Comparison of cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C: A 13-year nationwide population-based study in Asia.

Background And Aims: Viral hepatitis infection has been linked to increased atherosclerosis. We therefore investigated cardiovascular outcomes in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Methods: Electronic medical records during 2000-2012 were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Clinical outcomes of peripartum cardiomyopathy: a 15-year nationwide population-based study in Asia.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is the development of heart failure during late pregnancy to months postpartum with potential fatal outcome. However, the disease is not well-studied in Asia.We aimed to investigate the epidemiology and clinical outcomes of PPCM in Taiwan.

Reversal of hoarseness with recognition of Ortner syndrome in a patient with severe mitral regurgitation.

Loss of voice due to vocal cord paralysis, as in Ortner syndrome, is secondary to left recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy. Cardiovascular cause should be listed as a differential diagnosis of hoarseness and is incumbent upon the diagnostic physician to be familiar with the condition. A 56-year-old male presented to our emergency department with shortness of breath due to severe mitral regurgitation.

Entrapment of permanent pacemaker lead as the cause of tricuspid regurgitation.

Transthoracic 2-dimensional (D) echocardiography (echo) is often used to assess tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after implantation of permanent pacemakers. However, its ability to define the precise anatomical relationship between the tricuspid valve and the pacemaker lead is quite limited. This report presents a 58-year-old male with aggravation of TR after pacemaker implantation for heart block.

Thrombolytic therapy for acute left atrial thrombus formation in one patient with heart failure and atrial fibrillation.

Patients with a left atrial (LA) thrombus are considered at high risk of thromboembolic events. Reports about thrombolytic therapy are limited and optimal guidelines are lacking. In this report, a large, pedunculated, highly mobile thrombus of the LA attached via a short stalk to the LA appendage brim in a 59-year-old female with atrial fibrillation is described.

Acute and long-term clinical and angiographic outcomes of coronary stenting using Palmaz-Schatz stent and ACS Multi-Link stent.

Acute and long-term (>/= 3 years) outcomes of coronary artery stenting using Palmaz-Schatz and Multi-Link stent implantations between November 1995 and October 1999 were analyzed. There were 655 Palmaz-Schatz stent implantations in 577 lesions on 477 patients (group A) and 428 Multi-Link stent implantations in 381 lesions on 326 patients (group B). The baseline characteristics were similar in the two groups.

Rigid spine syndrome with chronic respiratory failure.

Rigid spine syndrome (RSS) is a rare myopathic ailment characterized by mild axial and proximal muscle weakness. Muscle contraction in these patients causes limitation of neck and trunk flexion, scoliosis, and mild joint deformity. We report the case of a 30-year-old man with RSS who presented with severe restrictive ventilatory defect (forced vital capacity, 1.

Evaluation of shunt flow by multiplane transesophageal echocardiography in adult patients with isolated patent ductus arteriosus.

The role of multiplane (M) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in the diagnosis of isolated patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in adults and its effectiveness in the assessment of the pulmonary to systemic flow ratio were evaluated and compared with those obtained from cardiac catheterization examination. Eleven consecutive patients, ranging from 17 to 56 years old (mean of 29.5 +/- 12.

Analysis of left atrial volume change rate during left ventricular diastolic phase with M-mode echocardiography for differentiation between normal and pseudonormal mitral inflow.

Pseudonormalization of mitral inflow is a diagnostic problem in clinical practice. An excellent correlation exists between the change in the left atrial (LA) angiographic area and posterior aortic wall motion. Therefore, we sought to define the role of LA wall motion, indicating LA volume change rate, in patients with normal and pseudonormal mitral inflow.