Flipping the Physical Examination: Web-Based Instruction and Live Assessment of Bedside Technique.

Background: The skill of physicians teaching the physical examination skill has decreased, with newer faculty underperforming compared to their seniors. Improved methods of instruction with an emphasis on physical examinations are necessary to both improve the quality of medical education and alleviate the teaching burden of faculty physicians.

Methods: We developed a curriculum that combines web-based instruction with real-life practice and features individualized feedback.

A thrombus in transit through a patent foramen ovale.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a congenital heart defect that may first be diagnosed in adulthood and has a prevalence of 25% to 30%. Although many patients with PFO are asymptomatic and do not require treatment, paradoxical embolism can cause stroke or myocardial infarction. The authors report an unusual case of PFO with a transversing thrombus in an 80-year-old man.

The D-dimer assay: a possible tool in the evaluation of atrial thrombosis.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia seen in clinical practice, and affects more than 4% of the population older than 60 years of age. Peripheral thromboembolism contributes significantly to the observed morbidity and mortality. Symptomatic AF, before cardioversion to normal sinus rhythm, requires either exclusion of atrial thrombi using transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) or the conventional use of three weeks of adequate anticoagulation.

Diastolic filling parameters derived from myocardial perfusion imaging can predict left ventricular end-diastolic pressure at subsequent cardiac catheterization.

Unlabelled: Morbidity and mortality increase when diastolic dysfunction accompanies coronary artery disease (CAD). An elevated stress (201)Tl lung-to-heart ratio (LHR) is a traditional marker of elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), which adds prognostic value in CAD. Since the introduction of (99m)Tc-labeled agents, this valuable marker has been lost.

Encircling reperfusion pattern on the stress-minus-delay bull's-eye map improves sensitivity of myocardial perfusion scans.

Background: Myocardial perfusion imaging is subject to considerable noise due to re-registration and attenuation artifact.

Methods: On a retrospective review, we identified 51 studies that showed encircling reperfusion pattern on a stress-minus-delay bull's-eye map with concurrent cardiac catheterization within 4 months. Encircling reperfusion was defined as a band of reversibility > or =2.

An unusual case of peripartum cardiomyopathy manifesting with multiple thrombo-embolic phenomena.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare form of heart failure with a reported incidence of 1 per 3000 to 1 per 4000 live births and a fatality rate of 20%-50%. Onset is usually between the last month of pregnancy and up to 5 months postpartum in previously healthy women. Although viral, autoimmune and idiopathic factors may be contributory, its etiology remains unknown.

Pharmacologic stress myocardial perfusion imaging.

Pharmacologic stress agents (dipyridamole, adenosine and dobutamine) allow virtually all patients to be safely assessed for ischemic heart disease. These agents have mild but significant side effects, mandating a thorough knowledge of indications, contraindications, side effects and management before their use. Adjunctive exercise improves image quality in vasodilator pharmacologic myocardial perfusion imaging.