Anomalous origin and interarterial course of right coronary artery associated with angina and proven ischemia.

Clinical significance of coronary arteries with anomalous origin and/or course is highly heterogeneous. Anomalies with the origin from the opposite sinus and interarterial course can be associated with angina, syncope, and sudden cardiac death. However, there are no clear guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of such cases.

Is Radial Access and Transradial Cardiac Catheterization Feasible without the Use of Any Vasodilator?

This is a "proof of concept" study to assess feasibility of transradial access without use of vasodilators. Radial artery spasm (RAS) is an important cause of patient discomfort and procedural failure with use of radial access. Vasodilators are routinely used to prevent RAS.

Severe tricuspid regurgitation in a patient receiving low-dose cabergoline for the treatment of acromegaly.

Cabergoline, an ergot-derived dopamine receptor agonist, is used widely in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) and hyperprolactinemia, but may cause heart valve fibrosis, retraction, and clinically significant regurgitation in PD patients. While cabergoline has been used at much lower doses in patients with hyperprolactinemia, controversy persists as to whether it may cause heart valve disease in this situation. Cabergoline is also used in acromegaly at doses similar to those used in hyperprolactinemia.

Right coronary artery arising as a sidebranch from the left anterior descending artery: a single coronary ostium anomaly.

We present a patient with abnormal origin of the right coronary artery from the left anterior descending artery. The patient had chest pain probably related to myocardial ischemia. This anomaly is very rare and has only been reported in a few cases.

Systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve in the absence left ventricular hypertrophy: role of mitral leaflet elongation and papillary muscle displacement.

We report a 15-year-old patient who presented with exercise dyspnea and limitation of physical activity. Echocardiography revealed significant left ventricular outflow tract obstruction caused by systolic anterior motion (SAM) of the mitral valve. The wall thickness of the left ventricle was within normal limits.

Effectiveness of enoxaparin for prevention of radial artery occlusion after transradial cardiac catheterization.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of enoxaparin for prevention of radial artery (RA) occlusion after transradial access for diagnostic and interventional cardiac procedures. RA occlusion is a potential complication of transradial cardiac catheterization. Conventionally, unfractionated heparin is used for prevention of RA occlusion.

Isolated cleft of the posterior mitral valve leaflet in a patient with Marfan syndrome.

Isolated cleft of the mitral valve is an uncommon congenital cause of mitral regurgitation. Most of the clefts involve the anterior leaflet and isolated clefts of the posterior leaflet have been anecdotally identified. We report a case of Marfan syndrome in whom an echocardiographic examination revealed a cleft in the posterior mitral leaflet.

Demonstration of coronary-to-pulmonary fistula with MDCT and conventional angiography.

The coronary pulmonary fistulas are usually discovered incidentally during routine cardiac catheterization after the development of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. Here we present a 59-year-old man with anginal symptoms who was found to have two fistulas originating from the left coronary system and right coronary sinus and draining into the pulmonary trunk. We delineated the courses of the fistulas in detail using both of the imaging techniques of MDCT and conventional angiograhy.