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Archive for June, 2010

What happens to the intensity of first heart sound (S1) in atrial fibrillation ?

Posted in Cardiology - Clinical, Tutorial in clinical cardiology, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on June 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »

It is a well known  cardiac auscultatory  sign,   S 1  becomes  variable in intensity with the onset of atrial fibrillation.

In physiology , the intensity of S 1 is determined by many factors.

  1. The valve morphology(Thickness, Calcium , Rigidity )
  2. Valve mobility
  3. PR interval
  4. Force of LV contraction
  5. Preceding RR interval (4 and 5 are inter related)
  6. Insulation and auditory factors (Thick chest wall  etc)

How does atrial fibrillation modify the intensity of  S1 ?

It is to be noted , atrial fibrillation alters only one  of the above factors, namely the RR interval which becomes irregular.

The mix of short and long RR intervals  occurs at random  . A short RR interval, results in a relatively softer S1  and vice versa . The mechanism is directly attributable  to the degree of LV filling and subsequent change in force of contraction .

Many times , at fast ventricular  rates (Say >150) the distinction between short- long cycles is  negligible in terms of net cardiac cycle.

If  the RR interval , is too prolonged there can be an  inverse relationship  with s 1 intensity .It gets  muffled as the  mitral valve floats back  to it’s  orifice and a partial or even complete  closure occurs , making  force of LV contraction irrelevant in the genesis of S1 .

The vanishing act of PR interval  in atrial fibrillation.

It does not require great brains  to  understand ,  if P waves are absent ,  PR interval must also be absent !

If PR interval is absent ,  there  can be no  influence of it on the first heart sound. Logic demands  absence of PR interval must have some sort of  influence on the intensity of S1. As far as i know cardiology  literature has not answered this query.

What are the two types of S 1 variation ?

Experince  has shown us , the variation of S1 can be of two types*.

Sequence 1 : Varying between , Loud -Louder- Loudest -pounding

Sequence 2: Varying between , Loud -Normal – soft -Muffled

* Applicable only for those with shrewed ears !

S 1 intensity with reference to underlying pathology : Valvular vs Non valvular atrial fibrillation

It is obvious the impact of  varying RR interval on  the intensity of S1 will directly depend upon the underlying pathology. The  intensity of   S1  in  non valvular AF (Like , lone AF, Thyrotoxic AF, Hypoxic  AF ,Ischemic AF etc)  are  more vulnerable to  changing   RR interval .

In rheumatic heart disease , the influence of valve morphology , rigidness, calcification and presence  of MR  generally prevail over the  impact  of changing RR interval .So,  in a case of tight mitral stenosis  and AF  it  is expected the sequence 1 is more common .

In lone AF or AF due to CAD , sequence  2 is more likely *  Associated LV dysfunction , and ischemic   MR may further dampen the intensity of  S1 .

Clinical implication

Hearing  few occasional  loud  S1 in AF , is an indirect indication that underlying LV function is good,  as it reflects the force of  LV contraction .

Silent AF

Some hearts are notoriously silent even in the midst of AF. If  the silence is not  due to obesity  or  other insulation defects,  it suggests a sinister diagnosis ,  like severely  dysfunctional ventricle  like  DCM etc.

As a corollary, it is often noticed ,  palpitations* are , often not  felt  by patients with dysfunctional  ventricles  in spite of atrial fibrillation. (As loud S 1 is rare with dysfunctional ventricle)

*Palpitation is a symptom that equates to Dp/Dt of ventricles.

What  happens to mid diastolic murmur in AF ?

The murmur length  varies  linearly with reference  to RR interval. The pre systolic  accentuation disappears ,but   pre-systolic component may persist .

Final message

Simple, bed side auscultation during atrial fibrillation can give us vital clues about the etiology, and the  underlying LV function .  Let us not be ashamed to talk about clinical cardiology  . . .at least in the bed side !

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Tackling ostial LAD lesions : A new technique

Posted in Cardiology -Interventional -PCI, Cardiology-Coronary artery disese, tagged , , , , , on June 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Bifurcation lesions and ostial lesions  continue to  challenge the expertise of   interventional cardiologists.

Variety of techniques have been described. Geo positioning of a ostial lesions ,  exactly on the rim of ostium  is required  . This is very difficult in  many patients  , as stent migration either into side branch or protrusion into the main branch is common. Both reduce  optimal  PCI outcome  .

Here is a innovative  technique   described  first by  Szab0 in 2005 TCT conference .

