| 1. |
- Bengtsson, A, et al.
(författare)
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The appropriateness of performing coronary angiography and coronary artery revascularization in a Swedish population
- 1994
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). - : American Medical Association. - 0098-7484 .- 1538-3598. ; 271:16, s. 1260-1265
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. —To evaluate the appropriateness of performing coronary angiography and revascularization in a Swedish population. Design. —Prospective population study of questionnaires and medical records. Setting. —All the hospitals in southwestern Sweden that perform coronary angiography and revascularization. Patients. —Random sample of 831 patients (with chronic stable angina) on the waiting list for coronary angiography or revascularization in southwestern Sweden in September 1990. Main Outcome Measure. —Percentage of patients referred for coronary angiography or revascularization for appropriate, uncertain, or inappropriate indications. Results. —Of the patients referred for angiography, 89% were classified as appropriate, 9% as uncertain, and 2% as inappropriate. The percentages are similar for patients referred for coronary artery bypass graft surgery and for angioplasty (91% and 86%, respectively, classified as appropriate). The majority of patients had chest pain rated as Canadian Cardiovascular Society classes II through IV (93%), despite maximum anti-ischemic therapy in 90% of these patients. Conclusions. —Few patients were referred for coronary angiography or revascularization for inappropriate or uncertain indications. The percentage of these patients who are from southwestern Sweden is similar to the percentage recently reported from New York State.
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| 2. |
- Bengtsson, A, et al.
(författare)
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The epidemiology of a coronary waiting list. A description of all patients
- 1994
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Ingår i: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. - 0954-6820 .- 1365-2796. ; 235:3, s. 263-269
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Keywords: cardiac symptoms; chest pain; coronary revascularization; delay; ischaemic heart disease; nervous reactions; waiting list Abstract. Objectives. To describe the characteristics and the severity of symptoms amongst patients on the waiting list for possible coronary revascularization. Design. All the patients were sent a postal questionnaire for symptom evaluation. Setting. All hospitals in western Sweden. Subjects. All patients in western Sweden on the waiting list in September 1990, who had been referred for coronary angiography or revascularization (n = 904) and a sex- and age-matched reference group (n = 809). Results. More than half of the patients had daily attacks of chest pain, whereas 16% reported less than one attack per week or no pain at all. However, other symptoms such as dyspnoea, tachycardia and nervous reactions were also common and 25% of all patients used sedatives. A long waiting time for a given procedure was not associated with more pain but with more nervous symptoms such as restlessness and insomnia (P < 0.0001) and greater use of sedatives and cigarettes (P < 0.05). Conclusions. We conclude that a long waiting time for possible coronary revascularization is associated with more nervous symptoms but not with more pain.
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| 3. |
- Ekström, L, et al.
(författare)
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Survival after cardiac arrest outside hospital over a 12-year period in Göteborg
- 1994
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Ingår i: Resuscitation. - : Elsevier Ireland Ltd. - 0300-9572 .- 1873-1570. ; 27:3, s. 181-187
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: A two-tiered ambulance system with a mobile coronary care unit and standard ambulance has operated in Gothenburg (population 434 000) since 1980. Mass education in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) commenced in 1985 and in 1988 semiautomatic defibrillators were introduced. Aim: To describe early and late survival after cardiac arrest outside hospital over a 12-year period. Target population: All patients with prehospital cardiac arrest in Gothenburg reached by mobile coronary care unit or standard ambulance between 1980 and 1992. Results: The number of patients with cardiac arrest remained fairly steady over time. Among patients with witnessed ventricular fibrillation, the time to defibrillation decreased over time. The proportion of patients in whom bystander initiated CPR was increased only moderately over time. The proportion of patients given medication such as lignocaine and adrenaline successively increased. The number of patients with cardiac arrest who were discharged from hospital per year remained steady between 1981 and 1990 (20 per year), but increased during 1991 and 1992 to 41 and 31 respectively. Conclusions: Improvements in the emergency medical service in Gothenburg over a 12-year period have lead to: (1) a shortened delay time between cardiac arrest and first defibrillation and (2) an improved survival of patients with cardiac arrest outside hospital probably explained by this shortened delay time.
