Retrieval of a stuck Rotablator burr ("Kokeshi phenomenon") and successful percutaneous coronary intervention.

We report the case of a 74-year-old man having angioplasty following admission with a troponin positive acute coronary syndrome. Due to heavy coronary artery calcification, rotablation was used. The procedure was complicated by a stuck burr ("Kokeshi phenomenon").

Acute DeBakey Type III (or Stanford Type B) aortic dissection diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography.

Acute aortic dissection is an important differential diagnosis to exclude in the emergency presentation of patients with acute chest pain. Misdiagnosis can be fatal if treatment with antithrombotic agents (for presumed acute coronary syndrome) is administered. We present a series of two patients who presented to our center with acute DeBakey Type III (or Stanford Type B) aortic dissection where transthoracic echocardiography was useful in making the diagnosis, which was later confirmed by computed tomography contrast angiography of the aorta.

Intraventricular dyssynchrony predicts mortality and morbidity after cardiac resynchronization therapy: a study using cardiovascular magnetic resonance tissue synchronization imaging.

Objectives: We aimed to assess a novel measure of left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony, a cardiovascular magnetic resonance-tissue synchronization index (CMR-TSI), in patients with heart failure (HF). A further aim was to determine whether CMR-TSI predicts mortality and major cardiovascular events (MCE) after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Background: Cardiac dyssynchrony is a predictor of mortality in patients with HF.