Publications by authors named "L Brentana"
In heart transplant recipients, the aetiology of coronary vasospasm is largely unknown but it has been reported to be related to coronary vasculopathy or allograft rejection. We report a case of acute, reversible coronary vasospasm which caused malignant arrhythmias in a cardiac transplant recipient one month after transplantation without evidence of coronary vasculopathy or allograft rejection. The patient had a normal post-operative course with no other complications; this case supports the hypothesis that coronary vasospasm is not necessarily related to epicardial coronary artery disease or allograft rejection, but rather may be due to an abnormal reversible vasoreactivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors report the case of a 62-year-old woman admitted to hospital for episodes of chest pain with ischemic abnormalities at ECG without enzyme release. Coronography confirmed a normal coronary tree with mild ascending aortic dilatation. Subsequent diagnostic and clinical examinations resulted normal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), NT-proBNP and troponins are useful for the assessment of patients with heart failure. Few data exist about their serial changes and their prognostic value in patients with acute heart failure (AHF).
Methods And Results: NT-proBNP and troponin-T plasma levels were measured at baseline, after 6, 12, 24, 48 h and at discharge in 116 consecutive patients with AHF and no evidence of acute coronary syndrome.
Article Synopsis
- BNP is important for diagnosing and predicting outcomes in patients with congestive heart failure (HF), with high levels indicating a greater risk of complications.
- A case study of a 74-year-old man shows that despite low initial BNP levels, there was a significant increase after treatment with diuretics and vasodilators, challenging the reliability of BNP in assessing heart failure severity.
- The findings suggest that while BNP is helpful, it should not replace thorough physical exams and other diagnostic methods for patients with HF.
Article Synopsis
- This article discusses a case of acute type B aortic dissection that showed ECG changes similar to an acute coronary syndrome.
- High D-dimer levels were present during the acute phase but returned to normal in the chronic phase of the condition.
- The findings align with recent literature suggesting that D-dimer levels could be valuable in diagnosing acute aortic dissections.