The diagnostic iter of patent foramen ovale in migraine patients: an update.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a frequent finding in migraine patients. The standard technique for PFO diagnosis is actually trans-oesophageal echocardiography (TEE). It requires the injection of a contrast agent unable to pass the pulmonary filter; hence, it is possible to detect a right-to-left shunt by observing the presence of the contrast medium in the cardiac left compartment.

Sirolimus-eluting stent implantation for bare-metal in-stent restenosis: is there any evidence for a late catch-up phenomenon?

Objectives: In-stent restenosis occurs not infrequently after intracoronary implantation of bare-metal stents. Many techniques have been proposed for the treatment of in-stent restenosis, but drug-eluting stents seem to provide the best early and mid-term results. We aimed to appraise whether the effectiveness of drug-eluting stents for in-stent restenosis is maintained even in the long term.

Long-term follow-up of patients eligible, deferred, or ineligible for heart transplantation.

Background: When a patient is referred to a heart transplantation center, the patient and the physician should know the predicted long-term survival according to the first transplant committee decision. The aim of the study was to describe the follow-up of patients with heart failure referred to a heart transplantation center according to the initial decision to include (eligible), exclude (ineligible), or postpone (deferred) cardiac transplantation.

Methods: The study cohort consisted of 852 consecutive patients.

Visualization of the cardiac venous system using cardiac magnetic resonance.

We sought to investigate the value of cardiac magnetic resonance to depict cardiac venous anatomy. For cardiac resynchronization therapy the lead for the left ventricle is usually placed by transvenous approach into a tributary of the coronary sinus (CS). Knowledge of the anatomy and variations of the cardiac venous system may facilitate the positioning of the left ventricle lead.

Whole-heart coronary magnetic resonance angiography with MS-325 (Gadofosveset).

Background: Magnetic resonance coronary angiography (MRCA) is limited by a low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR), low spatial resolution, and limited coverage of the coronary artery tree. These aspects might be significantly improved by intravascular contrast agents. The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of whole-heart contrast-enhanced MRCA using the intravascular contrast agent gadofosveset, formerly known as MS-325.

'Unexpected' sudden death avoided by implantable cardioverter defibrillator in Emery Dreifuss patient.

A female patient just over 20 years of age developed first grade atrioventricular block, and later atrial fibrillation. When she was 41 years old she was diagnosed with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD). A VVIR pacemaker was implanted in 2002, replaced in 2003 with an ICD.

Conduction disturbances and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation during acute inferior myocardial infarction.

Associated symptoms and conduction disturbances are reported during acute inferior myocardial infarction. Differentiation of right coronary artery from left circumflex artery occlusion may be difficult since both can present an electrocardiographic pattern of inferior myocardial infarction. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is considered a frequent complication of acute myocardial infarction and the patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation probably should be targeted for earlier and more aggressive treatment.

Atrial fibrillation with intermittent right axis deviation in the presence of complete left bundle branch block.

Left bundle branch block is usually associated with normal or left axis deviation. Rarely the ecg shows an LBBB with changing QRS morphology and changing axis deviation. We describe a case of atrial fibrillation with intermittent right axis deviation in the presence of complete left bundle branch block in an 84-year-old Italian woman in the Cardiology Unit.

Sirolimus-eluting stents for the treatment of bare-metal in-stent restenosis: long-term clinical follow up.

Background: Studies focusing on short- and mid-term follow up support the beneficial role of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) in the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR), yet no long-term safety and/or efficacy data are available.

Methods: Patients with ISR following bare-metal stenting (BMS) and treated with SES were prospectively studied. Baseline, procedural, and in-hospital data were appraised.

Extraction of the inner coil of a pacemaker lead slid into the pulmonary artery.

A patient required lead extraction for chronic draining sinus, due to abandoned leads. Preoperatively, the chest film showed a filament in the right pulmonary artery: it was the inner coil of an old atrial lead that, while remaining anchored to the auricle, slid outside the outer coil. By right subclavian approach, the old ventricular lead and the outer coil of the atrial lead were removed.

Spinal cord stimulation for refractory angina in a patient implanted with a cardioverter defibrillator.

Spinal cord stimulation is currently used to treat refractory angina. Some concerns may arise about the possible interaction concerning the spinal cord stimulator in patients already implanted with a pacemaker or a cardioverter defibrillator. We are going to describe the successful implantation of a spinal cord stimulator in a patient previously implanted with a cardioverter defibrillator.

Atrio-ventricular synchronization by single VDD lead inserted through persistent left superior vena cava in patient with Turner's syndrome.

A 71-year-old woman with Turner's syndrome underwent pacemaker implantation for complete atrio-ventricular block. During the procedure, the persistence of left sided superior vena cava (LSVC) was observed such that the lead, through the coronary sinus, reached the right atrium. By use of stylets, we could drive the lead against the lateral atrial wall and curve it through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle.

Coronary endothelial dysfunction after ischemia and reperfusion and its prevention by ischemic preconditioning.

In the coronary circulation, when reperfusion follows ischemia, endothelial dysfunction occurs. This is characterized by a reduced endothelial release of nitric oxide and by an increased release of reactive oxygen species and endothelin. The reduced availability of nitric oxide leads to the adhesion of neutrophils to the vascular endothelium, platelet aggregation and, with the contribution of endothelin, vasoconstriction, which are responsible for the "no-reflow" phenomenon.

Ischemic preconditioning changes the pattern of coronary reactive hyperemia regardless of mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K(+) channel blockade.

Ischemic preconditioning increases the velocity of vasodilatation and reduces the total hyperemic flow (THF) of a subsequent coronary reactive hyperemia (CRH). The increase in the velocity of vasodilatation has been shown to depend on an up-regulation of the endothelial release of nitric oxide, while the reduction of THF is attributed to an adenosine A(1) receptor-mediated mechanism. We investigated whether the changes in CRH induced by preconditioning ischemia (PI) can still be obtained after blockade of mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K(+) channels by sodium 5-hydroxydecanoate (5-HD), and whether the blockade per se affects the pattern of CRH.