The present state of artificial heart research and development is analyzed in light of public perceptions affected by accounts of the experiences of those who received the Jarvik-7. On the assumption that research will continue, it is argued that the therapeutic goals of the artificial heart can be realized, and ...

Approximately 15% of victims of instantly lethal central nervous system trauma have an empty or nearly empty heart at autopsy. This article defines and discusses the "empty heart" sign.

Severe cardiac malformations may involve the atrioventricular valve region, but the sequence of embryonic development of this important area has been little studied. In particular, the basis of atrioventricular muscular discontinuity, except at the conduction system, has remained unexplained. To examine this question, serial histologic sections of human embryos from ...

This is a review of work dealing with the contribution of myocardial myosin isoenzymes to the performance of the heart muscle. Isoenzyme composition is altered in rabbit hearts by banding the pulmonary artery (increase in %V3) and thyroid hormone injection (increase in V1). Both treatments result in myocardial hypertrophy. The ...

Shoshin beriberi, a fulminant form of heart failure due to thiamine deficiency has a different presentation to the classical form of beriberi heart failure. It is characterized by a cold periphery, low blood pressure, renal shutdown and a severe metabolic acidosis. The true incidence is unknown. Two patients were seen ...

Ionic currents flowing during the activation of the heart generate both electric potentials which can be recorded at the body surface as the electrocardiogram or ECG and magnetic fields which can also be recorded at the body surface as what is termed the magnetocardiogram (MCG). In order to apply the ...

Several anaesthetics were tested with mice to study: (a) their ability to immobilize the animal; (b) their effect on blood pressure and heart rate; and (c) their effect on the response to X-irradiation of the mouse sarcoma RIF-1. All anaesthetics which produced adequate immobilization also caused a fall in blood ...

In the definitive heart the anterior continuation of the main conduction axis is considered to be the right bundle branch. In this study three hearts from neonates and infants were examined in which this situation did not pertain. The conduction axis continued beyond the point of origin of the right ...

Impulse activity of the bursting neurones in the intact or segmented cardiac ganglion could be recorded in the isolated and freely beating hearts of lobsters. In the segmented ganglion, the four large cells (LCs), the medium cell (MC), and the four small cells (SCs) generated phasic, short tonic, and long ...

Several qualitative features of the ultrastructure of pressure overload and thyrotoxic myocardium are unique markers of the type and quantity of increased work the heart has been required to perform. Furthermore, they are reminiscent of features of normally growing myocytes, implying that the changes in the hypertrophied cell are the ...

Only recently have the cardiac actions of parathyroid hormone and its N-terminal (1-34) fragment (bPTH(1-34] been examined. Parathyroid hormone was found to exert a positive chronotropic effect on the heart tissue of several mammals and one amphibian in vivo and/or in vitro. The purpose of the present study was to ...

Most hearts described as "single ventricle" or "univentricular heart" possess 2 ventricular chambers, even though 1 is usually described as an "outlet chamber." This stems from the wide acceptance that the criterion of a single ventricle is the presence of a double-inlet atrioventricular (AV) connection. In recent years, using this ...

Diamide, CDNB and phorone were used to deplete glutathione in retrogradely perfused rat hearts. Following glutathione depletion the spontaneous chemiluminescence increased by 70%, irrespective of the agent used. The glutathione depletion and the chemiluminescence emission were associated to an increase of malondialdehyde content in the heart, as determined by HPLC. ...

Twenty-seven calves were operated on in our institute for total artificial heart replacement. Thomasu hearts (made by the Thomasu Technical Company, Japan) were used in 21 calves from February 1980 to May 1983. Utah Jarvik 7 hearts were used for the first five calves and the 17th calf. The air-driven ...

It is here proposed that disordered redox balance leads to congestive heart failure in a variety of diverse clinical situations. These conditions include those associated with an excess of reducing agents, such as catecholamines and thyroid hormone, or impaired oxidant defenses, such as in selenium deficiency. The clinical situations include ...

Experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated the existence of phase 3 and phase 4 functional blocks. In this report six cases are presented in which the electrophysiological study demonstrated the existence of a functional intraventricular block different from phase 3 and phase 4 blocks. In these cases the occurrence of ...

The action of sodium salicylate on normal and digoxin-intoxicated rabbit heart was studied by the Langendorff perfusion method. The drug depressed heart rate, atrioventricular (AV) conduction and contraction force in the normal heart, and reversibly blocked the ventricular pacemakers induced by digoxin intoxication, whereas its effect on sinoatrial frequency as ...

