Do cardiovascular risk factors influence cardiac allograft vasculopathy?

Background: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is the leading cause of heart transplant failure after the first year. The etiological factors involved are currently a controversial matter. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is considered the diagnostic procedure of choice.

[A right aorto-atrial fistula as a complication of early prosthetic endocarditis].

Early infectious endocarditis occurs in 3% of prostheses in the first 12 months after valvular surgery and is more aggressive than late prosthetic endocarditis. Mortality remains high, especially in early cases, despite combined medical and surgical treatment. Clinical manifestations of early cases are due to both bacteremia and prosthetic malfunction, and is mainly caused by staphylococci.

[Myocardial bridging as a cause of acute ischemia. Description of a case and review of the literature].

Myocardial bridges consist of muscle fiber bundles lining an epicardial coronary artery for a variable distance. They are a relatively common finding, with incidence changing on the basis of the study method used (angiographic/necropsy). Although myocardial bridges are usually associated with a benign prognosis, being in many cases asymptomatic and only found by chance, their presence has also been considered a cause of angina, malignant arrhythmia, myocardial infarction and sudden death.

[Emergency implantation of intracoronary stent after acute occlusion of the common trunk of the left coronary artery].

Nowadays, the implantation of coronary endoprosthesis within the left main coronary artery is not considered as an absolute contraindication. Here, we show a case of acute occlusion within the left main coronary artery. This was resolved by implanting a stent during a programmed cardiac catheterization.