Differences in pharmacological property between combined therapy of the vasopressin V2-receptor antagonist tolvaptan plus furosemide and monotherapy of furosemide in patients with hospitalized heart failure.

Background: Tolvaptan has been shown to improve congestion in heart failure patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pharmacology and clinical efficacy of combined tolvaptan and furosemide therapy.

Methods: This study included 40 patients with systemic volume overload who were hospitalized for heart failure.

Clinical significance of arterial stiffness as a factor for hospitalization of heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction: a retrospective matched case-control study.

Background: Previous studies have been conducted to identify characteristics of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), but the risk factors of HFpEF remain unclear. We investigated the associations between arterial stiffness and the risk of hospitalization for HFpEF patients.

Methods: For the case group, we enrolled patients with preserved EF who had been hospitalized for HF from April 2013 to March 2015 and examined the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI).

Clinical usefulness of gated technetium-99m sestamibi myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography with phase analysis for the management of patients with isolated ventricular noncompaction.

Gated Tc-99m sestamibi myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (GMPS) with phase analysis provides information on myocardial perfusion, left ventricular (LV) function, and LV dyssynchrony. We present a case of isolated left ventricular noncompaction (IVNC) cardiomyopathy in which GMPS with phase analysis proved to be beneficial and reliable to monitor the long-term response to cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRT-D). The patient was an 84-year-old man with shortness of breath on minimal exertion (New York Heart Association class III) who had severe drug-refractory heart failure with hypotension and ventricular tachycardia.

Usefulness of rosuvastatin to prevent periprocedural myocardial injury in patients undergoing elective coronary intervention.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether percutaneous coronary intervention-related periprocedural myocardial infarction (MI) can be suppressed more significantly with high- compared with low-dose rosuvastatin. A total of 232 patients scheduled to undergo elective percutaneous coronary intervention within 5 to 7 days were assigned to groups that would receive either 2.5 or 20 mg/day of rosuvastatin (n = 116 each).

Coronary perforation during percutaneous coronary intervention.

Coronary perforation is an undesirable complication during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We reviewed the cases of overt coronary perforation in our institute and analyzed their clinical backgrounds, the characteristics of the target lesion, management, and clinical outcomes. Between 1991 and 2005, we experienced 12 cases (0.

Percutaneous coronary intervention under the rigid restriction of contrast media dose in patients with chronic renal insufficiency.

Minimizing the dose of contrast media is considered to reduce the risk of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), which is a serious complication occurring in patients with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We describe the drastic method of PCI, which successfully completes the procedure with minimal dose of contrast media in order to prevent CIN. In two cases complicated by CRI, PCI was safely carried out using less than 20 ml of contrast media in conjunction with various techniques or devices for minimizing the wasteful use of contrast media.

Recurrent myocarditis of unknown etiology.

A 42-year-old man presented with dyspnea and common cold-like symptoms. His electrocardiogram showed complete atrioventricular block and chest radiography revealed cardiomegaly and pulmonary congestion. He had a history of three recurrences of active myocarditis proven by endomyocardial biopsy over a 14-year period.