We report an example of ventricular fusion of a sinus impulse conducted with bundle branch block with an ectopic impulse arising on the ipsilateral side of the blocked bundle branch. The manifestation simulates the normalization which occurs during the relatively slow phase of a tachycardia dependent left bundle branch block.

We examined the potential for laser irradiation of congenital heart defects, with the use of postmortem hearts and an argon ion laser with a flexible quartz fiber. Atrial septectomy was performed in five newborn hearts. Obstructive lesions were relieved by laser irradiation in valvular pulmonic and aortic stenosis, dysplastic pulmonary ...

A protected ectopic focus created in tissue excised from one heart was allowed to interact with the activity of the intact heart of another animal. The protected focus consisted of a Purkinje fiber in which a narrow central zone was rendered inexcitable. The model permitted us to study parasystole, modulated ...

The conduction of spontaneous action potentials in the 7-10 somite embryonic developing chick hearts was monitored optically using a potential-sensitive merocyanine-rhodanine dye. Spontaneous optical action signals from 5 to 12 different regions of the primitive heart were recorded simultaneously. Short delays were observed among firing times of the absorption signals ...

The objective of this trial was to determine whether the digitalis-dilazep combination interferes with the inotropic effects of digitalis or produces significant cardiovascular modifications. Twenty patients suffering from heart failure of ischemic or ischemic plus valvular etiologies, undergoing digitalis treatment for at least 3 weeks, were administered dilazep (300 mg/day). ...

Twenty patients under the age of 2 years with suspected congenital heart disease received alternately Renografin 76 and metrizamide for angiocardiography. The dose was 2.0 ml/kg per injection for both contrast media into the left ventricle. Metrizamide induced slightly lesser change in heart rate, peak systolic pressure, and peak end-diastolic ...

The primary locus of the sensitizing action of hydrocarbon anesthetics to the arrhythmogenic action of catecholamines has now been shown to be the heart itself. It has been demonstrated in the completely isolated heart perfused with an artificial medium. The induction of ventricular arrhythmias, which begins with a shift in ...

A study of 209 consecutive cases of hypertension, seen at the cardiac unit of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, showed that heart failure occurred more commonly in patients who were in the low socio-economic class. All those who had a haematocrit below 30% had heart failure. The lower the ...

An atomic artificial heart for orthotopic implantation was developed with the following characteristics: volume, 1.2 L; weight, 1.5 kg; radioisotope power, 45 W; operating life, up to 5 years; hemodynamics, similar to natural hemodynamics. The artificial heart includes a thermal drive with systems for regulating power, feeding steam into the ...

In a postmortem study of 8 uremic patients (mean age 63.0), the concentration of 23 trace elements was determined in heart tissue with neutron activation analysis. The concentration was significantly increased in 10 elements - e.g. Co (p less than 0.001), As, Br, Ce, La, Sb, Sc (p less than ...

The distribution of fibronectin (FN) during early stages of chick embryo heart development has been studied by indirect immunofluorescence methods. The cardiac extracellular matrix (cardiac jelly) was almost devoid of FN-positive material throughout the period studied (stages 8-18). Intensely extracellular fluorescent material was only demonstrated at the heart midline and ...

A quantitative electron-microscopic examination was performed of the tissue structure of the working and conducting myocardium of the sinoatrial region of rat heart. The volume fractions of intracellular components of specialized myocytes of the sinus node and of internodal conduction tracts, as well as of working cardiomyocytes of the right ...

The early events of looping (rotation and bending) of the embryonic vertebrate heart are deformations. The deformative forces and their regulation are intrinsic to the heart. A model of cardiac morphogenesis is described in this paper. It is proposed that synthesis of extracellular matrix by the myocardium generates an internal ...

The formation of the connective tissue network, composed principally of collagen, in the left ventricle of the neonatal hamster heart developed primarily during the first 20 days postpartum. The weave network of the endomysium, which was absent at birth, was visible by 4 days and was similar to that of ...

Groups of rats were maintained from weaning on copper-supplemented or copper-deficient diets. After 2, 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks animals were killed, their hearts were removed and the solubility and phenotype composition of the collagen of the hearts was studied. In the hearts from the copper-supplemented animals 35 to ...

Heart composition and function were measured in turkey poults inoculated with Eimeria meleagrimitis or E. adenoeides oocysts. Heart weights of infected poults were significantly lower than those of uninfected controls. Lipid levels of the heart were significantly reduced on day 4 postinoculation (PI) with E. meleagrimitis and on day 6 ...

