Double-Orifice Mitral Valve in an Adult with Atrioventricular Reentrant Tachycardia.

• DOMV is rarely diagnosed in adult patients. • Echocardiography can be used to find and describe the anomaly. • DOMV is often associated with other cardiac abnormalities.

Arrhythmias in the muscular dystrophies.

In patients with muscular dystrophies, cardiac involvement leading to cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias occurs with variable prevalence, mirroring the phenotypic variability seen among and within the various hereditary myopathies. Knowledge of the incidence of arrhythmias and predictors of sudden death in the various hereditary myopathies can help guide screening and appropriate management of these patients, thereby improving survival. The noncardiac manifestations can lead to delayed recognition of symptoms, affect the decision to implant a prophylactic device, and once a decision is made to proceed with device implant, increase peri-procedural respiratory and anesthesia-related complications.

Arrhythmias in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Cardiac arrhythmias are important contributors to morbidity and mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Such patients manifest a substrate resulting from altered autonomics, repolarization abnormalities, and ischemia. Supraventricular arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation and flutter are associated with worsened outcomes, and maintenance of sinus rhythm is a goal.

Mortality at long-term follow-up of patients with no, nonobstructive, and revascularized 1-, 2-, and 3-vessel obstructive coronary artery disease.

Background: To investigate the 5-year survival of patients with coronary angiographic evidence of no coronary artery disease (CAD), nonobstructive CAD, and revascularized 1-vessel, 2-vessel, and 3-vessel obstructive CAD.

Material/methods: Coronary angiography was performed in 2,057 unselected patients, mean age 69 years (57% men and 43% women), with an acute coronary syndrome (50%) or anginal chest pain.(50%).

Vascular complications after percutaneous coronary intervention following hemostasis with the Mynx vascular closure device versus the AngioSeal vascular closure device.

Unlabelled: We investigated the prevalence of vascular complications after PCI following hemostasis in 190 patients (67% men and 33% women, mean age 64 years) treated with the AngioSeal vascular closure device (St. Jude Medical, Austin, Texas) versus 238 patients (67% men and 33% women, mean age 64 years) treated with the Mynx vascular closure device (AccessClosure, Mountain View, California).

Results: Death, myocardial infarction or stroke occurred in none of the 190 patients (0%) treated with the AngioSeal versus none of 238 patients (0%) treated with the Mynx.

Relation of cardiac troponin I levels with in-hospital mortality in patients with ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Troponin I levels were drawn within 24 hours of stroke in 161 of 175 patients (92%) with ischemic stroke, 94 of 107 patients (88%) with intracerebral hemorrhage, and 96 of 96 patients (100%) with subarachnoid hemorrhage. A troponin level >0.4 ng/ml was considered increased.

Prevalence of obstructive coronary artery disease in patients with and without prior stroke undergoing coronary angiography for suspected coronary artery disease.

This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and severity of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in 64 men and 38 women (mean age 71+/-9 years) with previous stroke and in 102 age- and gender-matched patients with similar coronary risk factors without previous stroke who underwent coronary angiography for chest pain. Obstructive CAD was present in 100 of 102 patients (98%) with previous stroke and in 84 of 102 (82%) patients without previous stroke (p<0.001).