Safety and utility of dobutamine and pressure wire use in the hemodynamic assessment of low-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction.

Background: The ACC/AHA guidelines recommend low-dose dobutamine challenge for hemodynamic assessment of the severity of AS in patients with low flow, low gradient aortic stenosis with reduced ejection fraction (EF) (LFLG-AS; stage D2). Inherent pitfalls of echocardiography could result in inaccurate aortic valve areas (AVA), which have downstream prognostic implications. Data on the safety and efficacy of coronary pressure wire and fluid-filled catheter use for low dose dobutamine infusion is sparse.

Successful Percutaneous Transcatheter Patent Foramen Ovale Closure Through The Right Internal Jugular Vein Using Stiff Amplatzer Catheter With A Reshaped Tip.

Percutaneous transcatheter closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) remains challenging when femoral venous approach is not available. We describe the successful closure of a PFO using the right internal jugular venous approach and a catheter delivery system with a reshaped tip in a patient with a PFO, recurrent stroke, recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding, bilateral deep venous thrombosis and thrombosed bilateral inferior vena cava filter.

Percutaneous thoracic aortic aneurysm repair through transcaval aortic access.

Transcaval aortic access has been used for deployment of transcatheter aortic valves in patients in whom conventional arterial approaches are not feasible. This access can be vital in other situation when large bore access is needed. We described a case of 65-year-old man who had large thoracic descending aortic aneurysm with diffuse bilateral iliac disease precluding the arterial access required for the procedure.

Impact of a Multidisciplinary Team Approach Including an Intensivist on the Outcomes of Critically Ill Patients in the Cardiac Care Unit.

Objective: To investigate the impact of integrating a medical intensivist into a cardiac care unit (CCU) multidisciplinary team on the outcomes of CCU patients.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 2239 CCU admissions between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2013, which constituted patients admitted in the 12 months before and 12 months after the introduction of intensivists into the CCU multidisciplinary team. This team included a cardiologist, a medical intensivist, medical house staff, nurses, a pharmacist, a dietitian, and physical and respiratory therapists.

Impact of Catheterization Lab Computer Software Settings on Hemodynamic Assessment of Aortic Stenosis.

Background: Accurate assessment of Cardiac Output (CO) is a critical measurement in the calculation of aortic valve area (AVA). Due to the known inaccuracy of estimated Fick calculations, many measure thermodilution (TD) CO as well due to previous studies showing better correlation with the gold standard direct CO. Previous studies showed suboptimal correlation between both methods.

Long-term use of dual antiplatelet therapy for the secondary prevention of atherothrombotic events: Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: The potential benefit of long-term dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for secondary prevention of atherothrombotic events is unclear. Data from different randomized controlled trials (RCT) using different agents in different subgroups showed inconsistent results.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis from RCTs that tested different prolonged durations of DAPT for secondary prevention.

Cardiology Critical Care Crisis: Can Working Across The Aisle Be The Salvation?

There are many changes in the demographics of patients admitted to Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) due to the aging of US population and coexistence of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, renal dysfunction, and obstructive lung disease. There is increasing evidence that intensivist staffing in the critical care settings is associated with not only improvements in both Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and in-hospital mortality, but also with better medical resource use. Evidence for decreased mortality has led to increased involvement of critical care trained physicians in multidisciplinary care teams in both medical and surgical ICUs, a trend that has not been adopted to any significant extent in CCUs.

Cardiac output determination using a widely available direct continuous oxygen consumption measuring device: a practical way to get back to the gold standard.

Background: Accurate assessment of cardiac output (CO) is essential for the hemodynamic assessment of valvular heart disease. Estimation of oxygen consumption (VO2) and thermodilution (TD) are employed in many cardiac catheterization laboratories (CCL) given the historically cumbersome nature of direct continuous VO2 measurement, the "gold standard" for this technique. A portable facemask device simplifies the direct continuous measurement of VO2, allowing for relatively rapid and continuous assessment of CO.

Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis.

Obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) occurs in six out of 10,000 live births. The obstruction occurs in the aortic valve level in 71 percent, in subvalvular level in 14 percent, and supravalvular level in 8 percent of cases. Subvalvular aortic stenosis (AS) can be either a fixed stenosis resulting from subaortic membrane or a dynamic stenosis because of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Vitamin D deficiency plays an important role in cardiac disease and affects patient outcome: Still a myth or a fact that needs exploration?

There is increasing evidence that a low vitamin D status may be an important and hitherto neglected factor of cardiovascular disease. This review is an overview of the current body of literature, and presents evidence of the mechanisms through which vitamin D deficiency affects the cardiovascular system in general and the heart in particular. Available data indicate that the majority of congestive heart failure patients have 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency.

Aggressive Measures to Decrease "Door to Balloon" Time and Incidence of Unnecessary Cardiac Catheterization: Potential Risks and Role of Quality Improvement.

Objective: To assess the impact of an aggressive protocol to decrease the time from hospital arrival to onset of reperfusion therapy ("door to balloon [DTB] time") on the incidence of false-positive (FP) diagnosis of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and in-hospital mortality.

Patients And Methods: The study population included 1031 consecutive patients with presumed STEMI and confirmed ST-segment elevation who underwent emergent catheterization between July 1, 2008, and December 1, 2012, On July 1, 2009, we instituted an aggressive protocol to reduce DTB time. A quality improvement (QI) initiative was introduced on January 1, 2011, to maintain short DTB while improving outcomes.

Aggressive Measures to Decrease Door to Balloon Time May Increase the Incidence of Unnecessary Cardiac Catheterization and Delay Appropriate Care.

Door-to-balloon (DTB) time is an important quality measure for ST-segment myocardial elevation infarction (STEMI). Aggressive measures to reduce DTB time can increase the incidence of false positive-STEMI and may increase mortality in that group. Efforts to reduce DTB time should be monitored systematically to avoid unnecessary procedures especially in critically ill patients who don't have STEMI and may benefit from other appropriate therapies in timely manner.

The Effects of Right Ventricular Apical Pacing Frequency on Left Ventricle Function and Pulmonary Artery Pressure.

Objective: We studied the effect of the frequency of right ventricular (HV) pacing on left ventricle (LV) function pulmonary hypertension.

Background: The incidence of new or worsening pulmonary hypertension after permanent pacemaker (PPM) or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (lCD) lead placement has not been well investigated.

Methods: We reviewed the charts of all patients undergoing PPM or ICD lead placement in our electrophysiology laboratory from December 2007 to December 2012.

Thrombus in Transit through a Patent Foramen Ovale: Surgical Prevention of Impending Stroke.

A Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE) is essential in identifying thrombus in transient in patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) presenting with symptoms suggesting potential systemic emboli. We present a case of a 71-year-old gentleman with recent DVT who developed slurred speech and was assumed to have transient ischemia attack (TIA). TEE showed the presence of a large Thrombus in Transit (TIT) through a patent foramen ovale (PFO).

The effects of right ventricular apical pacing with transvenous pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator on mitral and tricuspid regurgitation.

Background: The incidence of new or worsening tricuspid regurgitation (TR) or mitral regurgitation (MR) after permanent pacemaker (PPM) or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) lead placement has not been well investigated. We studied the effect of transvenous leads implantation and right ventricular (RV) pacing on tricuspid and mitral valve regurgitations.

Methods: We reviewed the charts of all patients undergoing PPM or ICD lead placement in our electrophysiology laboratory from December 2001 to December 2006.

Acute Coronary Syndrome In HIV Naïve Patient With Low CD4 Count And No Other Significant Risk Factors: Case Report And Literature Review.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) has become the leading cause of mortality in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The typical HIV-infected patient presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a man in his mid to late 40s. The most common presentation is an acute myocardial infarction (MI), most often with ST segment elevation.

The Value of Quality Improvement Process in the Detection and Correction of Common Errors in Echocardiographic Hemodynamic Parameters in a Busy Echocardiography Laboratory.