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| 4. |
- Herlitz, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Early identification of acute myocardial infarction and prognosis in relation to mode of transport
- 1992
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Ingår i: American Journal of Emergency Medicine. - : W.B. Saunders Co.. - 0735-6757 .- 1532-8171. ; 10:5, s. 406-412
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Of 2,840 consecutive patients who were admitted to the emergency department of a Swedish university hospital due to suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI), only 25% were reached by the mobile coronary care unit (MCCU), and only 4% simultaneously fulfilled traditional criteria for prehospital thrombolysis (ie, had ST-segment elevation on admission electrocardiogram and a delay time of less than 6 hours). In the subset of patients who fulfilled criteria for a confirmed AMI, 31% were reached by an MCCU and 11% fulfilled criteria for prehospital thrombolysis. Among patients with confirmed AMI, the hospital mortality rate was highest in patients transported by standard ambulance (19%) versus 15% in those transported by an MCCU and 8% in those transported by other means. The authors conclude that AMI patients transported by ambulance are high-risk patients for early death. Prehospital thrombolysis might reduce their rate of mortality. However, according to the authors' experience only a minor fraction of patients are available for prehospital thrombolysis.
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| 5. |
- Herlitz, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of bystander initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation on ventricular fibrillation and survival after witnessed cardiac arrest outside hospital
- 1994
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Ingår i: British Heart Journal. - : BMJ Group. - 0007-0769. ; 72:5, s. 408-412
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE--To describe the proportion of patients who were discharged from hospital after witnessed cardiac arrest outside hospital in relation to whether a bystander initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation. PATIENTS--All patients with witnessed cardiac arrest outside hospital before arrival of the ambulance and in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted by the emergency medical service in Gothenburg during 1980-92. RESULTS--Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated by a bystander in 18% (303) of 1,660 cases. In this group 69% had ventricular fibrillation at first recording compared with 51% in the remaining patients (P < 0.001). Among patients in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation had been initiated by a bystander 25% were discharged alive versus 8% of the remaining patients (P < 0.001). Independent predictors of survival were in order of significance: initial arrhythmia (P < 0.001), interval between collapse and arrival of first ambulance (P < 0.001), cardiopulmonary resuscitation initiated by a bystander (P < 0.001), and age (P < 0.01). Among patients who were admitted to hospital alive 30% of patients in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation had been initiated by a bystander compared with 58% of remaining patients (P < 0.001) had brain damage and died in hospital. Corresponding figures for death in association with myocardial damage were 18% and 29% respectively (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS--Cardiopulmonary resuscitation initiated by a bystander maintains ventricular fibrillation and triples the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest outside hospital. Furthermore, it seems to protect against death in association with brain damage as well as with myocardial damage.
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| 6. |
- Herlitz, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Occurrence of angina pectoris prior to acute myocardial infarction and its relation to prognosis
- 1993
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Ingår i: European Heart Journal. - : Oxford University Press. - 0195-668X .- 1522-9645. ; 14:4, s. 484-491
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 917 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) we evaluated the impact of previous angina pectoris on the prognosis. Thirty-four percent of the patients had chronic angina prior to AMI, and 22% had angina pectoris of short duration. Patients with chronic angina pectoris differed from the remaining patients having a more frequent previous history of AMI, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and congestive heart failure. They less frequently developed a Q-wave AMI, and had smaller infarcts according to maximum serum-enzyme activity as compared with the remaining patients. They had a higher one-year mortality rate (36%) as compared with those having angina pectoris of short duration (22%), and those with no angina pectoris (26%). Their reinfarction rate was also higher (26%) as compared with that in the other two groups (15% and 9% respectively). In a multivariate analysis considering age, sex, clinical history, initial symptoms, initial electrocardiogram and estimated infarct size, previous chronic angina pectoris was not an independent risk factor for death, but was independently associated with the risk of reinfarction (P<0.001) Among patients with a history of angina pectoris the outcome was related to medication prior to onset of AMI and at discharge from hospital. Patients in whom beta-blockers were prescribed at discharge had a one-year mortality of 13% as compared with 30% in the remaining patients
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| 7. |
- Herlitz, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Predictors of early and late survival after out of hospital cardiac arrest in which asystole was the first recorded arrhythmia on scene
- 1994
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Ingår i: Resuscitation. - : Elsevier Ireland Ltd. - 0300-9572 .- 1873-1570. ; 28:1, s. 27-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: A large proportion of patients who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have asystole as the initial recorded arrhythmia. Since they have a poor prognosis, less attention has been paid to this group of patients. Aim: To describe a consecutive population of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with asystole as the first recorded arrhythmia and to try to define indicators for an increased chance of survival in this population. Setting: The community of Gothenburg. Patients: All patients who suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest during 1981 to 1992 and were reached by our emergency medical service (EMS) system and where cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted. Results: In all there were 3434 cardiac arrests of which 1222 (35%) showed asystole as the first recorded arrhythmia. They differed from patients with ventricular fibrillation by being younger, including more women and having a longer interval between collapse and arrival of the first ambulance. In all 90 patients (7%) were hospitalized alive and 20 (2%) could be discharged from hospital. Independent predictors for an increased chance of survival were: (a) a short interval between the collapse and arrival of the first ambulance (P < 0.001) and the time the collapse occurred (P < 0.05). Initial treatment given in some cases with adrenaline, atropine and tribonate were not associated with an increased survival. Conclusions: Of all the patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, 35% were found in asystole. Of these, 7% were hospitalized alive and 2% could be discharged from hospital. Efforts should be made to improve still further the interval between collapse and arrival of the first ambulance.
