Isolated right ventricular myocardial infarction
Article Abstract:
Isolated heart attack in the right ventricle is rare and difficult to diagnose. In a series of autopsies on 4,000 patients, heart attack isolated in the right ventricle was detected in three (0.08%) cadavers, while heart attack in the left ventricle was detected in 20%. A 56-year-old man with a history of mild high blood pressure arrived at the emergency room complaining of chest pain. He had five electrocardiograms, all of which were normal. He was treated with nitroglycerin and heparin, but the pain persisted. Finally, contrast ventriculography revealed that his right coronary artery was almost completely blocked. The obstruction was cleared surgically, and the pain subsided almost immediately. A second man arrived at the hospital complaining of chest pain. He too, had normal electrocardiogram results and was treated unsuccessfully with nitroglycerin and heparin. Contrast ventriculography revealed that the left ventricle was normal but that the right coronary artery was blocked. Angioplasty of the right coronary artery relieved his pain.
Publication Name: Annals of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4819
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Mechanisms determining course and outcome of diabetic patients who have had acute myocardial infarction
Article Abstract:
Variations in blood chemistry and function may explain the increased risk of death among diabetic patients who have a heart attack. Highlights from studies published between 1985 and 1995 on links between diabetes and heart attacks are presented. Diabetic patients are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to die from a heart attack than patients without diabetes. Many of these patients have also had congestive heart failure. Heart tissue in diabetic patients who have had heart attacks frequently does not dilate properly, is inflamed, has diseased arteries, and does not have properly functioning fibrin, platelets, or lining cells.
Publication Name: Annals of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4819
Year: 1997
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Increased mortality among middle-aged women after myocardial infarction: searching for mechanisms and solutions
Article Abstract:
Doctors must make sure all heart attack patients receive appropriate drug therapy and rehabilitation, no matter what their sex or age. A study published in 2001 found that female heart attack patients younger than 60 had higher death rates than male heart attack patients under 60.
Publication Name: Annals of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4819
Year: 2001
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Immunogenetic factors in skin cancer. Clinical features and prognostic factors in adults with bacterial meningitis
- Abstracts: Evaluating contrast-enhancing brain lesions in patients with AIDS by using positron emission tomography. Brain lesions in scuba divers
- Abstracts: A general practice trial of health education advice and HRT to prevent bone loss. Once-a-week alendronate (Fosamax)
- Abstracts: Therapeutic Plasma Exchange: An Update from the Canadian Apheresis Group. Update in nephrology