Ventricular Septal Aneurysm Mimicking Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Mass in a Patient With Ventricular Septal Defect.

A 50-year-old man presented with an episode of chest pain. Cardiac magnetic resonance revealed the presence of a large ventricular septal aneurysm partially closing a perimembranous ventricular septal defect, prolapsing into the right ventricular outflow tract, and mimicking a mass. We illustrate the diagnostic approach and management of such ventricular septal aneurysms.

Myopathy Associated With Statins and SGLT2 - A Review of Literature.

Drug-induced myopathy is a well-described clinical entity characterized by muscle damage leading to symptoms ranging from myalgias to rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury. Many pharmacotherapies are known to precipitate myopathic symptoms. Recent case reports suggest a potential relationship between the use of sodium/glucose cotransport 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and onset of myopathy.

Trends in the use of echocardiography in pulmonary embolism.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a devastating diagnosis which carries a high mortality risk. Echocardiography is often performed to risk stratify patients diagnosed with PE, and guide management strategies. Trends in the performance of echocardiography among patients with PE and its role in influencing outcomes is unknown.

Acute kidney injury requiring dialysis and in-hospital mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease and non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome undergoing early vs delayed percutaneous coronary intervention: A nationwide analysis.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a well-known risk factor for coronary artery disease and is associated with poor outcomes following an acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). The optimal timing of an invasive strategy in patients with CKD and NSTE-ACS is unclear.

Hypothesis: Timing of PCI in CKD patients will not affect the risk of mortality or incidence of dialysis.

Percutaneous coronary intervention and inpatient mortality in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease presenting with acute coronary syndrome.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important risk factor for coronary artery disease, yet patients with CKD are less likely to undergo coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We retrospectively analyzed the 2006-2012 National Inpatient Sample Database to examine the temporal trends in coronary angiography and PCI among patients without CKD, with advanced CKD (CKD III-V), and with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) presenting with unstable angina/non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTE-ACS) and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). A total of 579,747 admissions for NSTE-ACS and 293,950 admissions for STEMI were studied.

Evaluating safety of thrombolysis in chronic kidney disease patients presenting with pulmonary embolism using propensity score matching.

To assess the safety of thrombolytic therapy in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients who present with pulmonary embolism (PE). We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample Database to identify patients who underwent thrombolysis for PE between 2010 and 2014. The patients were divided into two groups: (1) No CKD and (2) CKD.

Red cell distribution width and risk of cardiovascular mortality: Insights from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)-III.

Introduction: Red cell distribution width (RDW) has been linked to cardiovascular disease. We sought to determine whether addition of RDW improved the Framingham risk score (FRS) model to predict cardiovascular mortality in a healthy US cohort.

Methods: We performed a post-hoc analysis of the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey-III (1988-94) cohort, including non-anemic subjects aged 30-79years.

A complete heart block in a young male: a case report and review of literature of cardiac sarcoidosis.

Cardiac sarcoidosis is one of the uncommon causes of heart failure. Generally, it presents in the form of varying clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to fatal arrhythmias such as ventricular tachycardia and complete heart block. It is difficult to make a diagnosis strictly based on clinical grounds.

Influence of Pregnancy in Patients With Congenital Long QT Syndrome.

Congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a disorder of myocardial repolarization and is characterized by a prolonged QT interval on an electrocardiogram. A prolonged QT predisposes patients to an increased risk of syncope and sudden cardiac death secondary to polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. Several mutations linked to the LQTS have been identified, the most common of which have been found in the potassium channel KCNQ1 (LQT1) and hERG (LQT2) genes and in the sodium channel SCN5A (LQT3) gene.

Comparative accuracy of supine-only and combined supine-prone myocardial perfusion imaging in men.

Background: Combined supine-prone myocardial perfusion imaging (CSP MPI) has been shown to reduce attenuation artifact in comparison to supine-only (SU) MPI in mixed-gender populations with varying risk for coronary artery disease (CAD), often where patients served as their own controls. However, there is limited direct comparison of these imaging strategies in men.

Methods: 934 male patients underwent CSP or SU MPI.

Metrics of quality care in veterans: correlation between primary-care performance measures and inappropriate myocardial perfusion imaging.

Background: Approximately 10% to 20% of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) tests are inappropriate based on professional-society recommendations. The correlation between inappropriate MPI and quality care metrics is not known.

Hypothesis: Inappropriate MPI will be associated with low achievement of quality care metrics.

Clinical utility of inappropriate positron emission tomography myocardial perfusion imaging: test results and cardiovascular events.

Background: Appropriate use criteria for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) were developed to categorize scenarios where MPI might be beneficial (appropriate) or not (inappropriate). Few investigations have evaluated the clinical utility of this categorization strategy, particularly with positron emission tomography (PET) MPI.

Methods And Results: We conducted this retrospective cohort investigation in a Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center, on predominantly male subjects who underwent PET-MPI.

Clinician-dependent variations in inappropriate use of myocardial perfusion imaging: training, specialty, and location.

Background: Inappropriate use of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) may vary depending on the training, specialty, or practice location of the clinician.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional investigation of consecutive patients who underwent MPI at our Veterans Affairs medical center between December 2010 and July 2011. Characteristics of the MPI ordering clinicians were extracted to investigate any associations with inappropriate use.

Pulmonary hypertension in hypertensive patients: association with diastolic dysfunction and increased pulmonary vascular resistance.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with systemic hypertension and preserved ejection fraction (PEF) has been described. However, the pathophysiology and consequences are not entirely clear. We sought to distinguish the clinical and anatomic features among hypertensive patients with or without coexistent PH.

Estimation of right atrial and ventricular hemodynamics by CT coronary angiography.

Background: Computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) provides an accurate noninvasive alternative to the invasive assessment of coronary artery disease. However, a specific limitation of CTCA is inability to assess hemodynamic data.

Objective: We hypothesized that CTCA-derived measurements of contrast within the superior vena cava (SVC) and inferior vena cava (IVC) would correlate to echocardiographic estimations of right atrial and right ventricular pressures.