Highlights of the technique

  • It is a twin guide  wire technique.
  • The Circumflex guide  wire  is threaded over the most proximal strut  of  balloon mounted  LAD stent .
  • The guidewire makes sure the LAD stent move beyond the LAD ostium .
  • Of course some technical limitation is  there, this seems to be a good option at least in some deserving  LAD ostial or LCX ostial lesions

Technical hitch

The balloon and stent is to be manhandled prior to deployment.  We are little awry to do it

The review article in the journal  Eurointervention

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Lesser known journals in cardiology :Japanese circulation journal

Posted in cardiology journal club, cardiology journals, tagged , , , , , on June 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Japanese cardiovascular society publishes this journal  called as  “Circulation  journal” It has some great articles in every Issue .The Impact  factor is consistently rising.

Please do not get confused with AHA’s  “Circulation”

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Let us welcome this . . . A forum for cardiac safety !

Posted in bio ethics, cardiology -Therapeutics, cardiology-ethics, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on June 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There are thousands of forums for medical science.

Most are aimed at research.  Few are available  to scrutinize  research.

“Cardiac safety research consortium “

This one from Duke university ,  is a great beginning in collaboration with FDA .

Let us welcome , this whole heartedly and wish all success in it’s motto !

Namely , exposing all safety issues in the modern cardiac therapeutics .

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An unique university for cardiologists

Posted in Cardiology -Interventional -PCI, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Learning (and of course unlearning! )  is a continuing process in the field of medicine. . We have exclusive  medical universities for various specialties . The popularity of  radial access for doing coronary interventions is progressing very fast and  the  femoral puncture technique  is expected soon to become   extinct !

Here comes a virtual on-line university for mastering radial artery interventions.

I wonder  , they issue a  Master’s degree  on the subject !

Thanks to Terumo for  initiating the concept .

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The time less windows of STEMI and a curious debate on primary PCI !

Posted in Cardiology -Interventional -PCI, cardiology -Therapeutics, Cardiology -unresolved questions, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 18, 2010| 1 Comment »

This article is in response to the prevalent belief  about  primary PCI for STEMI   endorsed by world cardiology forums. (Caution: A highly personalized version)

Time window in STEMI

  • Is the window half-opened  or half closed ?
  • Is it open at all ?
  • Or ,does it open only for primary PCI  ,and tend to close down  bluntly for thrombolysis

Modern medicine   grew faster than our thoughts .We have witnessed the audacity of advising  arm-chair treatment  for MI  till later half of   last century . Now we are talking about  air dropping of patients   over the  cath lab  roofs  for primary PCI.

Still ,we have not conquered the STEMI. While ,  we have learnt to “defy  death” in many patients  with cardiogenic shock , we continue to lose patients(“Invite death “)  in  some innocuous forms  of ACS due to procedural  complications  and inappropriate ( rather ignorant !) case selection.

Note : The ignorance  is not in   individual physician mind ,   it is prevalent in the whole cardiology knowledge pool.

The  crux of the issue for modern medicine is ,  how to reduce risk  in patients who are at  high risk and how not to convert a low risk patient into a high risk patient by the frightening medical gadgets.

In other  words ,  arm chair treatment for STEMI was  not (Still it is not !) a dustbin management . It has a potential to save  70 lives  out of 100. What many would  consider it as  ,  nothing but  the natural history of MI .

Medical management of STEMI is ridiculous !

That’s what a section of  cardiologists try to project by distorting the already flawed evidence base in cardiology. Some think it is equal  to no treatment. Here we fail to realise, even doing none has potential to save 70 lifes out of 100 in STEMI who reach the hospital.

Out of the  remaining , 10 lives   are saved by aspirin heparin (ISIS 2) and the concept of coronary  care . Another  7  lives are saved by thrombolysis (GUSTO,GISSI) . PCI  is shown to save saves one more life (PAMI).The remaining 6-7 % will die in CCU  irrespective of what we do .

Of course , now medical management has vastly improved since those days  .  A  thrombolysed ,  heparinsed ,  aspirinised ,  stanised  with adequately antagonized   adrenergic ,  angiotensin system   and   a proper coronary care ( That takes care electrical  short-circuiting  of heart)   will score  over interventional approach in vast majority of STEMI patients.

Now comes the real challenge . . .

When those 70 patients who are likely to survive  , “even a arm-chair treatment“, and the 20 other patients  who will  do a wonderful recovery with CCU care ,  enter  the cath lab  some times in wee hours of morning  . . .what happens  ?

