Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) is common and associated with high mortality. Effective treatments are available but require prompt administration. Studies have consistently demonstrated that delays to treatment are common, with patient decision time accounting for most delay. Interventions aimed at reducing delay have had little success. Evidence suggests that psychological factors, in particular illness representations (Leventhal’s Commonsense Model of Self-Regulation (CS-SRM)) might be important in relation to patient decision time. This thesis describes a two-stage investigation, undertaken within NHS 24, exploring the content and timing of people’s initial presentations with possible symptoms of ACS. The first stage comprised a CS-SRM-guided content analysis of peoples’ initial symptom presentations. The second stage utilised the Illness Perception Questionnaire-revised (IPQ-R) to explore how illness representations relate to patient decision time. Results show that the components of illness representations accounted for 95% of participants’ initial presentations. The components most related to behaviour and outcome were volunteered least (cause, consequences, cure/control and coherence). Decision time for most participants (89%) was out-with the ideal and appraisal time accounted for most of the delay. Appraisal delay was shorter for those with fewer symptoms and high emotion. Illness delay was longer where the person making the call reported high treatment control. Interventions may need to raise awareness of the range of possible presentations and of the consequences associated with delay. Interventions should also provide guidance as to an appropriate time-limit for self-care. Individuals may benefit from being informed about how to respond to strong emotional responses. Interventions aimed at bystanders may need to differ from those for patients. People at high risk of ACS should be informed about how and when to access healthcare out-of-hours.

A knowledgeable person can deal with problems in a confident and flexible manner. This statement is certainly applicable in the area of health where an adequate knowledge helps clients to avoid complications. This study was conducted to explore the perceptions of ischemic heart disease patients and their families regarding the content and format of health education they need, before discharge from the hospital. A non-experimental survey study was conducted in the coronary care unit (ccu) of three governmental hospitals in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). A convenient sample of one hundred and twelve (112) participants consisting of eighty (80) patients and thirty two (32) relatives, were selected over a three month period. A self-report approach was used to collect data and a questionnaire in the form of five point Likert scale, was developed with appropriate content matching the study purpose. Reliability was tested by test- retest for nine (9) patients not participating in the sample. A panel of experts tested its validity. The confidentiality of the participants was carefully considered. The study has revealed that patients and their families indicate a strong need for health education. Most of the sample prefers health education during the hospital stay by the doctor, although nurses and different health service members were also seen as being important. The respondents perceived the health education function as increasing their confidence in dealing with the disease, while reducing their readmission and anxiety. They preferred a member of the family to attend the session. They wanted comprehensive health education addressing a wide range of topics. Since the study result agreed with other previous research results, it confirmed that people's perceptions about the need for information is similar in the UAE and everywhere else in the world. / Thesis (M.Cur.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

The study of myocardial motion is essential for understanding the normal heart function and developing new treatments for cardiovascular diseases. The goals of my PhD research is to develop new methods for cardiac deformation recovery from 3D magnetic resonance (MR) images. The main contribution of my work is that the proposed methods are guaranteed to generate exactly or nearly incompressible deformations. This is a desirable property since the myocardium has been shown to be close to incompressible. From the recovered deformation, one can directly compute a number of clinically useful parameters, including strains. The first method for 3D deformation recovery of the left ventricular wall (LV) from anatomical cine MRI is based on a deformable model that is incompressible. This method is not suitable for the deformation recovery of the biventricular wall. The second method is based on a 3D deformable model that is nearly incompressible. The model uses a matrix-valued radial basis function to represent divergence free displacement fields, which is a first order approximation of incompressibility. This representation allows for deformation modeling of arbitrary topologies with a relatively small number of parameters, which is suitable for representing the motion of the multi-chamber structure of the heart. The two methods have similar performance. A method to obtain a smooth and accurate surface of the myocardium wall is needed to illustrate the cardiac deformation recovery. I present a novel method for the generation of endocardial and epicardial surface meshes. The same algorithm is independently used to generate the surface meshes of the epicardium and endocardium of the four cardiac chambers. It provides smooth meshes despite the strong voxel anisotropy, which is not the case for the marching cubes algorithm. Phase velocity MRI is an acquisition technique that contains more information about the myocardial motion than cine MRI. I present a method to interpolate the velocity vector field in a phase velocity MRI sequence. The method uses an interpolation model that provides a continuous divergence free velocity vector field, which means that the corresponding deformation is incompressible.

