Publications by authors named "Rana Alzakhari"

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice projected to affect 12.1 million individuals by the year 2030. Patients who are diagnosed with AF have an increased risk of morbidity and mortality.

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Background: Since 2005, the cardioprotective effects of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) have garnered attention. The cardioprotective effect could be an added benefit to the use of GLP-1 RA. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at summarizing observational studies that recruited type 2 diabetes individuals with fewer cardiovascular (CV) events before enrolling in the research.

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Electronic cigarettes may increase the risk of long-term cardiovascular morbidity. To protect the heart, awareness should be raised of the risks and limits of E-cigarette aerosol exposure. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the cardiovascular risk of e-smoking.

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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required timely and informed decisions about treatment recommendations for clinical practice. One such drug used for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is remdesivir (RDV), and several cardiac side effects have been reported including bradyarrhythmia (e.g.

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Non-ischemic painful left bundle branch block (LBBB) is defined as chest pain that occurs simultaneously with the appearance of left bundle branch block and resolves with the disappearance of the left bundle branch block in patients without evidence of myocardial ischemia. The underlying mechanism of this rare clinical occurrence has not been fully understood, but it has been proposed that it results from ventricular dyssynchrony. In this case report, we present a 65-year-old male with non-ischemic chest pain who was found to have intermittent left bundle branch block (ILBBB) with infra-Hisian conduction delay, treated successfully with a biventricular pacemaker.

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For this research, we have considered a case of a man aged 60 years who developed painless fluid accumulation in the implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) pocket site. The cardiovascular implantable electronic device initially appeared to be infected, but it was eventually determined that the cause was an allergic reaction, and a novel solution was implemented. For patients with nickel allergies, treatment typically includes avoiding nickel or replacing with gold-plated devices with new leads.

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Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has risen to the level of a global pandemic. Growing evidence has proven the cardiac involvement in SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study aims to evaluate the ability of cardiovascular complications determined by elevated troponin and electrocardiogram findings (e.

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Cardiogenic unilateral pulmonary edema (UPE) is an uncommon clinical entity and it represents just 2% of cardiogenic pulmonary edema with inclination for the right upper lobe and it is most commonly associated with severe mitral regurgitation. In our review, the literature does not include any UPE cases that are associated with severe aortic regurgitation (AR). Herein, we present a case with UPE, that includes a patient diagnosed with infective endocarditis who presented with shortness of breath.

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Paraneoplastic syndromes are rare disorders that occur with many types of tumors. Ectopic cushing syndrome (ECS) is the second most common paraneoplastic syndrome that is only seen in 1-5% of all small cell lung cancers (SCLC), with limited papers reporting this syndrome since it was first described by Brown in 1928 or in carcinoid tumors. It is also found to be associated to a lesser extent with pheochromocytoma, thymic tumors, pancreatic carcinoma, and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.

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The localized or diffused dilation of a coronary artery lumen is referred to as coronary artery ectasia (CAE). Though it is well recognized, CAE is a rare finding that is encountered in the diagnostic procedure of coronary angiography. This form of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) can be found in 1.

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Drug-induced pancreatitis is uncommon among all cases of acute pancreatitis in the general population. The majority of reported cases are mild, but severe and even fatal cases have been also reported. Management of corticosteroid-induced acute pancreatitis requires withdrawal of the offending agent and supportive care.

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Alcaligenes faecalis is a gram-negative bacterium that is commonly found in the environment. This pathogen is usually transmitted in the form of droplets through ventilation equipment and nebulizers, but transmission through direct contact has also been documented in few case reports. This pathogen can cause rare but fatal infections including appendicitis, abscesses, meningitis, bloodstream infection, endocarditis, and post-operative endophthalmitis.

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Myopericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium with concurrent myocardial involvement. The clinical presentation of myopericarditis is often with varying degrees of cardiac symptomatology. Its etiology is often idiopathic, but it may also be related to infectious and inflammatory prodrome.

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We report a case of a 39-year-old HIV positive transgender female with isolated manifestations of pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection. Although MAC infection is common in immunocompromised patients, the classical presentation is extra-pulmonary. Pulmonary MAC infection is extremely rare.

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A few types of myeloproliferative neoplasms may be significant for Janus-associated kinase 2 mutation, JAK2 V617F, including polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis. The prevalence of JAK2 mutation is low in the general population but higher in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms. Some patients with JAK2 V617F-positive essential thrombocythemia are asymptomatic, but others may develop hemorrhagic or thromboembolic complications.

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Lithium is a well-known medication that has been used for many years to treat mood disorders. One of its side effects is cardiotoxicity, which usually occurs at serum lithium levels > 1.5 mEq/L but rarely occurs when therapeutic levels of lithium are used.

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Hypertriglyceridemia is the third most common etiology for acute pancreatitis (AP), after alcohol and gallstones. Clinical evidence is relatively weak in its support of plasmapheresis for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP). We report a case of severe HTG-AP in a young man who was successfully treated with plasmapheresis.

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Historically, it has been found that malignancy is associated with superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome. The past decade has seen more cases of thrombogenic and stenotic SVC syndrome due to increased use of pacemakers and indwelling central lines. As compared to the slowly progressing obstruction in malignancy, rapid thrombogenesis rate and a lack of venous collateral sequelae lead to more acute sequelae in these patients.

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Nephrogenic ascites is described as a clinical condition of refractory ascites in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on renal replacement therapy. This entity was first described in 1970. Many nephrologists do not believe in nephrogenic ascites.

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In the present study, we report a case of multiple coronary artery ectasias (CAE) and multiple intracranial arterial dolichoectasias (IADEs). A 60-year-old female presented to the emergency department twice with chest pain and mild elevation of troponin and T-wave changes. Peripheral coronary angiography showed severe ectasia and stenosis of certain segments of the left main coronary artery (LMCA), left anterior descending (LAD), first obtuse marginal (OM1), distal left circumflex (LCX), and bilateral subclavian arteries.

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