Self-Control of Heart Rhythmdisorders

The broken rhythm of the heart activity of a person can lead to fatal consequences if it is not detected at an early stage. The article described a device for counting and indicating the number of violations of rhythm of cardiac activity. The device is intended for home use and does not require medical knowledge. If the patient will notice a trend towards the increasing number of arrhythmias, he must seek for cardiology advice.

Influence of stress on the expression of bcl-2/bax protein in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Objective To explore the influence of stress induced increased sympathetic nerve activity on cardiomyocyte apoptosis and on the development of congestive heart failure. Methods 45 male, 16 week old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were studied, in which 6 as controls. After the 6 controlled SHRs were examined by echocardiography, they were anesthetized and killed by decapitation. The other 39 were divided into the stress group (n=20) and the control group (n=19), and both groups were observed from 16 week old to 36 week old. In the stress group, binding-stress model was used. Till 36 week, all animals were echocardiographied, weighed and killed as described above. Cardiac bcl 2 and bax protein were quantified by western blot. Circulating catecholamine and angiotensin II (Ang II) were detected by radioimmunoasssy. Results Left ventricular volume (P< 0.05), left ventricular mass (P< 0.05) and the ratio of ventricular mass to body weight were higher in 36 week than those of the 16 week SHRs, whereas the volumes of eject fraction (EF) manifested the trend of decline, P< 0.05, binding stress for 20 weeks made this trend significantly, P< 0.05. With the increase of age, the serum norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E) and Ang II increased, suggesting that the binding-stress triggered the activity of central sympathetic nerve system. The cardiac bcl 2 protein was higher in 36 week than 16 week, P >0.05, whereas the bax protein increased significantly with the increase of age, P< 0.05, and so was the ratio of bax to bcl 2, P< 0.05. Conclusions The model of binding stress can effectively activate central sympathetic system, thus and mimic the neuroendocrine states. From 16 to 36 week, the process of cardiac apoptosis aggravated and the increased sympathetic activity would exacerbate rather than relieve this trend.

PLATELET ACTIVATION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PULMONARY HEART DISEASE EFFECT OF DIPYRIDAMOLE TREATMENT

Plasma levels of /f-thromboglobulin (/?-TG), platelet fac-tor 4(P and platelet aggregation rate (PAR) were measured in remission phase of 15 patients affected with chronic pulmonary heart disease (CPHD). 0-TG, /?-TG / PF4, PF4 and PAR were significantly higher in the patients than in controls (/3<0.01 and 0.05, respectively). After 10 days of treatment with Dipyridamole lOOtng tid, fi-TG, /?-TG / PF4 and PF4 decreased significantly compared with pretreatment values (/><0.01 and 0.05, respectively). The results suggest that in vivo platelet activation is indeed present in patients with CPHD and that dipyridamole can antagonize platelet activation in vivo.