Thesis (MNutr (Interdisciplinary Health Sciences. Human Nutrition))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of the study was to determine the nutritional status of vegetarian and non-vegetarian students in relation to their dietary preferences and risk factors (dietary, physical inactivity and obesity) for CHD. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analytical study. Setting: The Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) situated in the province of Cavite, Philippines. METHODS: The sampling frame was all graduate students at AIIAS (n=203). Of these students 153 returned the distributed dietary questionnaires which determined dietary practices, thus yielding a stratified random sample of 70 registered students (≥20y and ≤50y) who met the inclusion criteria of the study. Three 24-hour recalls and a self-administered food frequency questionnaire assessed dietary practices. Lifestyle was assessed by means of questionnaires, which also included the socio-demographic characteristics of the subjects. Anthropometric measurements included height, weight and waist circumferences. RESULTS: Seventy subjects participated in the study [non-vegetarian (n=38) and vegetarian (n=32)]. The mean age of subjects was 33.3 [(SD) 1.6] and 38.4 (1.9) years for non-vegetarian and vegetarian males respectively, with the respective means for females being 35.7 (2.0) and 33.2 (2.1) years. The majority of the vegetarians’ income was insignificantly below $10.000 as compared with that of non-vegetarians’, in whom annual income earned was within the $10.000- $50.000 range per year. Variations in level of education between the dietary groups were small and inconsistent, most of whom were characterized by a high education level. Within this cohort, mean BMI and WC were insignificantly lower in the vegetarians when compared with the non-vegetarians. For males, the prevalence of overweight, pre-obese and obese (p>0.05) for non-vegetarians was insignificantly higher than vegetarians. Insignificantly, female vegetarians were more pre-obese than non-vegetarians. As far as waist circumference was concerned, the prevalence of subjects observed in the alerting (≥94cm) and action zone (≥102cm) (p≤0.05) was 21% and 4% for non-vegetarian males, while 0% and 6% for vegetarian males. For females, more vegetarians were insignificantly prevalent in the alerting zone (≥80cm) as compared to the nonvegetarians. Both dietary cohorts illustrated no considerable differences that exemplified moderate to a high level of physical activity. All subjects, regardless of dietary preference, were non-smokers and consumed no alcohol (p>0.05). Overall, mean daily nutrient intake met current recommendations and there was no statistically significant difference between the two cohorts, except for fat and saturated fatty acids (SFA), which was higher among the non-vegetarians. Carbohydrate and fiber consumption was greater in the vegetarians. According to the DRIs, there were no intakes above the UL, however inadequate intakes of calcium and zinc posed possible risk of deficiency for both dietary groups. CONCLUSIONS: A small percentage of subjects in both cohorts were at risk of CHD morbidity. Both groups followed good lifestyle habits with dietary choices being of greater concern among non-vegetarians.