Background: Accurate assessment of cardiac structures, ventricular function, and hemodynamics is essential for any echocardiographic laboratory. Quality improvement (QI) processes described by the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and the Intersocietal Commission (IAC) should be instrumental in reaching this goal.

Methods: All patients undergoing transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) followed by cardiac catheterization within 24 hours at Christiana Care Health System in 2011 and 2012 were identified, with 126 and 133 cases, respectively.

Using The Descending Aortic Wall Thickness Measured In Transesophageal Echocardiography As A Risk Marker For Aortic Dissection.

Objective: The aim of this study is to estimate whether aortic wall thickness is increased in patients with Aortic dissection (AD) compared to low risk control group and can be used in addition to aortic diameter as a risk marker of AD.

Background: AD occurs due to pathologies that may increase thickness of the aortic wall. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has the ability to visualize both the thoracic aortic wall and lumen.

Transcatheter retrieval of device entrapment: management of a rare complication of percutaneous coronary intervention: case report and literature review.

With the continued advancement in PCI equipment and techniques, complications arising from intracoronary manipulation are encountered. Such complications are associated with major adverse outcome including death; myocardial infarction (MI) and the need for urgent coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), and they require prompt recognition and mediation by the interventional cardiologist. We report a case of a broken stent shaft system in the setting of acute coronary syndrome and its successful retrieval using a non-compliant balloon to trap the proximal portion of the shaft within the guide ("trapping" a procedure used in coronary Chronic Total Occlusions (CTO) interventions) followed by slow withdrawal of the whole system.

Traumatic myocardial infarction in a young athletic patient after a football game.

Myocardial injury from blunt chest trauma can result from either direct contusion or coronary artery injury due to acute coronary syndrome or coronary dissection. Although rare, blunt chest trauma is one of the non-atherosclerotic mechanisms leading to acute myocardial infarction (MI) in patients younger than 45 years. We are reporting a case of a 36-year-old athletic man who presented with infero-lateral ST elevation MI secondary to a thrombotic occlusion of right coronary artery after a blunt chest trauma.

High-risk acute coronary syndrome in a patient with coronary subclavian steal syndrome secondary to critical subclavian artery stenosis.

Patients with multivessel coronary artery disease are more likely to have extensive atherosclerosis that involves other major arteries. Critical subclavian artery (SCA) stenosis can result in coronary subclavian steal syndrome that may present as recurrent ischemia and even myocardial infarction in patients with coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). In patients with concomitant severe native coronary disease, occluded saphenous venous grafts (SVG) to other arteries, percutaneous intervention on critical subclavian artery (SCA) stenosis that will compromise the blood flow to left internal mammary graft (LIMA) and left anterior descending (LAD) artery will be a high-risk procedure and may be associated with cardiogenic shock, especially in patients with preexisting ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Acute severe hypothyroidism is not associated with hyponatremia even with increased water intake: a prospective study in thyroid cancer patients.

Background: Hypothyroidism, commonly induced in preparation for radioiodine treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer, is a text-book cause for hyponatremia. Nausea, stress, and increased fluid intake associated with the treatment are expected to exacerbate hyponatremia.

Methods: We prospectively studied 212 (80% females) consecutive thyroid cancer patients for the incidence of hypothyroidism-induced hyponatremia and associated risk factors.

Consenting options for posthumous organ donation: presumed consent and incentives are not favored.

Background: Posthumous organ procurement is hindered by the consenting process. Several consenting systems have been proposed. There is limited information on public relative attitudes towards various consenting systems, especially in Middle Eastern/Islamic countries.

Novel and de novo PHEX mutations in patients with hypophosphatemic rickets.

X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH) is the most common inherited rickets. XLH is caused by inactivating mutations in the PHEX gene and is transmitted as an X-linked dominant disorder. We investigated PHEX mutation in 10 patients from 6 unrelated Turkish families by PCR-sequence analysis.