Closure of Iatrogenic Atrial Septal Defect After Placement of Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device.

An 86-year-old woman experienced hypoxia with right-to-left flow across an iatrogenic atrial septal defect after deployment of a left atrial appendage closure device. Emergent closure of the defect was performed with an atrial septal occluder device with resolution of hypoxia. ().

Exploring barriers to domestic violence screening among culturally and linguistically diverse and migrant women in a regional midwifery setting.

Background: Women are at an increased risk of experiencing domestic violence (DV) from an intimate partner during the antenatal and post-partum period, contributing to poorer health outcomes for mother and baby. The antenatal period presents a critical window of opportunity for screening and intervention. In Australia, screening guidelines vary across state and territory health departments.

Membranous Ventricular Septal Aneurysm Leading to Embolic Stroke.

• TTE is often ordered to assess for a cardiac source of emboli after an acute stroke. • MVSAs may lead to blood stasis and thrombus formation. • Color Doppler and UEAs may be used to confirm or exclude the presence of thrombus.

Cardiac Eclipse: Congenital Absence of the Pericardium Manifesting as Atypical Chest Pain.

• Congenitally absent pericardium (CAP) is rare and usually diagnosed incidentally. • Although usually asymptomatic, CAP can present with life-threatening complications. • Proper diagnosis requires a high suspicion and focused multimodality imaging.

Atrioventricular Shunt Post Acute Myocardial Infarction.

• The mechanical complications of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) can be catastrophic. • A Gerbode type defect after AMI is rare. • Surgery is the mainstay of treatment, but percutaneous options are available.

Continuous cardiac index monitoring: A prospective observational study of agreement between a pulmonary artery catheter and a calibrated minimally invasive technique.

Introduction: Continuous cardiac index (CCI) monitoring can provide information to assist in hemodynamic support. However, pulmonary artery catheters (PAC) pose logistic challenges in acute care settings. We hypothesized that CCI measured with a calibrated minimally invasive technique (LiDCO/PulseCO, UK) would have good agreement with the PAC.

Retained fibrin sleeve: transesophageal echocardiographic observations.

The role of echocardiography for the evaluation of thrombus formation on indwelling intracardiac catheters is well established. Considerably less well described, however, are the echocardiographic characteristics of the so-called retained fibrin sheath, a sleeve of fibrin that surrounds the catheter at the point at which it enters the vein that commonly remains adherent to the vessel wall after catheter removal. The authors report the transesophageal echocardiographic findings of a retained fibrin sheath following catheter removal in a patient with end-stage renal disease and infective endocarditis of the aortic valve.

The echocardiographic evaluation of intracardiac masses: a review.

Echocardiography is an invaluable procedure for the evaluation of intracardiac masses, and can reliably identify mass location, attachment, shape, size, and mobility, while defining the presence and extent of any consequent hemodynamic derangement. With careful attention to mass location and morphology, and appropriate application of clinical information, echocardiography can usually distinguish between the 3 principal intracardiac masses: tumor, thrombus, and vegetation. Transesophageal imaging frequently adds additional important information to the assessment of mass lesions and should always be considered when image quality is inadequate or pertinent clinical questions remain unanswered with surface imaging.