Mortimer J. Buckley

The automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator: Efficacy, complications and survival in patients with malignant ventricular arrhythmias

Ninety-four patients underwent surgery for automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation. Ninety patients were discharged from the hospital with the device and were followed up for a mean period of 17 +/- 10 months. Forty-six patients experienced at least one discharge of the device under circumstances consistent with a malignant ventricular arrhythmia. One sudden death occurred. Complications included perioperative death (3 patients), post-operative ventricular tachycardia (12 patients) and atrial fibrillation (8 patients), perioperative myocardial infarction (1 patient) and device discharges for sinus tachycardia and supraventricular arrhythmias (17 patients). Six and 12 month survival rates by life table analysis were 98.7 and 95.4%, respectively. Thus, the automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is a highly effective and relatively low risk treatment modality for patients with refractory life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias.

Dissecting Aneurysm of the Aorta: Aortographic Features Affecting Prognosis

Thirty-one consecutive patients with medically treated dissecting aneurysm of the aorta were divided into two groups based on the aortographic findings. Ten showed no opacification of the false channel; 21 did show opacification, indicating an open communication with the aortic lumen. The long-term survival rates of the two groups were 90% and 43%, respectively. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Unstable angina pectoris: National cooperative study group to compare surgical and medical therapy: II. In-Hospital experience and initial follow-up results in patients with one, two and three vessel disease

Abstract A prospective randomized study comparing intensive medical therapy with urgent coronary bypass surgery for the acute management of patients with unstable angina pectoris was carried out by nine cooperating medical centers under the auspices of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Between 1972 and 1976, a total of 288 patients were entered into the study. All patients had transient S-T or T wave changes, or both, in the electrocardiogram during pain; 90 percent had pain at rest in the hospital, and 76 percent had multivessel coronary disease. The medically and surgically treated patients were comparable with respect to clinical, electrocardiographic and angiographic characteristics and left ventricular function. During the total study period, the hospital mortality rate was 5 percent in the surgical group and 3 percent in the medical group (difference not significant). The rate of in-hospital myocardial infarction was 17 and 8 percent in the respective groups (P In the 1st year after hospital discharge class III or IV angina (New York Heart Association criteria) was more common in medically than in surgically treated patients with one vessel disease (22 percent versus 3 percent, P The results indicate that patients with unstable angina pectoris can be managed acutely with intensive medical therapy, including the administration of propranolol and long-acting nitrates in pharmacologic doses, with adequate control of pain in most patients and no increase in early mortality or myocardial infarction rates. Later, elective surgery can be performed with a low risk and good clinical results if the patients angina fails to respond to intensive medical therapy.

Ventricular septal rupture: a review of clinical and physiologic features and an analysis of survival.

Forty-one patients with postinfarction ventricular septal rupture were cared for in our hospital during 1971–1975. Cardiogenic shock developed after septal rupture in 55% of these patients. Shock was unrelated to site of infarction, extent of coronary artery disease, left ventricular ejection fraction, or pulmonaryto-systemic flow ratio, but mean pulmonary artery pressure was lower in shock than in nonshock patients. These observations suggest that shock was produced mainly by right ventricular impairment. Perioperative survival was much higher in patients who did not have shock preoperatively (14 of 17 [82%]) than in those who did (three of 11 [27%]). Magnitude of shunt, left ventricular ejection fraction, extent of coronary artery disease, and performance of aortocoronary bypass grafting were not distinctly correlated with perioperative survival. After a minimum 4-year follow-up, 76% of the perioperative survivors are alive, and none suffer more than New York Heart Association functional class II disability. All 13 unoperated patients (11 in shock) died within 3 months.

Cardiac operations in patients 80 years old and older.