The heart of the Harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) is described based on the dissection of six specimens of both sexes ranging in body weight from 23.2 to 46.4 kg. The heart is characterized, as in other seals, by a transverse broadness and a flatness of the ventricles along with an ...

The heart of the haemoglobinless and myoglobinless "icefish" Champsocephalus gunnari shows interesting morphometric and histological features. The relative heart weight in two animals (body weights 479.2 and 481.0) was significantly greater than in other sea-water teleosts and corresponds to values found in small mammals (with the exception of tuna). The ...

The electrophysiologic study of a patient with a history of fainting showed first- and second-degree Mobitz type I intraatrial and intra-His (IH) bundle blocks. Tachycardia and bradycardia-dependent IH block and bradycardia-dependent left bundle branch block were also present. Bradycardia-dependent block was probably caused by slight hypopolarization plus a slow rising ...

Analysis of the geometry of the beating heart may yield important information about its condition and function, and may reveal physiologically and clinically relevant information about the influence of regional malfunctioning on the integral heart performance. In this study, a method has been developed which will ultimately allow the determination ...

Mitochondria isolated from in vitro perfused rat heart preparations were used to study the combined effects of age and physical stress. Age-related declines in oxidative phosphorylation catalyzed by mitochondria from nonperfused hearts were not observed. Low work load perfusion resulted in decreased respiration by mitochondria from 24-month-old hearts (p less ...

1. Using an optical method for monitoring membrane potential, we recorded spontaneous action potentials simultaneously in several different areas of the 7-9 somite embryonic chick hearts. 2. Absorption signals resembling spontaneous action potentials were well synchronized among the different areas in the prebeating embryonic heart during the 7-9 somite stages ...

When metrizamide was introduced by Almén and later dimerized media were synthesized, they offered the possibilities of studying the effects of contrast media with equal iodine content but different osmolalities. This article will describe findings regarding the cardiac effects of the nonionic medium, metrizamide, and of a monoacid dimer (P-286) ...

Heart scores increased with age and training. Yearlings had average heart scores of approximately 90 milliseconds (msecs). This increased to approximately 110 msecs in 5-year-old horses, after which there was only slight further increase. In horses 4 years or older, regression analysis revealed a highly significant correlation between heart score ...

A pneumatically powered artificial heart, constructed primarily from a polyurethane, was implanted in the chest of a calf and supported the calf for more than 6 months. The heart, which was designed to fit in the chest of a 90 kilogram calf, was able to suppor the animal when it ...

Thirty-one horses competing in a 100 kilometre endurance ride had electrocardiograms recorded before and after the ride from which the heart score of each horse was calculated. Blood was also taken to determine the packed cell volume (PCV) and total plasma protein (TPP) before the ride, after 60 kilometres (mid ...

Recent significant advances in experimental embryology and experimental teratology of the heart contribute to the renaissance in studies of cardiac development. Examples taken from the author's laboratory demonstrate the need for reference points in the description of heart morphogenesis and speak against the existence of conus resorption. The discovery of ...

A brief historical review of the main descriptions, definitions, classifications and nomenclatures of the univentricular heart within the historical context of the evolution of the technical and scientific knowledge, is made. The development of the ventricles and particularly the posterior interventricular septum (posterior smooth plus posterior trabeculated septa), were studied ...

A trihydroxyindole fluorescent technique was used to measure the concentration of catecholamines in heart muscle taken from 42 patients undergoing open heart surgery. Noradrenaline was the dominant catecholamine and its depletion in the failing heart was confirmed. The distribution of catecholamines within the heart was such that the highest value, ...

The spatial distribution of radioactively labeled microspheres was studied in normal and in experimentally hypertrophied hearts of adult pigs. The hearts had been "tagged" with microspheres when the pigs were young. When the adult animal was killed, the spatial distribution of the microspheres was identical in the normal and in ...

Hypertension, congestive heart failure, and valvular heart disease are frequently seen among hospital inpatients in the United Republic of Tanzania. A population survey was therefore carried out to determine the prevalence of hypertension and cardiac murmurs in a random sample of people aged 25-64 years living in an undeveloped rural ...

In studies of myosin from left and right ventricles of normal hearts and hypertrophic hearts at 5 weeks and 13 weeks after aortic banding, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows intermediate molecular weight components which derive from heavy chains fragmented in the presence of dodecyl sulfate. The proportion of degraded heavy chains ...

We report the findings in a 60-year-old patient with a 30-year history of profound first-degree heart block with no associated cardiac abnormalities. The sinus node and the His-Purkinje system were normal. The time for atrioventricular nodal conduction was prolonged, with normal refractoriness both before and after administration of atropine, suggesting ...