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| 8. |
- Herlitz, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Prognosis for patients with initially suspected acute myocardial infarction in relation to presence of chest pain
- 1992
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Ingår i: Clinical Cardiology. - : John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. - 0160-9289 .- 1932-8737. ; 15:8, s. 570-576
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In all 4,232 patients admitted to a single hospital during a 21-month period due to initially suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the prognosis and risk factor pattern were related to whether patients had chest pain or not. Symptoms other than chest pain that raised a suspicion of AMI were mainly acute heart failure, arrhythmia, and loss of consciousness. In 377 patients (9%) symptoms other than chest pain raised an initial suspicion of AMI. These patients developed a confirmed infarction during the first three days in hospital with a similar frequency (22%) as compared with patients having chest pain (22%). However, patients with “other symptoms” had a one-year mortality of 28% versus 15% for chest pain patients (p < 0.001). Patients with “other symptoms” more often died in association with ventricular fibrillation and less often in association with cardiogenic shock as compared with chest pain patients. Among the 921 patients who developed early AMI, 64 (7%) had symptoms other than chest pain. They had a one-year mortality of 48% versus 27% for chest pain patients (p<0.001). We conclude that in a nonselected group of patients hospitalized due to suspected AMI, those with symptoms other than chest pain have a one-year mortality, which is nearly twice that of patients with chest pain.
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| 9. |
- Herlitz, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Prognosis in hypertensives with acute myocardial infarction
- 1992
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Ingår i: Journal of Hypertension. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Ltd.. - 0263-6352 .- 1473-5598. ; 10:10, s. 1265-1271
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: A previous history of hypertension is overrepresented among patients with ischaemic heart disease. The present study aims at describing the influence of a previous history of hypertension upon the prognosis among patients hospitalized due to acute myocardial infarction. DESIGN: Patients were followed for 1 year. Mortality and morbidity are described during hospitalization and after discharge from hospital. SETTING: Sahlgrenska Hospital, serving half of the area of Gothenburg in Sweden. PATIENTS: All patients admitted to Sahlgrenska Hospital during 21 months due to acute myocardial infarction regardless of age and whether they were admitted to the coronary care unit. RESULTS: Among all patients with confirmed acute myocardial infarction (n = 917) a previous history of hypertension was reported in 324 patients. Hypertensives more frequently had a previous history of acute myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, congestive heart failure and diabetes mellitus. Their mortality during hospitalization was similar to that in normotensives. However, the total mortality during 1 year of follow-up was 35% in hypertensives and 25% for normotensives (P < 0.01), and a previous history of hypertension was an independent risk indicator for death after discharge from hospital. Place and mode of death appeared similar in normotensives and hypertensives. Reinfarction was twice as common in hypertensives as in normotensives, and a previous history of hypertension was an independent risk indicator for reinfarction. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with acute myocardial infarction a previous history of hypertension indicates a poor prognosis, one-third of patients dying and one-quarter developing reinfarction during the first year after onset of acute myocardial infarction.
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| 10. |
- Herlitz, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Risk indicators for, and symptoms associated with, death among patients hospitalized after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
- 1994
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Ingår i: Coronary Artery Disease. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0954-6928 .- 1473-5830. ; 5:5, s. 407-414
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: An increasing proportion of patients who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are initially successfully resuscitated and thus hospitalized. AIMS: To define risk indicators for, and to describe the mode of, in-hospital death among patients hospitalized after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. SETTING: Göteborg, Sweden. PATIENTS: All patients hospitalized after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest between 1980 and 1992. RESULTS: A total of 707 out of 3434 patients were hospitalized after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, of whom 278 (39%) were discharged alive. Independent risk indicators for in-hospital death were: type of initial arrhythmia on the scene, age, interval between cardiac arrest and arrival of first ambulance, bystander-initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation and history of diabetes mellitus. Of the patients who died in hospital, 88% had brain damage and 43% myocardial damage. CONCLUSION: Risk indicators for hospital death can be defined. The majority of in-hospital deaths were associated with brain damage.
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