Changes of left ventricular remodeling due to increased afterload in patients with essential hypertension.

Background: It is unclear whether afterload mismatch occurs during the initial stage of essential hypertension (EHT). Additionally, critical left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) between preserved and reduced systolic functions in hypertension is also unclear. Thus, we aimed to clarify these points.

Potentially Life-threatening Arrhythmia Triggered by an Excessive Consumption of Dried Sweet Potato "Hoshi-Imo".

We herein report two cases of potentially life-threatening arrhythmia due to hyperkalemia triggered by the excessive consumption of "Hoshi-Imo" (dried sweet potato). Both patients with chronic renal disease on renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors presented at the emergency room with non-specific symptoms. Electrocardiograms revealed potentially life-threatening arrhythmia due to hyperkalemia in both cases: sinus arrest with a ventricular escape rhythm, tall and peaked T waves; and a widened QRS complex in a nearly sine-wave configuration without discernible P wave.

Vanishing Cardiac Tumor by Chemotherapy in a Patient With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

A 70-year-old Japanese man presented with a massive cardiac tumor associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Standard chemotherapy resulted in complete remission and the cardiac tumor disappeared. ().

Predicting the clinical course in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the changes in left ventricular remodelling with time in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) using thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy.

Methods And Results: Forty-eight patients with HCM participated in the study. The extent score (ES) and a newly devised index termed the 'mean count change' (MCC) were used to evaluate the myocardial perfusion defects.

Coronary artery-left ventricular shunt: an important cause of chest pain in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The influence of shunts between the coronary artery (CA) and the left ventricle (LV), on chest pain (CP) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is unknown. We examined the incidence of CA-LV shunts and their influence on CP in HCM patients. Twenty normal control subjects (NCS), 3 with CP due to CA-LV shunts (CP patients), and 60 with HCM participated.

Impact of chronic kidney disease on the diuretic response of tolvaptan in acute decompensated heart failure.

Aim: This study investigated the relationship between the initial diuretic response to tolvaptan and clinical predictors for tolvaptan responders in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).

Methods And Results: Patients (153) with ADHF (clinical scenario 2 or 3 with signs of fluid retention) who were administered tolvaptan were enrolled. Tolvaptan (15 or 7.

A case of coronary artery aneurysm after sirolimus-eluting stent implantation presenting with unstable angina due to progression of stent thrombosis: Concerns over sirolimus-eluting stents remain.

A 44-year-old man was implanted with a sirolimus-eluting stent in the proximal left anterior descending artery 8 years previously. Six years later, multi-slice computed tomography and angiography confirmed the formation of a coronary artery aneurysm around the stent. Optical coherence tomography revealed organized thrombi within the stent.

Usefulness of Intravascular Ultrasound for Predicting Risk of Intraprocedural Stent Thrombosis.

Intraprocedural stent thrombosis (IPST) is a rare complication of percutaneous coronary intervention that leads to poor outcomes; however, the factors contributing to IPST remain largely unknown. Accordingly, we used intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to examine the lesion characteristics in patients with IPST. We retrospectively analyzed 1,504 consecutive stent-implanted lesions in 1,324 patients (326 with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI], 403 patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome [NSTE-ACS], and 595 patients with stable angina).

Successful treatment of cerebral emboli with tissue plasminogen activator in a patient with takotsubo cardiomyopathy: A case report.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a cardiac syndrome characterized by reversible left ventricular wall motion abnormalities. It mimics the acute coronary syndrome; however, significant obstructive coronary artery disease is absent. The prognosis is relatively favorable in many cases, but complications may occur during the acute stage.

A Patient with Dengue Fever Presenting with Rhabdomyolysis.

A 16-year-old boy stayed in Tokyo near Yoyogi Park for extracurricular high school activities. After returning home, he experienced an episode of fever and visited our emergency outpatient unit. He initially exhibited symptoms of leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and concomitant rhabdomyolysis and after admission simultaneously developed a biphasic fever and systemic erythema.

Impact of chronic use of cibenzoline on left ventricular pressure gradient and left ventricular remodeling in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Background: Cibenzoline, a class Ia antiarrhythmic drug, is useful for reducing the left ventricular pressure gradient (LVPG) in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). However, chronic effects of cibenzoline on LVPG and left ventricular (LV) remodeling are unknown.

Methods: Forty-one patients with HOCM participated in this study.

Spontaneous disappearance of coronary pseudoaneurysm due to coronary artery perforation following percutaneous coronary intervention.

In recent years, while therapeutic outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention is improving due to the introduction of drug-eluting stent and device development, procedure-related complications including coronary perforation may ineluctably occur though at low-frequency, even if careful manipulations are performed under IVUS guidance. Meanwhile, coronary pseudoaneurysm subsequent to coronary perforation is one of the complications at chronic phase infrequently experienced following percutaneous coronary intervention. To date, the incidence and natural history of pseudoaneurysm following coronary artery perforation remain unclear.

A case of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation in which implanted loop recorder was useful in application decision for implantation of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

Establishing a symptom-rhythm correlation in patients with unexplained syncope is complicated because of its sporadic, infrequent, and unpredictable nature. Recently, an implantable loop recorder (ILR) has become available to evaluate undiagnosed recurrent arrhythmic episodes particularly in unexplained syncopes, and its usefulness has been reported in patients with recurrent syncopes that remain unexplained after conventional work-up. A 65-year-old man was referred to our hospital for loss of consciousness with nocturnal paroxysmal seizures.

Impact of culprit plaque volume and composition on myocardial microcirculation following primary angioplasty in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: virtual histology intravascular ultrasound analysis.

Background: An impaired myocardial perfusion state after primary angioplasty is a strong predictor of long-term adverse outcomes in patients with STEMI. We assessed the relationship between culprit plaque characteristics and myocardial perfusion state after primary angioplasty in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Methods: A total of 101 consecutive patients with de novo STEMI were divided into 3 groups according to the state of myocardial perfusion assessed by ST-segment elevation resolution (STR): Group A (complete: STR ≥ 70%, n=26), Group B (partial: STR<70% but ≥ 30%, n=55) and Group C (none: STR<30%, n=20).

Cavity volume of ruptured plaque is an independent predictor for angiographic no-reflow phenomenon during primary angioplasty in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: Plaque rupture plays a critical role for the development of acute myocardial infarction. However, whether quantitative parameters with regard to the cavity size of ruptured plaque are associated with no-reflow (NR) phenomenon following primary angioplasty remains to be elucidated.

Methods And Results: A total of 53 patients with de novo ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who had plaque rupture at the culprit lesion defined by pre-intervention virtual histology intravascular ultrasound (VH-IVUS) were enrolled.

Relationship between plaque composition and no-reflow phenomenon following primary angioplasty in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction--analysis with virtual histology intravascular ultrasound.

Background: The angiographic no-reflow phenomenon after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) carries a poor prognosis in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, the type of plaque composition that associates with the angiographic no-reflow phenomenon remains unclear.

Methods: A total of 44 patients with STEMI were enrolled in this study.

[A 78-year-old man with unruptured aneurysm of Valsalva found accidentally by syncope during straining].

A 78-year-old man who suffered from syncope and light-headedness during straining. The patient visited to our department for evaluation of his symptom. Cardiac auscultation revealed a grade II/IV systolic murmur along the left parasternal border.