Les cardiopathies congénitales cyanogènes (CCC) sont des malformations cardiaques qui entraînent une désaturation en oxygène à la naissance. Des progrès majeurs réalisés ces vingt dernières années dans la prise en charge médico-chirurgicale des nouveau-nés atteints de CCC ont permis de considérablement améliorer la survie et le pronostic cardiaque à long terme de cette population. Cependant, ces enfants sont exposés à un risque accru d’accidents neurologiques dû au caractère cyanogène de la cardiopathie et à certaines techniques de chirurgie à cœur ouvert. En conséquence, les troubles neurocognitifs font partie des principales morbidités résiduelles. Malgré l’augmentation exponentielle du nombre de patients qui atteignent dorénavant l’âge adulte, à ce jour très peu d’études ont investigué le devenir neuropsychologique des adultes opérés de CCC. Cette thèse a pour objectif principal d’évaluer le devenir neuropsychologique et psychosocial d’adultes ayant été opérés à cœur ouvert en période néonatale pour corriger une CCC. L’évaluation, qui repose sur des outils validés, est menée auprès de 67 patients âgés de 18 à 31 ans. Les résultats mettent en évidence qu’une proportion substantielle de patients présente des troubles cognitifs et émotionnels susceptibles de réduire leur qualité de vie et d’entraver leur réussite scolaire et leur insertion professionnelle. Ce travail offre des résultats pionniers concernant le devenir à long terme de cette population. D'autres études sont nécessaires pour mieux comprendre la trajectoire développementale des adultes opérés de CCC afin de mettre en place des stratégies préventives et thérapeutiques adaptées aux besoins de cette population. / Cyanotic congenital heart diseases (CHD) are heart defects which cause oxygen desaturation at birth. In the last twenty years, the major progress in the medical and surgical care of newborns with cyanotic CHD has resulted in a considerable improvement of the survival and the long-term cardiac prognosis of this population. However, these children are at an increased risk of neurological injuries due not only to the cyanotic nature of their CHD but also to certain open-heart surgery techniques. Consequently, neurocognitive disorders are among the major remaining morbidities in this population. Despite the exponential increase in the number of patients who can now reach adulthood, to date very few studies have investigated the neuropsychological outcomes of adults with cyanotic CHD. The main objective of the present thesis is to evaluate the neuropsychological and psychosocial outcomes of adults who had undergone an open-heart surgery during the neonatal period in order to correct a cyanotic CHD. The assessment, based on validated tools, is conducted among 67 patients aged from 18 to 31 years. The results show that a substantial proportion of patients with TGA presents a number of cognitive deficits and emotional impairments which may reduce their quality of life and hinder their academic success and their professional integration. This thesis offers original results on the long-term neuropsychological and psychosocial outcomes of this population. Further studies are needed so as to better understand the developmental trajectory of adults with cyanotic CHD in order to develop preventive and therapeutic strategies adapted to the specific needs of this population.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a dose efetiva de radiação nos exames de CCTA através dos métodos Prospectivo e Retrospectivo do ECG. A coleta de dados foi realizada na Clínica Sabedotti, em Ponta Grossa – PR, em um equipamento General Electric modelo VCT XT, de 64 linhas de detecção. A dose efetiva foi mensurada para 30 casos, selecionados aleatoriamente do Picture Archival and Communication System – PACS, Arquivamento e Comunicação de Imagens, a partir do Produto Dose Comprimento (DLP) reportado pelo equipamento para cada exame e pelo fator de conversão (EDLP) definido pela Comissão Europeia para região cardíaca (EDLP = 0,014). Os resultados apontaram diferenças expressivas quanto à dose de radiação entregue ao paciente de acordo com o método de aquisição empregado, Retrospectivo ou Prospectivo do ECG. / The aim of this study was to evaluate the effective dose received by patients undergoing CCTA in both acquisition methods in the period June 1st to October 30th, 2013. Data collection was performed at the Clínica Sabedotti in Ponta Grossa/PR, with General Electric Equipment VCT XT, 64 detections lines. The effective dose was measured from the thirty cases randomly selected of Picture Archival and Communication System – PACS, reported by Dose Lenght Product (DLP) equipment for each examination and the conversion factor (EDLP) set by the European Commission for cardiac region (EDLP = 0.014). The results showed significant differences in radiation dose delivered to the patient according to the employee acquisition method, Retrospective or Prospective of ECG.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a dose efetiva de radiação nos exames de CCTA através dos métodos Prospectivo e Retrospectivo do ECG. A coleta de dados foi realizada na Clínica Sabedotti, em Ponta Grossa – PR, em um equipamento General Electric modelo VCT XT, de 64 linhas de detecção. A dose efetiva foi mensurada para 30 casos, selecionados aleatoriamente do Picture Archival and Communication System – PACS, Arquivamento e Comunicação de Imagens, a partir do Produto Dose Comprimento (DLP) reportado pelo equipamento para cada exame e pelo fator de conversão (EDLP) definido pela Comissão Europeia para região cardíaca (EDLP = 0,014). Os resultados apontaram diferenças expressivas quanto à dose de radiação entregue ao paciente de acordo com o método de aquisição empregado, Retrospectivo ou Prospectivo do ECG. / The aim of this study was to evaluate the effective dose received by patients undergoing CCTA in both acquisition methods in the period June 1st to October 30th, 2013. Data collection was performed at the Clínica Sabedotti in Ponta Grossa/PR, with General Electric Equipment VCT XT, 64 detections lines. The effective dose was measured from the thirty cases randomly selected of Picture Archival and Communication System – PACS, reported by Dose Lenght Product (DLP) equipment for each examination and the conversion factor (EDLP) set by the European Commission for cardiac region (EDLP = 0.014). The results showed significant differences in radiation dose delivered to the patient according to the employee acquisition method, Retrospective or Prospective of ECG.