What are the chances  of   a patient  who would otherwise be saved by an arm-chair treatment be  killed by vagaries of  cath lab  violence  ?(With due apologies ,statistics reveal  for every competent cath-lab   there are at least  10  incompetent  ones  world over !)

In the parlance of criminology , a hard core criminal may escape from  legal or illegal shoot out  but an innocent should  not die in cross fire , similarly ,  a cardiogenic shock patient with recurrent  VF  is  afford to lose his  life , but it is  a major medical crime to  lose a simple branch vessel  STEMI (PDA,OM,RCA )  to die in the cath lab,  whom in all probability  would have survived  the arm chair treatment.

Why this pessimistic view against primary PCI  ?

Yes, because  it  has potential to save  many lives  !

Time and again ,  we have  witnessed  lose of   many lifes  in many  popular hospitals in  India ,  where a   low risk MI  was  immediately  converted  to a high risk MI  after an primary  PCI with number of complications .

I strongly believe I have saved 100s of patients  with  low risk MIs by not  doing  for primary  PCI in the last  two decades.

*The argument that PCI confers better LV function and longterm  beneficial effect is also not very convincing for low risk MIs .This will be addressed separately

The demise of comparative efficacy research.

Primary PCI is superior to thrombolysis  : It is agreed , it may be  fact in academic sense .

Experience has taught us , academics rarely succeeds in the bed side.

“superiority studies can never be equated  with comparable efficacy”

Only the  questions remain . . .

  • Where  is comparative efficacy  studies in STEMI ?(Read NEJM article )
  • Why we have not developed a risk based model  when formulating guidelines for   primary PCI ?
  • Is primary PCI for a PDA /D1/OM infarct worth same as PCI for left main ?
  • Is high volume center guarantee  best outcomes ?

Who is preventing comparative efficacy studies ?

Primary PCI : Still  struggling !

This study from the archives  of internal medicine tells   us , we are still scratching  the tips  of  iceberg (Iceberg  ? or Is it something else ?)  of  primary  PCI

Even a  pessimistic approach can be  more scientific  than a optimistic  !

When WHO can be influenzed and make a pseudo emergency pandemic  and pharma companies  make a quick 10 billion bucks  ,  Realise how easy  it is  for the   smaller ,  mainstream cardiology literature  to be  hijacked and contaminated .

Final message

Why we reverently follow the time window for thrombolysis,  while  we rarely apply it for PCI ?   This is  triumph of glamor over truth . The open artery hypothesis remains   in a  hypothetical state with no solid proof  for over 2o years since it was proposed.

Apply your mind in every  patient , do a conscious decision  to either thrombolyse  ,  PCI or none . All the three are  equally powerful approaches in tackling a STEMI , depending upon the time they present .Remember , the third modality of therapy comes free of cost !

Never think ,   just because  some one  has  an access to a sophisticated cath lab 24/7   , has a iberty to overlook the  concept of time window  !

Remember  you can’t  resuscitate   dead myocytes , however advanced your enthusiasm and   interventions are !

Realise , common sense is the most uncommon sense in this hyped up human infested planet.

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How does VSD affect the conduction system of heart which is dangerously close to it ?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on June 15, 2010| 2 Comments »

VSD is  the leading  cause  of   congential heart disease .

  • The natural history is hugely variable spectrum , from totally asymptomatic  , incidentally detected in   childhood to a fulminant cardiac failure  and death in early  infancy .
  • Many small VSDs get closed by year 10. None of the large VSDs close spontaneously.Few of the moderate sized VSD may get closed.
  • The site of the VSD is a major determinant of spontaneous closure. Muscular  VSDs are more likely to get closed .Of course many of the membranous VSD have  at least a rim formed by a adjoining muscular septum
  • Associated defects, RVOT obstruction and late onset AR also has a  influence  on the natural history.
  • Progressive PHT  leading onto   Eisenmenger  syndrome  occurs  has become a diagnostic curiosity in many countries .

It  is natural to expect  the VSDs   to share a  close relationship with  the conduction system which   fights for  “equal rights”  to occupy the inter ventricular  septum  , (In spite of   a defective septum ! )

How often we see conduction defect in VSDs ?

It is  rather surprising  to note   conduction  defects are not  common in VSDs .In fact it can be termed  rare . How  this is  posssible ?   VSDs , however large it maybe   ,  usually spares the conduction system . This is simply due to the fact , developmentally the two systems  , ventricular septum and the electrical  system  of the heart comes from different embryological focus and and are simply anchored together.

