statistical difference regarding cardiac symptoms and signs, BNP levels and echocardiographic measurements for IM and control groups, except for peripheral oedema, more frequent in the IM group. Four patients in the IM group presented a BNP level >100pg/ml, one of them with depressed LVEF. IM was not related to systematic deterioration of cardiac function, but there is still a possibility of isolated cases of cardiotoxicity.

Predictors of Mortality in Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Relevance of Chagas Disease as an Etiological Factor

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Previous studies on the influence of Chagas disease on mortality in patients with heart failure were limited by the heterogeneity of the patient populations. Few data are available on the association between the underlying cause of dilated cardiomyopathy and long-term prognosis. The aims of this study were to identify risk factors for mortality in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy that was either secondary to Chagas disease or idiopathic and to determine the prognostic value of identifying Chagas disease as the underlying etiology of dilated cardiomyopathy. METHODS We investigated outcomes in 287 patients with heart failure secondary to dilated cardiomyopathy. Patients were divided into two groups according to the underlying etiology: Chagas cardiomyopathy (224 patients) and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (63 patients). The study end-points were death and heart transplantation. RESULTS Over a median follow-up period of 39.5 months, 104 patients died and 9 underwent heart transplantation. Under multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, New York Heart Association functional class, left ventricular ejection fraction, right ventricular function and left atrial volume remained predictors of an adverse outcome. Chagas etiology was also independently associated with a poor prognosis (hazard ratio=2.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.28-4.78; P=.007) compared with idiopathic disease, after adjustment for other well-established predictive parameters in heart failure. CONCLUSIONS The identification of Chagas etiology in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy was of prognostic significance. Chagas cardiomyopathy was associated with poorer survival compared with idiopathic disease, irrespective of other clinical and echocardiographic parameters related to a poor prognosis in heart failure.

Evaluation of 107 Patients With Sickle Cell Anemia Through Tissue Doppler and Myocardial Performance Index

BACKGROUND Sickle-cell anemia (SCA) is associated with elevated cardiac output and cardiomegaly, as demonstrated in many studies. Recently, diastolic dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension have been shown to have poor prognoses in patients with SCA. New indexes of systolic and diastolic evaluation should be used to give more information on both the adult and the pediatric populations. The objectives of this study were to determine the systolic and diastolic function of both ventricles using load-independent parameters and to evaluate cardiac findings due to transfusion or chelation therapy in patients with SCA. METHODS We evaluated 107 patients with SCA, aged 3 to 18 years (mean age, 10.1 +/- 4.7 years). Physical exams, electrocardiography, and Doppler echocardiography were performed in all patients. These patients were compared with 70 normal children and adolescents. RESULTS Combined systolic and diastolic function of both ventricles was evaluated by the myocardial performance index (MPI). MPI values were higher both in the left ventricles (P = .00) and in the right ventricles (P = .00) of patients with SCA compared with controls. Diastolic function was evaluated by diastolic mitral valve flow and by tissue Doppler echocardiography. E-wave deceleration time was higher in patients than in controls. Patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 consisted of 95 nontransfused patients and group 2 of 12 patients on chronic transfusion therapy. Group 1 patients demonstrated significantly larger left ventricular mass than those in group 2. Systolic and diastolic function did not differ between patients when an 8 g/dL cutoff value of hemoglobin was used. CONCLUSION This Doppler echocardiographic study showed that early abnormalities in systolic and diastolic function can occur at an early age in SCA, even among children and adolescents in New York Heart Association functional classes I and II.

Pulmonary hypertension in schistosomiasis mansoni

To evaluate cardiopulmonary involvement in schistosomiasis mansoni, 246 patients from an endemic area of Brazil were examined; 152 had been previously treated for schistosomiasis. Based on stool examination and/or abdominal ultrasonography, the patients were divided into those with schistosomiasis (69%) and those in whom the disease was not present (31%). M mode measurements were similar in the 2 groups. Pulmonary pressure was measured by Doppler echocardiography; 25% of the subjects had pulmonary hypertension. Those with pulmonary hypertension had a higher prevalence of schistosomiasis (80%) than those without (64%; P = 0.03). No case of cor pulmonale was diagnosed by electrocardiography or Doppler echocardiography. The prevalence of pulmonary hypertension correlated neither with periportal fibrosis nor with prior treatment for schistosomiasis.

Assessing pre-clinical ventricular dysfunction in obese children and adolescents: the value of speckle tracking imaging

AIMS Obesity has become a major health problem worldwide. Cardiovascular abnormalities have been described not only in obese adults but also in obese children and adolescents. The aim of the present study was to investigate left and right, systolic and diastolic ventricular dysfunction in obese paediatric patients without comorbidities using 2D speckle tracking longitudinal strain. METHODS AND RESULTS Doppler echocardiogram was performed on 50 obese children and adolescents with body mass index (BMI) above the 95th percentile (OG) and 46 non-obese sex- and age-matched controls (CG). Systolic and diastolic functions of both ventricles were investigated through conventional Doppler echocardiography. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), colour Doppler myocardial imaging (CDMI), and two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking were also used to analyse ventricular performance in both groups. Left-ventricular (LV) ejection fraction was similar between groups (68.2 ± 6.2 vs. 68.3 ± 5.3, P = 0.931). Left-ventricular diastolic parameters did not differ between groups, except for a lower mitral A wave (61.6 ± 13.0 vs. 51.9 ± 10.0 cm/s, P > 0.001) and higher E/A ratio (1.8 ± 0.5 vs. 2.1 ± 0.4, P = 0.007) in the controls. Left-ventricular global strain was lower in the OG by both methods (CDMI: 22.0 ± 2.8 vs. 24.6 ± 2.7%, P = 0.020; 2D speckle tracking: 18.4 ± 1.6 vs. 20.4 ± 1.7%, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, 2D longitudinal global strain correlated negatively with BMI, r = -0.433, p = 0.002. CONCLUSION Although EF was not different between the two groups, LV 2D speckle tracking longitudinal strain was lower in the obese group, even in the absence of other comorbidities, indicating that obesity effects on LV function is an early finding in obesity.

