Patient With an Anomalous Left Coronary Artery and Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy.

A 39-year-old man presented with angina and a high-sensitivity troponin-T of 61 ng/L. Initial workup revealed the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy, an anomalous left main coronary artery, and no coronary atherosclerosis. This case demonstrates how multimodality imaging was used to elucidate the primary cause of the patient's angina.

A Modified Classification Scheme for Chagas Cardiomyopathy Incorporating Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The public health concerns from Chagas disease warrant improved cardiovascular imaging efforts, and in this report, we review a military service member presenting with electrocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) findings that recognized a Chagas dilated cardiomyopathy. We present an updated Chagas staging classification incorporating CMR to increase diagnosing cardiomyopathies.

Early Cardiac Dysfunction in Biopsy-proven Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Backgrounds/aims: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) encompasses a range of diseases from nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and has been linked to cardiovascular disease and sub-clinical cardiac remodeling. This paper presents a retrospective study of biopsy-proven NAFL and NASH to examine the differences in subclinical cardiac remodeling.

Methods: Patients were recruited from an institutional repository of patients with liver-biopsy-confirmed NAFLD.

Comparing downstream consequences of normal exercise stress echocardiograms and cardiac computed tomography angiography scans in patients suspected of having of obstructive coronary artery disease: a retrospective cohort study of Tricare beneficiaries.

To compare overall number of downstream tests and total costs between negative exercise stress echocardiograms (ESE) or cardiac computed tomography angiography scans (CCTA) in symptomatic Tricare beneficiaries suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD). This is a retrospective cohort study examining 651 propensity-matched patients who underwent ESE or CCTA with normal results between 2008 and 2014 at the United States' largest Department of Defense hospital. The total number of additional downstream tests over the next five years was determined.

Metastatic Cardiac Tumor Presenting as an Anteroseptal ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in a Young Male.

In the appropriate clinical context, ST-segment elevation on electrocardiogram (ECG) necessitates prompt evaluation for coronary artery occlusion requiring reperfusion with percutaneous coronary intervention. Conversely, the etiology of ST-segment elevation may be representative of an alternative diagnosis other than myocardial infarction. We report the case of a patient with a history of primary bone sarcoma who presented for further evaluation of a large pericardial effusion identified on an outpatient echocardiogram and was found to have ST-segment elevation on ECG in the absence of any cardiopulmonary symptoms.

Optimizing contrast-enhanced echocardiography by employing a sonographer driven protocol.

Background: The use of enhancing agents in echocardiography has been shown to facilitate improved study quality. Despite the known benefits, its use remains limited by institutional policies.

Methods: We aimed to retrospectively evaluate if allowing sonographers to place a peripheral intravenous catheter and administer enhancing agent led to a decrease in time to complete outpatient transthoracic echocardiograms in comparison to using nursing personnel.

Effusive-Constrictive Pericarditis in a Young Active Duty Male.

Effusive-constrictive pericarditis (ECP) is a rare clinical entity resulting from accumulating pericardial fluid within a stiff, non-compliant pericardium. There are a number of etiologies for ECP, which include malignancy, radiation, post-surgical causes, infectious, and collagen disorders. Clinically, ECP often presents as right-sided heart failure, or in advanced cases, cardiac tamponade.

Improved efficiency and diagnostic utility of inpatient transthoracic echocardiography following implementation of a sonographer-initiated perflutren-based contrast administration protocol.

Background: Up to 20% of resting echocardiograms obtained are suboptimal leading to further downstream testing and delays in diagnosis. Contrast enhanced echocardiography is well established and endorsed for use by the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) in clinical scenarios when 2 or more adjacent wall segments are not well visualized; however, varied institutional protocols and practices in place limit such use due to increased time and personnel needed to obtain such imaging.

Methods: The purpose of this study was to determineif sonographer administered echo contrast led to decreased time to complete inpatient echocardiography exams when compared to the current institutional policy of having a registered nurse perform administration of contrast via a case-control approach.

Recurrent Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy: Getting to the Root of the Problem.