If the IVS is not formed properly ,the bundle  of His and it ‘ s major right and left branches  are  simply displaced  and not are  destroyed  ,  they  tend to occupy  one of the rims of VSD

*Further, a VSD located peripherally and distally towards the apex has little impact on the conduction tissue as it has already fanned out and small little twigs are affected ,while central , proximal,  and basal VSDs  can have more significance .

Classically ,  it has  major  significance   for the  surgeons than cardiologists  , as post operative blocks are more common than the preoperative blocks !

What are the  changes to the conduction system in various VSDs ?

Membranous VSD

  • Migration  of  A-V node   posteriorly toward crux of heart *
  • His bundle  courses  along  the  posteroinferior rim of defect

* This makes sure the compact AV node never comes into picture of VSD . It  also it explains the  rairty of   complete heart block  due to mechanical damage  to the  AV node  by the  VSD jet

How to avoid  injury during surgery ?

Sutures  are  made a few millimeters from postero-inferior rim,  Do not penetrate  the septum.  Suture along  RV side  of the  septum  as the  His bundle  is  often located on the  LV side of muscular septum.

RV approach to close VSDs,  make  postoperative RBBB a common issue but generally it has no great clinical significance

Location of conduction defect in various  VSDs

  • Membranous VSD  –  Conduction tissue runs along posteroinferior border of defect
    Muscular VSD
  • (Especailly with Inlet extension)  – conduction tissue is anterosuperior to defect
  • AV canal defects . This is the only type of VSD where serious defects of conduction occur  .Interruptions can also occur in the AV node.

Coming  soon . . .

Where  will the conduction system run in single ventricle where there is no IVS ?

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Six “spheres of knowledge” in cardiology . . .

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on June 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Many believe  modern science is pure and uncontaminated.

I wish it to be true ,  But reality mirror tells a different story !

The following  “spheres of knowledge”  collectively  form the  cardiology literature .

How much ?  each sphere , contribute is any body’s guess !

The same  rule might  apply  in all  medical  specialties.

Readers are argued to add more spheres of  knowledge.

The seventh sphere may be Eg :  “Commerce based cardiology “

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Clopidogrel : Shining in”Pseudo – Glory”

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 11, 2010| 1 Comment »

The funny thing in medicine is  ,   simpler the  question ,   greater the  difficulty to answer ! f  Clopidogrel  is   an  irreversible blocker of platelet aggregation . It  probably ,  is one  of the top  cardiovascular  drugs  used currently .It came into human domain as an aspirin killer and failed miserably , and currently piggy packing on the ageless aspirin for it ‘s action. The concept of dual antiplatelet agent is a classical example . The fact  that , Clopidogrel can rarely be used as a successful  mono anti platelet agent while aspirin can do this job with flying colors will unmask the secrets of  antiplatelet drug industry .

Do you know ,  this drug which  is considered  as a   great  antiplatelet drug , does  not even, pass the  basic test of   prolonging  the bleeding time  in a consistent fashion  ?

Still , we are not clear why it  does  or does not increase the bleeding time in vitro or vivo in linear  fashion.We have  confirmed this  in simple bedside experiments. (More dogmatic conclusions   can be drawn  in bed side , than those  double-blind studies) . In many patients 300 mg of clopidogrel failed to prolong the bleeding time even by  few seconds ! Surgeons who operate on clopdogelised patients differ  widely in their  experience  when they do emergency surgeries on them .

The issue is very vital  ,  Questions raised  are  critical  !

  • If clopidgorel  has a  notoriously unpredictable impact on prolonging  bleeding  time , Then ,  is it not  dangerous ? ,  for those millions of patients with DES(Drug eluting stents )  who live at at the  mercy of clopidogrel’s   erratic behavior.
  • Cardiology community  never got shocked  ,  even as  in this era of evidence based cardiology , a drug  which is being used for over 10 years without even a basic monitoring strategy for it’s efficacy.
  • Such is the scenario ,  it is not at all a surprise ,   to find a huge population  of DES patients   who  dial 911 or 108  with   sub-acute sent thrombosis  due to  clopidogrel failure and resistance.

Read this article published in one of the prestigious cardio thoracic  journal and comprehend  yourself   about clopidogrel’s controversy .

