[Takotsubo cardiomyopathy mimicking an acute myocardial infarction].

Background: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by a transient left ventricular dysfunction. The resulting acute symptoms including electrocardiographic changes and elevated myocardial biomarkers often mimic an acute myocardial infarction. However, obstructive coronary artery disease can be excluded by angiography.

Ablation of atrial fibrillation using CT image integration.

In our case report we describe a catheter ablation in a patient with symptomatic, drug-refractory atrial fibrillation using the new CT image integrating mapping technology. Using image integration an arrhythmogenic right inferior pulmonary vein was revealed which was not found during conventional 3-dimensional mapping. Thereby we want to demonstrate potential impacts on safety and effectiveness of ablation strategies using an image integration technology, especially in cases of difficult anatomic variations.

Non-invasive imaging of a coronary bypass stenosis using CT angiography in a patient with negative stress testing.

In patients with a low or intermediate probability of a coronary artery disease, ultrafast computer tomography (CT) of the coronary arteries and bypass grafts offer a novel approach for the evaluation of the coronary anatomy. The presented case impressively demonstrated the capability of ultrafast CT to show precisely the extent and localisation of a bypass artery stenosis in a patient with mild chest discomfort but negative stress testing. However, widespread screening of coronary artery disease with non-invasive imaging modalities can not be recommended until validated in larger studies that a complete visualization of all coronary arteries and bypass grafts can be achieved.