Abstracts » Health

Effect of pravastatin on outcomes after cardiac transplantation

Article Abstract:

Pravastatin may be effective in reducing cholesterol levels, major transplant rejection, blood vessel disease, and mortality in recipients of heart transplants. Forty-seven heart transplant recipients received the anti-cholesterol drug pravastatin at a final dose of 20 milligrams/day and 50 transplant recipients did not receive the drug. Researchers followed the patients for one year with regular blood tests, and blood vessel imaging exams. The average cholesterol level was 193 milligrams/deciliter in the pravastatin group and 248 mg/dl in the control group. The one-year survival rate was 94% in the pravastatin group and 78% in the control group. The rate of moderate transplant rejection was similar in both groups, though rejection along with blood flow problems were higher in the control group. Disorders in blood vessels feeding the heart and thickening of vessel walls were also less common in the pravastatin group.

Evaluation, Heart transplantation, Pravastatin

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Prognostic importance of elevated jugular venous pressure and a third heart sound in patients with heart failure

Article Abstract:

Increased blood pressure in the jugular veins in the neck and a third heart sound are two physical characteristics that indicate a poor prognosis in patients with heart failure. A healthy heart only has two sounds, which are caused by the closing of the heart valves.

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The jugular venous pulse and third heart sound in patients with heart failure

Article Abstract:

Techniques for measuring the jugular venous pulse and the third heart sound are described. These physical characteristics are used to diagnose heart failure, and their presence can identify patients who have a poor prognosis.

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