Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging for the Diagnosis of Mycobacterium chimaera Prosthetic Valve Infective Endocarditis After Open-heart Surgery: A Contemporary Systematic Review.

Mycobacterium chimaera is an opportunistic and emerging pathogen, which has been recognized to cause prosthetic valve infective endocarditis and disseminated infection following open-chest cardiac surgery with certain contaminated heater-cooler systems. Diagnostic evaluation of suspected prosthetic valve infective endocarditis due to M chimaera is challenging and requires a very high index of suspicion. This systematic review aims to evaluate prosthetic valve infective endocarditis due to M chimaera.

When cardiology meets endocrinology: sustained atrial flutter associated with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis.

Periodic paralysis is a rare muscle disease that manifests as episodes of painless muscle weakness, and the hypokalemic form is commonly associated with hyperthyroidism. Most tachyarrhythmias related with thyrotoxicosis include sinus tachycardia and atrial fibrillation, but an association between thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis and typical atrial flutter has seldomly been documented. Here, we present the case of a young male who was diagnosed with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis causing cavotricuspid isthmus-dependent atrial flutter, successfully treated with diltiazem, propranolol, methimazole, potassium iodine (SSK) and rivaroxaban.