Publications by authors named "Alan T Kono"

We describe the case of a 68-year-old woman presenting with stress cardiomyopathy (SCM), with concomitant cardiogenic shock, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and ventricular septal rupture. These complications have not simultaneously been reported in a single SCM case. The importance of early diagnosis of serial complications of SCM and using mechanical circulatory support as a treatment strategy are highlighted.

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Targeted temperature management (TTM) is recommended postcardiac arrest. The cooling method with the highest safety and efficacy is unknown. The COOL-ARREST pilot trial aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the most contemporary ZOLL Thermogard XP Intravascular Temperature Management (IVTM) system for providing mild TTM postcardiac arrest.

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Background: Early palliative care (EPC) is recommended but rarely integrated with advanced heart failure (HF) care. We engaged patients and family caregivers to study the feasibility and site differences in a two-site EPC trial, ENABLE CHF-PC (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends Comprehensive Heartcare for Patients and Caregivers).

Methods: We conducted an EPC feasibility study (4/1/14-8/31/15) for patients with NYHA Class III/IV HF and their caregivers in academic medical centers in the northeast and southeast U.

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Article Synopsis
  • Heart failure significantly contributes to health issues and mortality, and identifying which patients are at risk can be challenging; atrial fibrillation (AF) might be a key factor in improving outcomes.
  • Researchers hypothesized that a prolonged QRS duration (QRSd) could indicate a higher prevalence of AF in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF).
  • A study looked at 82 patients with HFPEF, finding a trend suggesting that a QRSd greater than 120 ms may be linked to AF, although the results were not statistically significant.
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Despite the clinical efficacy of anthracycline agents such as doxorubicin, dose-limiting cardiac toxicities significantly limit their long-term use. Here, we present the case of a 33-year-old female patient with extensive metastatic ER+/PR+/HER2- mucinous adenocarcinoma of the breast, who was started on doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide therapy after progressing on paclitaxel and ovarian suppressor goserelin with aromatase inhibitor exemestane. The patient was comanaged by cardiology, who carefully monitored measures of cardiac function, including EKGs, serial echocardiograms, and profiling of lipids, troponin, and pro-BNP every 2 months.

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Background: Endocardial leads, permanent pacemaker (PPM), or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) placed across the tricuspid valve can lead to tricuspid regurgitation (TR). The reported incidence of this complication has varied widely. There are limited data predicting which patients will develop this complication.

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Background: Therapeutic hypothermia improves survival for selected patients who remain comatose after cardiac arrest. Hypothermia triggers changes in electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters; however, the association of these changes to in-hospital mortality remains unclear.

Hypothesis: QT interval changes induced by therapeutic hypothermia are not associated with in-hospital mortality.

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We report the case of a young man who presented with a rapid, narrow-complex atrial fibrillation. A few hours after being administered intravenous metoprolol and diltiazem for rate control, he developed intermittent ventricular preexcitation on the electrocardiogram (ECG) and experienced ventricular fibrillation, from which he was successfully defibrillated. A subsequent electrocardiogram in sinus rhythm demonstrated previously unknown Wolff-Parkinson-White pattern.

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