Systolic blood pressure on admission as a marker of fluid re-distribution in acute heart failure.

Background: The relation between systolic blood pressure (sBP) on admission and the extent of fluid re-distribution in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate this relation.

Methods: We enrolled consecutive patients who were admitted for AHF in our cardiology department and divided them into three groups according to the tertiles of sBP on admission as follows: low, intermediate, and high sBP groups.

Axillofemoral Bypass Markedly Improved Acute Decompensated Heart Failure and Kidney Injury in a Patient with Severely Calcified Stenosis of Thoracoabdominal Aorta (Atypical Aortic Coarctation).

Atypical aortic coarctation (AAC) has been reported to occur anywhere along the aorta, except for the ascending aorta. The associated symptoms include hypotension in the lower half of the body, secondary hypertension in the upper half of the body, and heart failure. Here we present an 80-year-old Asian woman complaining of progressive exertional dyspnea.

Distribution of cardiac troponin I in the Japanese general population and factors influencing its concentrations.

Background: The 99th percentile of cardiac troponin I level in the general population is accepted as the cut-off for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, it is not clear whether the cut-offs derived in racially and geographically different populations are applicable in Japan.

Methods: Troponin I was determined using the Abbott ARCHITECT STAT high-sensitive troponin I immunoassay in 698 apparently healthy individuals who visited the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center for a health checkup.

Bilateral Subclavian Vein Occlusion in a SAPHO Syndrome Patient Who Needed an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator.

A 79-year-old Asian man was hospitalized because of progressive exertional dyspnea with decreasing left ventricular ejection fraction and frequent non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. Pre-procedure venography for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation showed occlusion of the bilateral subclavian veins. In consideration of subcutaneous humps in the sterno-clavicular area and palmoplantar pustulosis, we diagnosed him as having synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, osteitis (SAPHO) syndrome and speculated that it induced peri-osteal chronic inflammation in the sterno-clavicular area, resulting in occlusion of the adjacent bilateral subclavian veins.

Acute Myocardial Infarction That Resulted From Poor Adherence to Medical Treatment for Giant Coronary Aneurysm.

Coronary arterial complications associated with Kawasaki disease (KD), such as a giant coronary aneurysm, determine the relative risk of future cardiac events and require lifelong medical treatment. Here, we describe a 24-year-old man who developed myocardial infarction due to poor adherence to medical treatment for a giant coronary aneurysm in the chronic phase of KD. He was hospitalized two hours after the onset of chest pain.

Development and implementation of an advanced coronary angiography and intervention database system.

The 'evidence' in evidence-based medicine (EBM) is often limited to knowledge obtained from randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT). Most RCTs, however, have strict enrollment criteria which make patient background characteristics and clinical histories significantly different from those encountered in actual practice. Thus it is important to accumulate and analyze data obtained in daily practice to gain insight into a larger clinical picture.

Reversible subacute effusive-constrictive pericarditis after correction of double-chambered right ventricle: a case report.

A 15-year-old girl developed subacute constrictive pericarditis following successful surgical repair of double-chambered right ventricle. Two weeks after surgery, the patient had massive pericardial effusion, which acutely progressed to constrictive pericarditis with the symptoms of cardiac tamponade. Further surgery was necessary to resect the parietal pericardium.

Pulmonary Artery Calcification in Contact with a Left Coronary Artery Bypass Graft: An X-ray Computed Tomographic Study.

Calcification in the pulmonary artery (PA) occurs in rare cases. There have been no studies of calcification in the PA at the site of its contact with a left coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). In the present study, X-ray computed tomography (CT) was employed for examination of such calcification.