Inhaled nitric oxide in acute pulmonary embolism: a systematic review.

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is usually a complication secondary to migration of a deep venous clot or thrombi to lungs, but other significant etiologies include air, amniotic fluid, fat, and bone marrow. Regardless of the underlying etiology, little progress has been made in finding an effective pharmacologic intervention for this serious complication. Among the wide spectrum of PE, massive PE is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, primarily due to severely elevated pulmonary vascular resistance leading to right ventricular failure, hypoxemia, and cardiogenic shock.

Major complications of cryoballoon catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation and their management.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common symptomatic and sustained cardiac arrhythmia. It affects approximately 2-3 million people in the USA alone with an increased incidence and prevalence worldwide. It is associated, in addition to worsening quality of life, with increased morbidity and mortality especially in poorly controlled AF, affecting mostly those older than 65 years of age.

Electromagnetic interference with implantable cardioverter defibrillators causing inadvertent shock: case report and review of current literature.

As the number of patients having implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) devices is increasing, it is important for the physicians and patients to be aware of situations and conditions that can result in interference with normal functioning of these devices. There are multiple cases of malfunction of ICDs reported in literature and it may be of great significance to have an overview of these incidents for appropriate recognition and future prevention. Here we are reviewing the available literature as well as reporting an interesting case of electromagnetic interference (EMI) resulting from leak of current in pool water causing firing of ICD.

Pseudoaneurysm a rare complication of transradial cardiac catheterization: a case report.

Transradial access for cardiac catheterization is a safe and viable approach with significantly lower incidence of major access-related complications compared with the transfemoral approach. As this form of access is getting wider acceptance among interventional cardiologists, awareness of its complications is of vital importance. Asymptomatic radial artery occlusion, non-occlusive radial artery injury and radial artery spasm are commonly reported complication of this approach.

Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and cardiovascular diseases: a review.

The role of inflammatory markers in cardiovascular diseases has been studied extensively and a consistent relationship between various inflammatory markers and cardiovascular diseases has been established in the past. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a new addition to the long list of these inflammatory markers. NLR, which is calculated from complete blood count with differential, is an inexpensive, easy to obtain, widely available marker of inflammation, which can aid in the risk stratification of patients with various cardiovascular diseases in addition to the traditionally used markers.

Biventricular pacing in normal hearts.

For more than half a century, pacemakers have proven to be one of the most successful medical interventions. In an effort to approximate normal cardiac physiology, pacemakers have evolved from simple to highly sophisticated devices. There is a growing demand, not only to improve overall mortality and safety in patients with existing devices, but also to improve patient quality of life.

Access-site complications and their management during transradial cardiac catheterization.

Transradial access for cardiac catheterization is now widely accepted among the invasive cardiology community as a safe and viable approach with a markedly reduced incidence of major access-related complications compared with the transfemoral approach. As this access technique is now being used more commonly for cardiac catheterization, it is of paramount importance to be aware of its complications and to understand their prevention and management. Some of the common complications of transradial access include asymptomatic radial artery occlusion, nonocclusive radial artery injury and radial artery spasm.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy due to iatrogenic methadone withdrawal.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a syndrome characterized by transient apical ballooning or reversible midventricular systolic dysfunction. Most cases occur in postmenopausal women and are typically triggered by an acute medical illness or emotional or physical stress. Its presentation is highly suggestive of myocardial ischemia, but there is little or no evidence of epicardial coronary artery disease.

Drug-eluting stent thrombosis after 2029 days of placement: longest ever reported interval between drug-eluting stent placement and very late thrombosis.

In this era of very wide-spread use of percutaneous coronary intervention for the management of coronary artery disease, the appropriate duration of antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation still remains a subject of debate. Current recommendations from the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (2007) is to continue treatment with aspirin and clopidogrel for 1 year and then continue with aspirin only. However, cases of very late stent thrombosis (more than 12 months postimplantation) are being increasingly reported in literature.

Long-term myocardial recovery after mitral valve replacement in noncompaction cardiomyopathy.

Isolated noncompaction of the left ventricle is a congenital cardiomyopathy, which has been described recently, with literature limited to case reports and case series. Even though various complications have been reported with noncompaction cardiomyopathy, among them severe mitral regurgitation has been reported recently in a few cases. There is no great evidence in the literature about its management, apart from some cases of mitral valve repair and replacement in young patients.

Isolated left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography.

Isolated noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium has often been misdiagnosed as other cardiomyopathies because it is a relatively recently described cardiomyopathy with literature limited to case reports and case series and little awareness among physicians. We are reporting a case of isolated left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy that was misdiagnosed for over two decades.

Acute complication due to impella 2.5 device (superficial femoral artery thrombosis): managed successfully with novel aspiration thrombectomy catheter (pronto v3).

The Impella recover LP 2.5 is a percutaneous left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recently approved for use in patients undergoing high risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and also in cases of cardiogenic shock. There is limited evidence available in literature about its safety, especially with regards to the incidence of local vascular complications, their management and long-term implications.