Final message

End of life , is  looming large on Clopidogrel , but it has done it’ s intended mission : Increasing the basic cost of cardiovascular   care in general population  .

A costly and a   dubious equivalent to  Aspirin   wrote a  phenomenal    success story in the narrow lanes of  medical wall street !

No doubt , it   will face the same fate as Ticlopidine ,   Prasugrel has just landed to repeat the same old story !

The easiest   job  to do  in   this wold is to fooling around   the public

and  it is an  irony medical professionals  and their patients  are  often

the   victims

Read also the herd mentality in  medical science

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Does Digoxin know, which ventricle it is supposed to act in patients with cor- pulmonale ?

Posted in Cardiology - Clinical, Cardiology-Arrhythmias, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Digoxin is a wonder cardiology drug used for more than a century.We know the pioneering efforts  of  William withering  in detecting the potential  of the unknown  herb  Foxglove.

Mechanism of action

The beneficial effects of Digoxin is attributable  to

  • Positive inotropic  action
  • Vagal action

Digoxin blocks the sodium potassium ATPase in the  myocyte cell membrane .

This cause accumulation of NA + ions within the cells. The excess  Na , then   facilitates  the Na -Ca exchange port .

This pumps in more calcium   into the myocyte.

Increased  calcium means more forceful contraction and that is positive inotropism* .

* This is a  highly simplified version of   Digoxin’s action . It should  be remembered  simple availability of excess calcium can not guarantee  contractility,   as it requires adequate number  of receptors.

Digoxin  is used in which type of cardiac failure  ?

Digoxin is used for both for LV and  biventricular  failure .

Digoxins is still  often  in isolated RV failure  of any cause (Cor pumonale, PPH, Eisenmenger etc)


Digoxin and RV dysfunction

Digoxin  has a tendency  to  hit the atrial muscles  at random causing  multiple short circuiting (Micro reentry )   forming  a perfect nidus  for complex atrial arrhythmias  including MAT .The coexisting    hypoxia  (which is all the more common here )  aggravates the problem .

Inotropism of RV : Does it really exist ?

It is often quoted , RV is a passive pump. It does not mean inotrpism is an exclusive property of LV.

RV has to generate about 30mmhg to pump the blood into  the lungs.

In cor-pulmonale the RV works against an afterload of around 50-70 mmhg  , making  RV inotropism  much more important  concept.

Rate control in atrial fibrillation Digoxin lowers the heart rate by vago mimetic action ,  primarily in  AV node  and to a  certain  extent in SA node .Ventricular rate reduction  is the prime requirement  in the management  atrial fibrillation and this property  is still the crowing  glory of  Digoxin.

Though beta blockers and  verapamil  can be used as rate controlling agent ,  lack of negative  inotropism makes  digoxin    prevail   over , especially in severely dysfunctional  ventricle .

But , one disadvantage of Digoxin is , since it requires  a vagal traffic to mediate it ‘ s rate controlling effect , it  is less effective ,  when there is  high sympathetic activity as during exercise.

What is the action of digoxin on interventricular  septal contraction ?

Digoxin , simply does not know where it acts when administered in cor pulmonale  ! We believe in cor-pulmonale the maximum action would be the area of maximum dysfunction .This is purely  an assumption. In cor -pulmonale septum shifts it’s loyalty from LV to RV as the later is the distressed chamber.So , logic would be there  is a theoretical  compromise of LV function in  patients with cor -pulmonale. These factors make  the   inter ventricular  interaction and dependence a complex one.

Some believe  the improvement of sub clinical LV dysfunction in cor pulmonale may be more important factor in giving relief  to  the patient’s  symptom.

What are the other RV inotropes ?

Doubtamine has some RV inotropy  .This again may be due to a spill over effect from LV rather than a primary RV inotropism .

As such , there is no great breakthrough  in creating a powerful isolated RV  isolated RV inotropic dug.

Probably  the best way to  give relief to RV is to reduce the pulmonary artery pressure as invariably sever PAH  is the predominate  accompaniment

(Nitric oxide ,  Epo prostenol etc)

Final message

  • Digoxin , indeed has  some useful  role in cor- pulmonale .
  • But ,the benefits are more pronounced in late stages of RV failure.
  • Since the dose required to get an optimal RV inotropy is high the safety margin  is reduced.
  • Since there is a propensity   for complex atrial  arrhythmias  ,  it has to be used very cautiously in management  of   atrial fibrillation due to cor pulmonale .(Than in other forms of AF)

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