Electrocardiographic and Blood Pressure Alterations During Electroconvulsive Therapy in Young Adults

OBJECTIVE - To study cardiovascular alterations in young patients with no apparent organic disease who underwent electroconvulsive therapy. METHODS - The study comprised 47 healthy patients (22 males and 25 females) with a mean age of 30.3 years, who underwent electroconvulsive therapy. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and continuous electrocardiographic monitoring (Holter monitor) were performed during 24 hours. Blood pressure and heart rate were assessed 4 hours prior to electric shock administration, during electric shock administration, and 3 hours after electric shock administration. Arrhythmias and alterations in the ST segment in 24 hours were recorded. RESULTS - On electroconvulsive therapy, a significant increase in blood pressure and heart rate was observed and the measurements returned to basal values after 25 minutes. Three females had tracings with depression of the ST segment suggesting myocardial ischemia prior to and after electroconvulsive therapy. Coronary angiography was normal. No severe cardiac arrhythmias were diagnosed. CONCLUSION - 1) Electroconvulsive therapy is a safe therapeutic modality in psychiatry; 2) it causes a significant increase in blood pressure and heart rate; 3) it may be associated with myocardial ischemia in the absence of coronary obstructive disease; 4) electroconvulsive therapy was not associated with the occurrence of severe cardiac arrhythmias.

Acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients: comparative analysis of the predictors of mortality. The elderly versus the young

OBJECTIVE: To study the in-hospital evolution of patients aged 65 years and older, with acute myocardial infarction, who were treated by direct coronary angioplasty with no fibrinolytic therapy. METHODS: We studied 885 patients divided into 2 groups as follows: group I (GI) - 293 (33.4%) patients aged ³ 65 years (72±5 years), and group II (GII) - 592 patients aged < 65 years (57±9 years). Multivessel disease was more frequent in GI (63.5% x 49.7%; p=0.001). A greater number of GII patients were class I or II of the clinical Killip-Kimball classification (K) (80.2% x 67.2%; p=0.00002), while a significant number of GI patients were KIII and KIV (24.3% x 12.8%; p=0.00003). RESULTS: Group I had a lower index of success (84.6% x 94%; p=0.0002) and a greater in-hospital mortality (12.2% x 4.7%; p=0.00007). The predictors of mortality in GI were as follows: previous infarction (20.5% x 6.3%; p=0.02), anterior location (13.4% x 6.4%; p=0.03), and male sex (10.4% x 4.4%; p=0.007). CONCLUSION: Elderly patients had more severe acute myocardial infarction and more extensive disease, a lower index of success, and greater in-hospital mortality. Previous infarction, anterior location and male sex were identified as predictors of mortality in the elderly group (GI).

Comparison between young males and females with acute myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE: To assess the differences between young males and females after acute myocardial infarction. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 236 patients (54 females and 182 males) after acute myocardial infarction and during hospital stay assessed the following parameters: risk factors; the treatment used; the pattern of coronary artery obstruction; left ventricular ejection fraction; complications; and, using a logistic regression model, the factors related to the occurrence of reinfarction and death. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed between the sexes in risk factors, pattern of coronary artery obstruction, and left ventricular function. The time interval between symptom onset and treatment was longer in females (p=0.03), who underwent thrombolysis (p=0.01) and angioplasty (p=0.03) less frequently than males did, but not myocardial revascularization. Female sex (OR = 5.98) and diabetes (OR = 14.52) were independent factors related to the occurrence of reinfarction and death. CONCLUSION: Young males and females after acute myocardial infarction did not differ in coronary risk factors, and clinical and hemodynamic characteristics. Females had their treatment started later, and they underwent chemical thrombolysis and angioplasty less frequently than males did. Female sex and diabetes were related to the occurrence of reinfarction and death.

Silent voices : the recreational needs of disabled young people : an emancipatory approach

The recreational needs of young people with.disabilities in Sligo county were examined using an emancipatory approach that provided an accurate reflection on the perspectives of the disabled young people. The aim of this study included a comparison of access to and attitudes towards leisure activities as between disabled and non-disabled young people in the Sligo area. The hypothesis set out by the researcher was the expectation that findings would include a degree of disadvantage in access and participation in leisure activities for young people with disabilities vis a vis their counterparts. The way in which this was tested was by focus groups and interviews. This hypothesis was adequately proven along with an in-depth range of recommendations for improvement that were made by participants. The study’s emancipatory research methods ensured that the voice of the participants was heard regarding their recreational needs and the disabling barriers that needed to be removed.

