Severe leg swelling following removal of a temporary femoral venous hemodialysis catheter.

Temporary central venous catheters are commonly used for patients who require emergency hemodialysis (HD). An arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is a rare complication of this procedure. In this case report, we present a patient who was diagnosed with an iatrogenic femoral AVF after cannulation of the right femoral vein with a temporary HD catheter.

Feasibility of coronary fractional flow reserve with dual anti-platelet therapy in low risk coronary lesions without systemic anticoagulation-results of the SMART-FFR study.

Background: Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is used to assess the functional significance of coronary artery stenoses. The optimal anti-thrombotic regimen for FFR has not been studied.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine whether FFR could be safely performed in Type A coronary lesions, using only upstream dual anti-platelet therapy (DAT) with aspirin and clopidogrel, compared with DAT plus anticoagulation in low risk coronary lesions.

Cholesterol crystal embolization following plaque rupture: a systemic disease with unusual features.

Cholesterol crystal embolic (CCE) syndrome is often a clinically challenging condition that has a poor prognostic implication. It is a result of plaque rupture with release of cholesterol crystals into the circulation that embolize into various tissue organs. Plaque rupture seems to be triggered by an expanding necrotic core during cholesterol crystallization forming sharp tipped crystals that perforate and tear the fibrous cap.

Prognostic value of coronary CTA vs. exercise treadmill testing: results from the Partners registry.

Aims: We sought to compare the complementary prognostic value of exercise treadmill testing (ETT) and coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) among patients referred for both exams.

Methods And Results: We studied 582 patients without known coronary artery disease (CAD) who were clinically referred for ETT and CTA within 6 months. Patients were followed for cardiovascular (CV) death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), or late revascularization (>90 days), stratified by Duke Treadmill Score (DTS) and CAD severity (≥50% stenosis).