Transesophageal Overdrive Pacing in a Patient with Atrial Tachycardia and β -Thalassemia Major. A Challenging Simplicity.

Introduction: Transesophageal overdrive pacing is an accepted method for the diagnosis and treatment of supraventricular tachycardias, although is not used frequently in clinical practice.

Case Report: A 47 years old woman is reported with a medical history of β -Thalassemia Major admitted to our hospital with atrial tachycardia of recent onset and successfully converted using a transesophageal overdrive atrial pacing.

Conclusion: Transesophageal overdrive atrial pacing is a low cost, simple and safe procedure that can be performed at the bedside, especially in patients, as those with β -Thalassemia Major, whose health status makes difficult the usage of medicines that could possibly aggravate their general health status.

Spontaneous Dissection of the Coronary Vessels. Epidemiological and Coronary Angiographic Study.

Introduction: Spontaneous dissection of the coronary arteries is relatively rare and usually does not affect life expectancy. However specific types have been implicated to episodes of sudden cardiac death and myocardial ischemia. The recognition of both clinical and imaging characteristics contributes to appropriate decision and patient management.

The Importance of the 15-lead Versus 12-lead ECG Recordings in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Right Ventricle and Left Ventricle Posterior and Lateral Wall Acute Myocardial Infarctions.

Introduction: The 12-lead ECG at admission of patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is mandatory for accurate diagnosis and prompt therapeutic measures, mainly reperfusion. It has been shown that recording additional ECG leads may improve the diagnostic accuracy and therefore, the prognosis of selected cases.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of the 15-lead ECG (12 classic plus 3 posterior leads) in the management of chest pain patients, especially when 12-lead ECG is not diagnostic of AMI.