BACKGROUND While takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) is a rare cardiomyopathy, recurrent takotsubo cardiomyopathy (rTC) is even more so, occurring in only 4% of patients with TC. Treatment is based on expert opinion and includes standard heart failure treatment using beta blockers (BB) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI). We present a case of rTC demonstrating how using a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can successfully prevent recurrence.

Echocardiographic assessment of asymptomatic US Air Force members with early HIV infection.

Objective: People living with HIV (PLHIV) are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and development of subclinical echocardiographic abnormalities. However, there is scant evidence of the echocardiographic changes that occur shortly after seroconversion. In this study we describe the echocardiographic evaluations of asymptomatic US Air Force members who were diagnosed with HIV infection and evaluated at the San Antonio Military Medical Center between September 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016.

Association of Endothelial Dysfunction and Antiretroviral Therapy in Early HIV Infection.

Importance: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Endothelial dysfunction (EDF) is involved in CVD pathogenesis; however, EDF onset after HIV acquisition and the potential for reversibility with antiretroviral therapy (ART) have not been evaluated to date.

Objective: To evaluate endothelial function with noninvasive reactive hyperemia index (RHI) in patients with early HIV infection at baseline and after ART initiation.

Lingual liability: macroglossia and dyspnoea as the harbinger of systemic AL (light-chain) cardiac amyloidosis.

A 58-year-old man presented with a chief complaint of tongue indentations and discomfort. Otolaryngology treated him for oral thrush with counselling to avoid tongue biting. In addition, the patient reported dyspnoea described as a decrease in tolerance of his physical activities.

The dancing thrombus: 4D transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of a pedunculated left atrial appendage thrombus.

It is rare that a left atrial appendage thrombus will grow to the extent that it can prolapse into the left ventricle. We report the case of a large prolapsing left atrial thrombus diagnosed by 3D echocardiography in a patient presenting with a transient ischemic attack.

Diagnosis of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm by cardiac CT angiography.

We present a case of a patient with left ventricular pseudoaneurysm which was not noted on transthoracic echocardiography but incidentally detected by CT angiography in preparation of ablation therapy for ventricular tachycardia. The patient underwent successful surgical repair of the pseudoaneurysm. The case illustrates the utility of CT angiography for the diagnosis of this rare, but hazardous condition.

CT characterization of myocardial substrate in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

We present a case that demonstrates myocardial fibrosis detected on a cardiac computed tomography study performed for the evaluation of chest pain in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We describe the correlation between echocardiographic strain imaging, quantitative positron emission tomography, and computed tomographic evidence of fibrosis and its implications in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Coronary Artery Calcium Testing in Symptomatic Patients: An Issue of Diagnostic Efficiency.

The detection and quantification of coronary artery calcification (CAC) significantly improves cardiovascular risk prediction in asymptomatic patients. Many have advocated for expanded CAC testing in symptomatic patients based on data demonstrating that the absence of quantifiable CAC in patients with possible angina makes obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and subsequent adverse events highly unlikely. However, the widespread use of CAC testing in symptomatic patients may be limited by the high background prevalence of CAC and its low specificity for obstructive CAD, necessitating additional testing ('test layering') in a large percentage of eligible patients.

Prognostic value of coronary computed tomographic angiography among 1,125 consecutive military health care beneficiaries without known coronary artery disease.

We sought to assess the prognostic value of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) among military health care system beneficiaries. We identified 1,125 consecutive symptomatic patients without known coronary artery disease (CAD) referred for 64-slice CCTA (2006-2010) at a single center. CAD was assessed as none, < 50%, or > or = 50% (obstructive) coronary stenosis.

Niacin: the evidence, clinical use, and future directions.

The use of FDA-approved niacin (nicotinic acid or vitamin B3) formulations at therapeutic doses, alone or in combination with statins or other lipid therapies, is safe, improves multiple lipid parameters, and reduces atherosclerosis progression. Niacin is unique as the most potent available lipid therapy to increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and it significantly reduces lipoprotein(a). Through its action on the GPR109A receptor, niacin may also exert beneficial pleiotropic effects independent of changes in lipid levels, such as improving endothelial function and attenuating vascular inflammation.