Sublingual isosorbide dinitrate-stimulated tilt test for diagnosis of vasovagal syncope in children and adolescents.

Vasovagal syncope is the most likely cause of syncope in the young. Head-up tilt-table test (HUT) provides the ability to provoke vasovagal syncope under controlled laboratory settings. In adult populations, pharmacologic stimulation with intravenous/sublingual isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) has been shown to be an alternative to isoproterenol for increasing the diagnostic yield of HUT.

A case with acute leukemia presenting with cardiac tamponade.

Pericardial effusions and cardiac tamponade are rare and severe complications of leukemia. They often develop during the radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or infections in the course of leukemia. However, some cases present with pericardial effusion and tamponade.

Transcatheter embolization of a residual congenital coronary arteriovenous fistula with a detachable balloon; superiority of interventional cardiology?

A ten-year-old girl who presented with a continuous murmur was diagnosed with a right coronary to right ventricular fistula with colored Doppler echocardiography and selective arteriography. She underwent traditional treatment-ligation of the fistula by sternotomy. Afterwards, the systolic component of the murmur persisted and repeat arteriography showed a residual shunt through the fistula, with no change in the diameter of the right coronary artery.

Late development of dissecting aneurysm following balloon angioplasty of native aortic coarctation.

Acute aortic dissection during balloon angioplasty for coarctation of the aorta or aneurysm formation during follow-up are well-known complications of this procedure. Dissecting aneurysm development during long-term follow-up after balloon angioplasty of a native coarctation has not been previously reported. We report a case in which a huge dissecting aneurysm developed 3 years after the native coarctation angioplasty procedure.

Transcatheter closure of the ductus arteriosus in children and young adults.

Transcatheter occlusion of persistent patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) was attempted in 32 patients (22 female and 10 male, mean age 5.12 +/- 3.98 years, range 9 months to 19.