Evaluation of an Integrated Device Diagnostics Algorithm to Risk Stratify Heart Failure Patients - Results From the SCAN-HF Study.

Background: Integrated device diagnostics, Triage-HF, is useful in risk stratifying patients with heart failure (HF), but its performance for Japanese patients remains unknown. This is a prospective study of Japanese patients treated with a cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D), with a Medtronic OptiVol 2.0 feature.

Tolvaptan Improves Prognosis in Responders with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure by Reducing the Dose of Loop Diuretics.

It is unknown whether a response to tolvaptan (TLV) is related to prognosis in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). We selected 25 patients as responders by their urinary response to TLV and by reduction of loop diuretics from 37 consecutive ADHF patients treated with TLV. As a control group, we selected 25 patients from 100 consecutive ADHF patients who were not treated with TLV by propensity score matching for age, serum sodium level, serum creatinine level, plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and dose of loop diuretics.

Amiodarone-Induced Hyponatremia Masked by Tolvaptan in a Patient with an Implantable Left Ventricular Assist Device.

A 43-year-old man was referred to our hospital in June 2014 because of severe heart failure. He was diagnosed with familial dilated cardiomyopathy and was administered oral tolvaptan and amiodarone for atrial and ventricular tachycardia. Since up-titration of carvedilol had failed and he was dependent on dobutamine, a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) was implanted.

A Case of Refractory Heart Failure in Becker Muscular Dystrophy Improved With Corticosteroid Therapy.

The patient was a 26 year-old man who was referred to our hospital in June 2011 because of severe heart failure. At age 24 years, he was found to have Becker muscular dystrophy. He received enalapril for cardiac dysfunction; however, he had worsening heart failure and was thus referred to our hospital.

A case of percutaneous coronary intervention for treatment of iatrogenic chronic total occlusion of the left circumflex artery after mitral valve repair.

A 55-year-old man had undergone mitral annuloplasty for mitral regurgitation with posterior mitral prolapse 3 years prior. He was examined at our hospital for dyspnea and fatigue. A coronary angiogram revealed iatrogenic chronic total occlusion (CTO) in the left circumflex coronary artery.

Rescue balloon pulmonary angioplasty under veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a patient with acute exacerbation of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

We describe a case of a 41-year-old woman with acute exacerbation of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) complicated by rapidly progressive respiratory failure and right heart failure with cardiogenic shock. A computed tomography (CT) showed thrombi in the right main pulmonary artery and bilateral peripheral pulmonary arteries, and echocardiography showed right ventricular dilatation and tricuspid regurgitation, with an estimated pressure gradient of 80 mmHg. The patient was initially diagnosed with acute pulmonary thromboembolism, and thrombolytic therapy was administered.