[Stress dobutamine echocardiography or resting strain rate imaging to unveil an early symptomatic diabetic cardiomyopathy?].

Diabetes mellitus has been associated with changes in the structure and function of the myocardium manifesting in the early stages of the disease as subtle systolic and diastolic dysfunction; myocardial strain imaging has recently been favored over dobutamine stress echocardiography for early detection of diabetic cardiomyopathy. We report a case of an elderly diabetic patient presenting with pulmonary edema in whom at rest echocardiographic parameters including strain rate were all within normal range, while dobutamine stress echocardiography induced a deep systolic deterioration unmasking an early-stage diabetic cardiomyopathy.

[Massive intraatrial mass?].

Posterior mediastinal hematoma in a rare and potentially lethal disease and is frequently consecutive to a traumatism. We report the original case of a 88-year-old male admitted to our department for lipothymia and syncope related to a severe compression of the left atrium by an important mediastinal hematoma mimicking in transthoracic echocardiography an obstructive intraatrial mass.

[Prethrombus acute constitution during dobutamine stress echocardiography].

Although generally regarded as a safe stress modality, dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) has been associated with several well described complications. However, to our knowledge, acute constitution of thrombi during the stress test has never been described. In this report, we present the case of a 64 year-old man with a history of ischemic heart disease who underwent a preoperative DSE; during the test, we witnessed a striking acute constitution of an intense prethrombotic state with almost a formation of a highly mobile massive thrombus adjacent to the infero-apical segment spontaneously resolving few minutes after the end of the test.

[Atypical form of cor triatrium in a 59-year-old man].

Cor triatrium is a rare congenital heart disease typically diagnosed amongst very young patients. Delayed diagnosis in the elderly is much more unusual. We report the case of a 59-year-old male with unremarkable medical history in whom we have discovered, on an echocardiography performed for an exploration of transient ischemic accident with atrial fibrillation, a particular form of an isolated cor triatrium dextrum investigated with multimodality imaging.

[Biphasic reaction to dobutamine stress echocardiography as a predictor of coronary artery spasm: Apropos of 3 cases].

Dobutamine-related coronary spasm is a possible complication of dobutamine stress echocardiography potentially explaining a part of some erroneously labeled "false positive tests". Presently, there are no established echographic predictors of coronary spasm. We report 3 clinical cases in which dobutamine-induced spasm was strongly suspected on the basis of a biphasic reaction including an initial deterioration rapidly followed by a spontaneous recovery in well-defined echocardiographic territory.

[Dobutamine-related coronary spasm among patients with false positive dobutamine stress echocardiography: Prevalence and predictors].

Background And Objective: Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) is being consistently used as an exercise-independent stress modality aimed at the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) and the evaluation of myocardial ischemia. It may though occasionally induce coronary vasospasm. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of dobutamine-related coronary spasm in patients without known CAD and false positive DSE (positive DSE but no significant coronary lesions on angiogram).

[High pressure trap].

Pheochromocytoma is a rare tumor potentially life-threatening and associated with non specific and diverse symptomatology. Cardiac symptoms may mislead diagnosis; they could manifest as myocardial sideration concomitant to a hypertensive peak or supraventricular arythmia. We report a case of pheochromocytoma associated with hypokaliemia revealed by a myocardial ischemia with acute cardiac failure and severe left ventricular depression and complete reversal after surgery.

[Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return in a 64-year-old woman].

Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR) represents 3 % of the congenital cardiopathies. Diagnosis in adults is challenging as clinical symptomatology is non-specific and echocardiographic signs are discrete and misleading potentially confusing with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension. We report the case of a 64-year-old woman in whom we diagnosed PAPVR associated with sinus venosus atrial septal defect.

[Univentricular heart in a 50 year-old woman complicated with infective endocarditis with favorable evolution].

Univentricular heart is a complex cyanotic congenital heart malformation classically repaired during early childhood. Despite correction, a residual risk of infective endocarditis still persists and may be associated with a severe prognosis. We report the case of a 50 year-old woman with a known partially corrected univentricular heart in whom we diagnosed an infective endocarditis with a favorable evolution under antibiotics.

[Uselessness of high-sensitivity cardiac troponins to improve diagnostic accuracy of dobutamine stress echocardiography in high-risk diabetic patients].

Background And Aim: Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) is a well-established noninvasive stress modality for the detection and evaluation of coronary artery disease in diabetic patients. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T recently emerged as a highly sensitive dosage for the detection of ischemia. The aim of the study was to examine whether high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T may improve the diagnostic accuracy of silent ischemia by DSE in high-risk diabetic patients.

[Large aneurysm of the left sinus of Valsalva in a 54-year-old man successfully treated with surgery].

Sinus of Valsalva aneurysms are very rare and are often asymptomatic. Clinical manifestations depend on associated complications, most commonly rupture or dissection. We describe the case of a 54-year-old male presenting with exercise-related angina and dyspnea and in whom we found a large unruptured aneurysm of the left sinus of Valsalva.

[Totally asymptomatic coronary left main artery critical stenosis: when non-invasive tests are falsely reassuring].

Left main coronary artery severe stenosis is frequently very symptomatic and is considered as a classical contraindication for non-invasive ischemia testing. When performed, those tests usually yield a large area of ischemia associated with a rich symptomatology. We report the case of a 69-year-old completely asymptomatic man in whom both treadmill effort testing and dobutamine stress echocardiography were falsely reassuring as they eliminated significant ischemia despite the presence of a critical stenosis of distal left main artery ultimately confirmed by angiography.

[Coronary artery spasm during dobutamine stress echocardiography: prevalence, clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and prognosis].

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of coronary artery spasm during dobutamine stress chocardiography (DSE), to describe clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and prognosis.

Patients And Methods: We evaluated all the patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) referred to our echocardiography laboratory for dobutamine stress test between January 2004 and June 2012, (10013 exams). Those with abnormal DSE underwent coronary angiograms with a systematic methylergometrine intracoronary injection in case of absence of significant coronary stenosis or spontaneous occlusive coronary spasm.