Introdução: Previamente, demonstramos que o remodelamento histológico do miocárdio à época da correção da tetralogia de Fallot (TF) influenciou na função do ventrículo direito (VD) no pós-operatório (PO) precoce. O impacto da fibrose miocárdica na função ventricular no PO tardio ainda é desconhecido. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar ecocardiograficamente na mesma coorte de pacientes a função do VD no PO tardio, comparando com dados anteriormente obtidos por ecocardiografia convencional e morfometria miocárdica. Métodos: Estudamos 20 pacientes no PO da TF (tempo de seguimento = 96,6 ± 13,3 meses), 15 homens (75%), idade média no PO tardio (PO2) 128,3 ± 25,7 meses. As velocidades miocárdicas do VD diastólica precoce (e´), tardia (a\') e sistólica (S\') foram avaliadas pelo Doppler tecidual no pré-operatório, três dias após a cirurgia, entre 30º-90º dia e no PO2. Parâmetros convencionais, como a excursão sistólica do anel da valva tricúspide (TAPSE), variação fracional da área (FAC), volume do átrio direito indexado, pico da velocidade de enchimento diastólico precoce (E) do fluxo transvalvar tricúspide e da deformação miocárdica global e regional, strain longitudinal sistólico (GLS), strain rate sistólico (GLSRs) e o strain no pico do tempo de relaxamento isovolumétrico (GLSTRIV), foram analisados apenas no PO2. Também, nesta fase, realizamos a análise tridimensional da fração de ejeção, e dos volumes diastólico e sistólico finais do VD. Resultados: A velocidade a\' diminuiu nas avaliações iniciais e persistiu anormal no PO2 (RM ANOVA p < 0,001). Houve correlação negativa significante entre a velocidade e\' no PO2 e a fração de área de fibrose miocárdica (FIBR) (p = 0,02; r = -0,54), e correlação positiva entre FIBR e a relação E/e\' (p= 0,0002; r= 0,787). No PO2, o TAPSE (1,50 ± 0,19cm) foi reduzido e FAC normal (47,51± 7,56%). O valor do GLS global foi 18,48 ± 2,97%, com Z score < -2 em 16 pacientes e diferiu regionalmente no segmento médio do septo (Z score < -2 em 5 pacientes) e no segmento médio da parede lateral (Z score < -2 em 1 paciente). Houve correlação negativa entre FIBR e GLS no segmento médio septal (p = 0,0376; r = -0,493), entretanto sem influência no GLS global. No PO2, a insuficiência pulmonar residual foi moderada ou acentuada em 15 pac (75%), sem diferença quanto à FIBR miocárdica em relação ao grau leve (p = 0,58). Estavam aumentados os volumes indexados: diastólico final médio (89,5 ± 34,3ml/m²; Z score > 2DP em 12 pacientes) e sistólico (40,6 ± 9,1ml/m²; Z score > 2DP em 14 pacientes). A fração de ejeção média foi normal 51,8 ± 6,9% e não houve correlação com a FIBR. Conclusões: A avaliação ecocardiográfica tardia identificou alterações evolutivas e adaptativas das funções sistólica e diastólica do VD, com função sistólica preservada e função diastólica anormal e associada ao grau de FIBR avaliado em amostras operatórias; o estudo da deformação miocárdica revelou alterações globais e regionais, possivelmente relacionadas à arquitetura do miocárdio nessa malformação e às adaptações decorrentes da interposição de retalhos e suturas cirúrgicas; a avaliação pelo modo tridimensional correlacionou-se positivamente com as medidas obtidas no modo bidimensional; a insuficiência pulmonar foi lesão residual altamente prevalente / Introduction: We have previously demonstrated that the myocardial remodeling at the time of corrective surgery in tetralogy of Fallot (TF) patients influenced the right ventricular (RV) function in the early post-operative period (PO). The impact of myocardial fibrosis in late follow up (LFU) has not been investigated so far. Our objective was to analyze in the same cohort of patients in LFU, the RV function, comparing the obtained results with echocardiographic data from the early PO and with myocardial morphometry. Methods: 20 patients in the late FLU of TF correction were studied (time of follow up = 96.6 ± 13.3 months), 15 men (75%), mean age at LFU 128.3 ± 25.7months. The early (e\') and late (a\') diastolic and the systolic (S\') myocardial velocities were evaluated through tissue Doppler in the pre-operative period, three days after surgery, between the 30o-90o days and in LFU. We analyzed conventional echocardiographic parameters like the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), the