Masked Hypotension due to Elevated Venous Pressure in a Patient with Complex Adult Congenital Heart Disease.

An adult with surgically corrected Tetralogy of Fallot presented with profoundly elevated central venous pressure (CVP) and acute renal dysfunction thought secondary to acute on chronic right heart failure. Treatment with dopamine promoted diuresis and a stabilization of renal function. Repeated attempts to wean the patient from dopamine were associated with hypotension and worsening renal failure.

How to prevent and manage radiation-induced coronary artery disease.

Radiation-induced coronary heart disease (RICHD) is the second most common cause of morbidity and mortality in patients treated with radiotherapy for breast cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma and other prevalent mediastinal malignancies. The risk of RICHD increases with radiation dose. Exposed patients may present decades after treatment with manifestations ranging from asymptomatic myocardial perfusion defects to ostial, triple-vessel disease and sudden cardiac death.

A novel approach to the diagnosis of stress-induced cardiomyopathy.

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is becoming a more commonly recognized diagnosis, accounting for 2% to 3% of patients presenting with signs and symptoms of acute anterior myocardial infarction. We present the case of a 68-year-old man with dyspnea 9 days after an unrelated operation. After hospital admission, he complained of chest pain, and an electrocardiogram demonstrated ST-segment elevation in the anterolateral and inferior leads, ST-segment depression in lead aVR, and an absence of ST-segment changes in lead V(1).

Percutaneous coronary interventions and cardiovascular outcomes for patients with chronic total occlusions.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the benefits of a coronary chronic total occlusion CTO recanalization after adjusting for the case-mix and the propensity to undergo the CTO intervention in a population of patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Background: The benefits of percutaneous recanalization of CTO are disputed.

Methods: In 1,602 patients with a least one CTO and treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), we derived a propensity score to undergo a CTO recanalization by comparing the characteristics of patients who did (n = 346) and did not (n = 1,256) undergo a CTO PCI attempt.