BACKGROUND Because the elderly are increasingly referred for operation, we reviewed results with cardiac surgical patients 80 years old or older. METHODS Records of 600 consecutive patients 80 years old or older having cardiac operations between 1985 and 1995 were reviewed. Follow-up was 99% complete. RESULTS Two hundred ninety-two patients had coronary grafting (CABG), 105 aortic valve replacement (AVR), 111 AVR + CABG, 42 mitral valve repair/ replacement (MVR) +/- CABG, and 50 other operations. Rates of hospital death, stroke, and prolonged stay (> 14 days) were as follows: CABG: 17 (5.8%), 23 (7.9%) and 91 (31.2%); AVR: 8 (7.6%), 1 (1.0%), and 31 (29.5%); AVR + CABG: 7 (6.3%), 12 (10.8%), and 57 (51.4%); MVR +/- CABG: 4 (9.5%), 3 (7.1%), and 16 (38.1%); other: 9 (18.0%), 3 (6.0%), and 23 (46.0%). Multivariate predictors (p < 0.05) of hospital death were chronic lung disease, postoperative stroke, preoperative intraaortic balloon, and congestive heart failure; predictors of stroke were CABG and carotid disease; and predictors of prolonged stay were postoperative stroke and New York Heart Association class. Actuarial 5-year survival was as follows: CABG, 66%; AVR, 67%; AVR + CABG, 59%; MVR +/- CABG, 57%; other, 48%; and total, 63%. Multivariate predictors of late death were renal insufficiency, postoperative stroke, chronic lung disease, and congestive heart failure. Eighty-seven percent of patients believed having a heart operation after age 80 years was a good choice. CONCLUSIONS Cardiac operations are successful in most octogenarians with increased hospital mortality, postoperative stroke, and longer hospital stay. Long-term survival is largely determined by concurrent medical diseases.

Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis Analysis of 38 Cases

In 38 cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis, 19 were early cases (onset ≦ 60 days after insertion of prosthesis) and 19, late cases (onset ≧ 60 days). Nine late cases had onsets 12 to 53 months after surgery. The sources or predisposing factors in late cases included dental disease or manipulation; genitourinary tract procedures; and skin, urinary, or wound infections. In contrast, most early cases were secondary to complications of operation. Streptococci were the most common organisms causing late endocarditis, whereas staphylococci were most common among early cases. Four of the six patients who survived early onset were treated with antibiotics alone; the others, with antibiotics plus reoperation. In contrast, seven of the 11 late cases that survived were treated with antibiotics alone; the other four, with antibiotics plus reoperation. The lower mortality (42% vs 68%) in the late group probably reflects the less virulent infecting organisms and the better clinical condition of the hosts. Regardless of whether prosthetic valve endocarditis occurs early or late, intensive and prolonged administration of appropriate antibiotics together with aggressive surgical reintervention in selected situations appears necessary for cure. Any patient who has a prosthetic valve and undergoes any procedure likely to produce bacteremia should receive antibiotic prophylaxis in an attempt to prevent late endocarditis.

Risk factors for the development of prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Risk factors for the development of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) were analyzed in 2642 patients undergoing initial valve replacement at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1975 to 1982. Follow-up was available for 2608 patients (98.7%); the mean length of follow-up was 39.8 months. PVE developed in 116 patients (4.4%). The actuarial risk of PVE was 3.1% at 12 months and 5.7% at 60 months. A Cox model was used to identify risk factors for PVE. Recipients of multiple valves had a higher risk of PVE than single valves (p = .01). There was no difference in the risk of PVE for patients receiving aortic valves vs those receiving mitral valves. Recipients of mechanical valves had a higher risk of PVE than recipients of porcine valves in the first 3 months after surgery (p = .02), but the risk of PVE was higher for porcine valve recipients 12 months or more after surgery (p = .004). Despite this difference in the time course of development of PVE, there was no significant difference in the cumulative risk of PVE by 5 years of follow-up between mechanical and porcine valve recipients. Male sex was a risk factor for PVE within 12 months of aortic valve replacement (p = .008) but not thereafter; sex did not influence the risk of PVE after mitral valve replacement. Older patients had a higher risk of late PVE after multiple (p = .04) or mitral valve replacement (p = .08), but not after aortic valve replacement.