fractional area change (FAC), the indexed right atrial volume, the peak early diastolic filling velocity (E) and of myocardial deformation: global longitudinal strain (GLS), global longitudinal systolic strain rate (GLSRs) and global longitudinal strain at the peak of the isovolumetric relaxation time (GLSTRIV) in the LFU. Also in LFU we analyzed by tridimensional echocardiography the ejection fraction and the final RV diastolic and systolic volumes. Results: The a\' velocity decreased in the initial evaluations and persisted abnormal in LFU (RM ANOVA, p < 0.001). There was a significant and negative correlation between e\' in LFU and the area fraction of myocardial fibrosis (FIBR) (p = 0.02; r = -0.54) and a positive correlation between FIBR and E/e\' ratio (p = 0.0002; r = 0.787). In the LFU TAPSE decreased (1.50 ± 0,19cm) and FAC was normal (47.51 ± 7.56%). The GLS value was 18.48 ± 2.97%, with Z score <- 2 SD in 16 patients, and was significantly different in the mid ventricular septum (Z score <- 2 in 5 patients) and in the mid segment of the lateral wall (Z score < -2 in 1 patient). There was a negative correlation between FIBR and GLS in the mid ventricular segment of the septum (p = 0.0376; r = -0.493), however without influence in GLS. In LFU pulmonary regurgitation was considered moderate or severe in 15 patients (75%), with no difference relative to the group with mild regurgitation regarding FIBR (p = 0.58). The final indexed RV volumes were increased: diastolic (89.5 ± 34.3ml/m2; Z score > 2SD in 12 patients) and systolic (40.6 ± 9.1ml/m2; Z score > 2SD in 14 patients). The mean RV ejection fraction was normal (51.8 ± 6.9%), and did not correlate with FIBR. Conclusions: The LFU echocardiographic evaluation identified evolutive and adaptative alterations in RV function, with preserved systolic and abnormal diastolic function, associated with the degree of FIBR assessed in myocardial samples; the study of myocardial deformation indexes revealed regional and global alterations, possibly related to the abnormal myocardial architecture specific for the cardiac malformation and/or to post-surgical adaptation to patches and sutures; the tridimensional echocardiography data correlated positively with those obtained through bidimensional echo; pulmonary regurgitation was a highly prevalent residual lesion

Ce travail a pour objectifs de déterminer la prévalence des maladies coronariennes (MC) au Liban, de décrire le profil des personnes qui en souffrent, d'explorer la tendance de l'hypertension artérielle (HTA), du diabète et de la dyslipidémie à se regrouper chez les mêmes individus, et enfin d'évaluer le contrôle de l'HTA. Une étude transversale fut menée au niveau national. Un échantillon de 1515 individus fut choisi. Des données sur les caractéristiques sociodémographiques, sur les facteurs de risque (FDR) les plus importants de la MC et l'histoire médicale des participants furent collectées. Le clustering des FDR biologiques (FDRbio) fut examiné par la méthode du ratio de cas observés sur les cas attendus. Notre travail a révélé une MC prématurée avec une prévalence de 13.4%, a confirmé la pertinence des FDR classiques dans la population libanaise, a montré que les FDRbio se regroupent plus fréquemment qu'attendu et a révélé un contrôle insuffisant de l'HTA. / This thesis aimed to determine the prevalence of coronary heart diseases (CHD) in Lebanon, to describe the profile of people who suffer from it, to explore the tendency of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia to cluster in the same individuals beyond what could be attributed to chance, and finally to evaluate the control of high blood pressure. A national cross-sectional study was conducted by choosing a sample of 1515 individuals. We collected data on sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, their medical history and the most important risk factors (RFs) for CHD. The clustering of biological RFs (bioRFs) was assessed using the observed to expected ratio method. Our work revealed premature CHD with a prevalence of 13.4%, confirmed the relevance of classic RFs of CHD and their applicability to the Lebanese population, showed that bioRFs cluster more often than expected, and revealed an insufficient control of hypertension.

