Cardiogenic shock associated with reversible dilated cardiomyopathy during therapy with regular doses of venlafaxine.

We report a cardiac complication in a patient treated with regular doses of venlafaxine. A 49-year-old man with prior normal cardiac function and stable chronic hepatitis C was treated for a major depressive disorder with usual doses of venlafaxine during an 8-month period until the occurrence of a cardiogenic shock in a context of dilated cardiomyopathy. Three months after withdrawal of the drug, the left ventricular ejection fraction returned to normal values.

Oxidative stress implication after prolonged storage donor heart with blood versus crystalloid cardioplegia and reperfusion versus static storage.

Several factors are known to limit cardiac transplantation, such as number of donors, quality of cardiac graft preservation, and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Some mechanisms of reperfusion injury are now recognized; they include oxygen free radical (OFR), white blood cells activation, changes in calcium influx, alteration of microvascular blood flow, and sympathetic activation. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of two types of cardioplegia with long-term storage, either static or continuous perfusion, in 30 isolated sheep hearts as a model for heart transplantation.

HIV-associated vascular diseases: structural and functional changes, clinical implications.

After more than two decades of AIDS epidemic, the spectrum of HIV-associated vascular diseases has mainly evolved from infectious and inflammatory vasculitides to premature atherosclerosis, its related contributing conditions (metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance syndrome) and complications (acute coronary and cerebrovascular syndromes). Today, as the AIDS epidemic further progresses worldwide and as the life expectancy of HIV-infected patients treated with effective antiviral regimens has dramatically increased, more than 10% of patients experience cardiovascular manifestations. The complex interplay between viral infection, inflammatory and cytokines pathways, protease inhibitors-induced hyperlipidemia and direct effects on endothelial cells has not, by far, been integrated in a single comprehensive pathogenesis network.

Oxidative stress in patients with acute heart failure.

Oxidative stress (OS) is a keystone in the pathology of the ischemia reperfusion sequence (acute coronary syndromes, cardiac surgery, transplantation). In heart failure, the implication of OS is less understood. This study was intended to evaluate OS in acute heart failure.

Persistent symptomatic pleural effusion following coronary bypass surgery: clinical and histologic features, and treatment.

Pleural effusions following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) have been reported in 65%-89% of the cases. The majority of pleural effusions are left-sided, of little significance, and resolve spontaneously. However, a few pleural effusions require specific therapeutics.

Acute effects of biventricular pacing on right ventricular function assessed by tissue Doppler imaging.

Aims: The benefits of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on functional status, left ventricular (LV) remodelling and survival in patients with drug-refractory congestive heart failure (CHF), LV systolic dysfunction, and wide QRS have been demonstrated in randomized trials. However, the impact of CRT on right ventricular (RV) function, an independent prognostic factor in CHF remains questionable. This study examined the acute effects of various pacing modes on RV function in recipients of CRT systems.