1996 Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 61-68
The course of recovery of cardiac function following heart beat restoration was studied in patients with cardiopulmonary arrest. Among patients treated at our center for cardiopulmonary arrest in the last 5 years, 47 (mean age 61.5 years), in whom the heart beat was restored, were selected as subjects. Those with asynergy of the left ventricle were excluded. Echocardiograms were obtained over time to determine time-sequence changes in the ejection fraction (EF), for the analysis of the relationship between cardiac arrest time and the course of recovery of cardiac function. EF within 1 day after heart beat restoration was 69.2±10.9% in patients with cardiac arrest for less than 5 minutes, 62.1±10.4% in those with arrest for 5 to less than 30 minutes, and 57.9±11.0% in those whose arrest exceeded 30 minutes disclosing that cardiac function was increasingly and significantly suppressed as duration of cardiac arrest increased. As for the course of recovery of EF following heart beat restoration, EF was determined to be 61.1±11.8% within 1 day after restoration, 60.5±9.0% after 2-3 days, and 67.6±9.2% after 7-15 days, indicating that cardiac function could be restored after 3 days. It was also revealed that the longer the cardiac arrest, the poorer the recovery of cardiac function. From these results, it was assumed that several days are required to regain cardiac function after heart beat restoration, and that cardiac function is more suppressed and requires more time for recovery as cardiac arrest is prolonged. These results suggest that the pathophysiological conditions of the stunned myocardium may play some part in alteration of the myocardium after heart beat restoration.