Clinical and Hemodynamic Results of Intraaortic Balloon Pumping and Surgery for Cardiogenic Shock

The AVCO balloon pump has been employed in treating 40 patients with cardiogenic shock from acute myocardial infarction (CS-MI). All patients were given a trial of medical therapy with hemodynamic monitoring. The time from the development of shock to institution of intraaortic balloon pumping (IABP) was less than 24 hours in all but nine patients. Prior to IABP the mean hemodynamic values were: cardiac index (CI) 1.7 liters/min/m2; mean arterial pressure (MAP) 66 mm Hg; pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAW) 22 mm Hg. After 24-48 hours of IABP the CI and MAP had increased 0.8 liters/min/m2 and 8 mm Hg, respectively, and the PAW had decreased 4.8 mm Hg. During IABP the shock syndrome was reversed in 31 patients. Four of 25 patients treated with IABP alone survived to be discharged, but two have died from subsequent infarctions. Because of the persistent high mortality, 15 patients judged unable to survive off IABP have undergone emergency surgical procedures with IABP continuing during preoperative angiography and postoperatively. Six were long-term survivors. It is concluded: (1) IABP is a safe, effective means of supporting the circulation in CS-MI; (2) IABP alone will improve survival in some patients; (3) IABP can provide circulatory support during angiography and the perioperative period in patients requiring revascularization for survival; and (4) some patients with CS-MI have myocardial necrosis too extensive to permit survival without permanent circulatory assistance or total cardiac replacement.

Surgical coronary revascularization in survivors of prehospital cardiac arrest: its effect on inducible ventricular arrhythmias and long-term survival.

In a selected subgroup of 50 survivors of cardiac arrest, the impact of surgical myocardial revascularization on inducible arrhythmias, arrhythmia recurrence and long-term survival was examined. The effects of several clinical, angiographic and electrophysiologic variables on arrhythmia recurrence and survival were also analyzed. All patients had a prehospital cardiac arrest and severe operable coronary artery disease and underwent myocardial revascularization. Preoperative electrophysiologic study was performed in 41 patients; 33 (80%) had inducible ventricular arrhythmias. Of 42 patients studied off antiarrhythmic drugs postoperatively, 19 (45%) had inducible ventricular arrhythmias. Thirty patients with inducible arrhythmias preoperatively underwent postoperative testing off antiarrhythmic drugs; arrhythmia induction was suppressed in 14 (47%). By multivariate analysis, the induction of ventricular fibrillation at the preoperative electrophysiologic study was the only significant predictor of induced ventricular arrhythmia suppression by coronary surgery (p less than 0.001). Inducible ventricular fibrillation was not present postoperatively in any of the 11 patients who manifested this arrhythmia preoperatively. In contrast, inducible ventricular tachycardia persisted in 80% of patients in whom preoperative testing induced this arrhythmia. Patients were followed up for 39 +/- 29 months. There were four arrhythmia recurrences; one was fatal. There were three nonsudden cardiac deaths and three noncardiac deaths. By life-table analysis, 5 year survival, cardiac survival and arrhythmia-free survival rates were 88%, 98%, and 88%, respectively. Depressed left ventricular ejection fraction and advanced age were predictive of death (p = 0.015 and 0.026, respectively) and cardiac death (p = 0.037 and 0.05, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acute Traumatic Disruption of the Thoracic Aorta: A Ten-Year Experience

During a ten-year period, 44 patients were treated for acute traumatic disruption of the thoracic aorta. Of the 44 patients, 21 had operative repair within 48 hours of injury (Group 1); 14 patients had operative therapy electively delayed for 2 to 79 days (Group 2); 5 had operative therapy electively delayed indefinitely (Group 3); 2 had immediate operative repair when a delayed diagnosis was made at 21 and 56 days, respectively (Group 4); 1 patient died during angiography and 1 refused operation (Group 5). Mortality was as follows: Group 1, 24%; Group 2, 14% Group 3, 0; Group 4, 100%; and Group 5, 100%. All operative deaths occurred in the subgroup of 23 patients in whom left heart bypass was utilized. Immediate operative intervention with a heparinized shunt is preferable as soon as the diagnosis of thoracic aortic disruption has been established, but elective delay of operation in patients with severe concomitant injuries can be achieved safely with beta blockade and antihypertensive therapy.