Transitions to fatherhood in East Germany in the 1990s : psychological determinants of childbearing and the meaning of entering into parenthood for young adults from Rostock ; an event-history and qualitative composite investigation within the Rostock longitudinal survey

East Germany, men, fertility, first births, event history analysis, problem-centered interviews, methodical integration, triangulation, social psychology, gender

Combination Therapy for the Cardiovascular Effects of Perinatal Lead Exposure in Young and Adult Rats

Background: Combination therapy can play a significant role in the amelioration of several toxic effects of lead (Pb) and recovery from associated cardiovascular changes. Objective: To investigate the effects of combination therapy on the cardiovascular effects of perinatal lead exposure in young and adult rats Methods: Female Wistar rats received drinking water with or without 500 ppm of Pb during pregnancy and lactation. Twenty-two- and 70-day-old rat offspring who were or were not exposed to Pb in the perinatal period received meso-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), L-arginine, or enalapril and a combination of these compounds for 30 additional days. Noradrenaline response curves were plotted for intact and denuded aortas from 23-, 52-, 70-, and 100-day-old rats stratified by perinatal Pb exposure (exposed/unexposed) and treatment received (treated/untreated). Results: Systolic blood pressure was evaluated and shown to be higher in the 23-, 52-, 70-, and 100-day age groups with Pb exposure than in the corresponding control age groups: 117.8 ± 3.9*, 135.2 ± 1.3*, 139.6 ± 1.6*, and 131.7 ± 2.8*, respectively and 107.1 ± 1.8, 118.8 ± 2.1, 126.1 ± 1.1, and 120.5 ± 2.2, respectively (p < 0.05). Increased reactivity to noradrenaline was observed in intact, but not denuded, aortas from 52-, 70-, and 100-day-old exposed rats, and the maximum responses (g of tension) in the respective Pb-exposed and control age groups were as follows: 3.43 ± 0.16*, 4.32 ± 0.18*, and 4.21 ± 0.23*, respectively and 2.38 ± 0.33, 3.37 ± 0.13, and 3.22 ± 0.21, respectively (p < 0.05). Conclusions: All treatments reversed the changes in vascular reactivity to noradrenaline in rats perinatally exposed to Pb. The combination therapy resulted in an earlier restoration of blood pressure in Pb-exposed rats compared with the monotherapies, except for enalapril therapy in young rats. These findings represent a new approach to the development of therapeutic protocols for the treatment of Pb-induced hypertension.

Blood Pressure and Hemodynamic Adaptations after a Training Program in Young Individuals with Down Syndrome

Background:Cardiovascular diseases affect people worldwide. Individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) have an up to sixteen-time greater risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases.Objective:To evaluate the effects of aerobic and resistance exercises on blood pressure and hemodynamic variables of young individuals with DS.Methods:A total of 29 young individuals with DS participated in the study. They were divided into two groups: aerobic training (AT) (n = 14), and resistance training (TR) (n = 15). Their mean age was 15.7 ± 2.82 years. The training program lasted 12 weeks, and had a frequency of three times a week for AT and twice a week for RT. AT was performed in treadmill/ bicycle ergometer, at an intensity between 50%-70% of the HR reserve. RT comprised nine exercises with three sets of 12 repetition-maximum. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean blood pressure (MBP) and hemodynamic variables were assessed beat-to-beat using the Finometer device before/after the training program. Descriptive analysis, the Shapiro-Wilk test to check the normality of data, and the two-way ANOVA for repeated measures were used to compare pre- and post-training variables. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated to correlate hemodynamic variables. The SPSS version 18.0 was used with the significance level set at p < 0.05.Results:After twelve weeks of aerobic and/or resistance training, significant reductions in variables SBP, DBP and MBP were observed.Conclusion:This study suggests a chronic hypotensive effect of moderate aerobic and resistance exercises on young individuals with DS.

biographies and identities of the young Polish immigrants in Germany after 1989

Autobiography, national identity, immigration, Polish-German shared history, anomic interaction

Young athletes: passion for sport

The following text corresponds with the lecture that the author presented as "invited lecturer" at the Second World Conference on Sport Sciences held in Barcelona on October, 1991. It is also part of the working papers collection from the Olympic Studies Centre.

Phlébotomes du Nicaragua: I. Description de la femelle de Lutzomyia zeledoni Young et Murillo, 1984 (Diptera, Psychodidae), et implication épidémiologique de la présence de Lutzomyia longipalpis sur la façade Pacifique

Les auteurs décrivent la femelle de Lutzomyia zeledoni Young et Murillo, 1984 du Groupe Vespertilionis Theodor, 1965. Cette espèce a été capturée en milieu péridomestique en compagnie de Lutzomyia longpalpis Lutz et Neiva, 1912 répertorié pour la première fois du Nicaragua. Il est mis l'accent sur l'importance épidémiologique de cette dernière espèce récoltée en abondance dans plusieurs stations de la façade pacifique.