Les cardiopathies congénitales (CC) représentent la première cause d’anomalie malformative à la naissance. Les progrès considérables des années 80 (CEC néonatale, diagnostic prénatal) en ont modifié l’épidémiologie, avec un transfert de la mortalité de la pédiatrie à l’âge adulte. Dans ce contexte, l’évaluation de la qualité de vie liée à la santé (QdV) des enfants et adultes porteurs de CC devient un critère de jugement important, en recherche clinique comme dans les soins. Nous avons mené 4 études prospectives de QdV chez des patients avec CC: une étude chez 282 enfants de 8 à 18 ans avec CC comparés à 180 enfants contrôles; une étude sur 202 enfants avec CC corrélant QdV et VO2; une étude de QdV sur 208 adolescents et adultes porteurs d'HTAP sur CC; et une étude sur l’évolution de la QdV de 111 enfants sous AVK participant à un programme d’éducation thérapeutique. Les patients avec CC simple ont manifesté une QdV similaire à celle de la population générale. Ceux avec une cardiopathie complexe ont été préférentiellement impactés sur leur bien-être physique mais ont développé aussi des mécanismes de coping. En pédiatrie, l’évaluation de la QdV par les parents était plus péjorative mais parfois plus pertinente que celle des enfants. Nous avons mis en évidence le lien entre QdV et VO2 chez l’enfant cardiaque. Les résultats de nos travaux devraient permettre d’aider les cardiologues, cardiopédiatres et chirurgiens cardiaques dans leurs annonces diagnostiques, en particulier lors des moments cruciaux de notre sur-spécialité médico-chirurgicale: diagnostic prénatal, réanimation, transition vers l’âge adulte, prise en charge palliative d’une cardiopathie sévère. / Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are the leading cause of birth malformations. The tremendous progress since the 80’s (neonatal bypass, prenatal diagnosis) have changed the epidemiology, transferring mortality from pediatrics to adulthood. Therefore assessing the health-related quality of life (QoL) of children and adults suffering from CHD has become an important issue, in both clinical research and patients’ follow-up. We carried out 4 prospective QoL studies in patients with CHD: a study in 282 CHD children aged 8 to 18 compared with 180 controls; a study among 202 CHD children correlating their QoL scores to VO2; a QoL study among 208 adolescents and adults with PAH-CHD; and a study among 111 children in a therapeutic anticoagulation education program aiming to measure the evolution of their QoL. Patients with simple CHD showed a similar QoL to that of the control population. Those with complex heart diseases were preferentially affected in their physical well-being but also developed mechanisms of coping in other dimensions. In pediatrics, the evaluation of the QoL by parents is essential, sometimes more accurate than that of children themselves. As in previous studies in adults with heart failure, we found a significant relationship between QoL and physical performance during exercise in CHD children. The results of our work should help cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and pediatric cardiologists in their diagnostic announcement, especially during crucial moments of this medical and surgical subspecialty: prenatal diagnosis, intensive care, transition of care from adolescence to adulthood, palliative treatment of a complex CHD.