Strain imaging in morbid obesity: insights into subclinical ventricular dysfunction.

Obesity has become an important health problem throughout the world. Early detection of cardiovascular abnormalities may be useful in the future for patient management. This study aimed to identify subclinical ventricular dysfunction in obese patients.

Doppler Echocardiographic Features of Coronary Artery Fistula: Report of 8 Cases

Coronary artery fistula is a rare congenital anomaly in which the involved coronary artery empties into a cardiac chamber, pulmonary artery, or other structure. Its diagnosis can be made noninvasively by finding a dilated coronary artery by 2-dimensional (2D) echocardiography, and its drainage can be detected by color flow mapping. We describe features of coronary artery fistulas in 8 patients whose condition was prospectively diagnosed by Doppler echocardiography with color flow mapping. The right coronary artery was involved in 4 cases and the left coronary artery in 4. Four fistulas drained to the right ventricle, 2 to the right atrium, and 2 to the pulmonary artery. In 1 patient who had left and right coronary fistulas to the pulmonary artery, only the first was diagnosed noninvasively. The diagnosis of coronary fistulas can usually be made by 2D echocardiography with color flow mapping. However, fistulas to the pulmonary artery may be more difficult to detect by 2D echocardiography because the coronary artery may be of normal size and the shunt small.

Ischemic cerebrovascular events in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy: A prospective follow-up study

BACKGROUND Chagas disease cardiomyopathy is a common form of dilated cardiomyopathy worldwide, and an important cause of stroke in Latin America. The long-term cumulative risk of ischemic cerebrovascular event (ICE) and its relation to left ventricular (LV) dysfunction have not been determined. The aims of this study were to describe the incidence and to evaluate the effect of LV ejection fraction on the risk for ICE in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy. METHODS A total of 213 consecutive patients with Chagas disease and LV systolic dysfunction, 131 males, mean age 48+/-12 years, were prospectively enrolled. The use of anticoagulation was based on clinical indications. The end point was ICE, which included fatal or nonfatal stroke and transient ischemic attack. Risk factors for events were assessed by Cox proportional-hazards analysis. RESULTS Mean follow-up was 36 months; 69 patients died and seven underwent cardiac transplantation. The overall incidence of ICE was 2.67 events per 100 patient/years. Independent risk factors for ICE included LV ejection fraction (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.91 to 0.99, p=0.009) and left atrial volume corrected for body surface area (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.07, p=0.007), which persisted after adjustment for anticoagulation use. Patients with ejection fractions<or=35% had a relative risk of events of 3.41, as compared with the other patients. The presence of apical aneurysm or thrombus, age, and history of previous stroke were not an independent long-term risk for ICE. CONCLUSIONS In patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy, the annual incidence of ICE is low. Left ventricular ejection fraction and indexed left atrial volume appear to be independently associated with these events.

O Projeto Queixadinha: a morbidade e o controle da esquistossomose em área endêmica no nordeste de Minas Gerais, Brasil

In an endemic area for schistosomiasis in the northeast of the slate of Minas Gerais in Brazil 516 individuals have been submitted to clinical and laboratory examination, ultrasonography of the abdomen and dopplerecocardiography in order to define the morbidity of schistosomiasis before and after treatment. A high prevalence of schistosomiasis (66.3%) and of severe disease (9.5% with palpable spleens) were recorded. Ultrasonography classified liver periportal fibrosis as light (19.4%), moderate (27.6%) and intense (6.8%), and 46.0% presented no periportal fibrosis. Twenty one out of the 53 individuals (39.6%) with palpable spleens did not present liver fibrosis on ultrasound. Periportal lymph nodes were described in 33.8% of the population and anti-KLH antibodies were found in the serum of 40.7%. Urinary alterations compatible with the glomerulopathy of schistosomiasis were observed in 4.5% of the population, and 11.7% of the individuals examined by dopplerecocardiography had pulmonary hypertension. Twelve months after treatment for schistosomiasis the prevalence of the disease dropped from 66.3% to 25.0%. In Queixadinha, a profile of the morbidity of schistosomiasis has just been established.

Comparison between automated and manual measurements of carotid intima-media thickness in clinical practice

Background and aim: The measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) has been used as a marker of arterial wall disease. Manual measurements have been performed in most epidemiological studies, but, due to the introduction of new technologies, automated software has been increasingly used. This study aimed to compare manual versus automated cIMT measurements in common carotid (CC), bifurcation (BIF), and internal carotid (IC). Methods: Automated and manual cIMT measurements were performed online in 43 middle-aged females. Carotid segment measurements were compared by Bland–Altman plot and the variation and repeatability coefficients between observers were also determined for comparison. Results: The average timespan for manual measurements (57.30 s) were significantly higher than for automated measurements (2.52 s). There were no systematic errors between methods in any carotid segments. The variation coefficient was 5.54% to 6.34% for CC and BIF, 9.76% for IC, and absolute differences were 85% below 0.1 mm and 70% below 0.05 mm. Interobserver agreement showed no systematic error. The variation and the repeatability coefficients were better for the automated than manual measures. Conclusion: Although both methods are reliable for cIMT measurements, the automated technique allows faster evaluation with lesser variability for all carotid segments currently used in atherosclerosis research.