Pre-distance assessment from radial artery to lower extremity arterial lesion.

Endovascular treatment (EVT) for patients with lower extremity artery disease is widely used as a less invasive alternative to surgical bypass. Recently, transradial artery intervention has gained popularity owing to its minimally invasive nature. The distance from the radial artery to the target vessel is critical for success; however, effective pre-assessment methods have not yet been established.

A Smartphone App to Improve Oral Anticoagulation Adherence in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Prospective Observational Study.

Background: Poor adherence to oral anticoagulation in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has been shown to negatively impact health care costs, morbidity, and mortality. Although various methods such as automated reminders, counseling, telephone support, and patient education have been effective in improving medication adherence, the burden on health care providers has been considerable. Recently, an attempt has been made to improve medication adherence without burdening health care providers by using smartphone apps; however, the use of the app for elderly patients with AF is still limited.

Atrial flutter after surgeries of congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries in total visceral inversion.

A 51-year-old man, who had a history of open heart surgery for corrected transposition of great arteries, presented with palpitation due to atrial tachycardia. A propagation map using three-dimensional electroanatomical mapping (CARTO3) showed atrial flutter and underwent linear ablation successfully. This case highlights the difficulty of diagnosis before mapping following a complicated cardiac operation and the usefulness of three-dimensional mapping.

Diagnostic Value of Atrial Fibrillation by Built-in Electrocardiogram Technology in a Blood Pressure Monitor.

Hypertension in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is a known independent risk factor for stroke. The Complete blood pressure (BP) monitor (Omron Healthcare, Kyoto, Japan) was developed as the first BP monitor with electrocardiogram (ECG) capability in a single device to simultaneously monitor ECG and BP readings. This study investigated whether the Complete can accurately differentiate sinus rhythm (SR) from AF during BP measurement.

A case of cardiac tamponade due to coronary artery injury caused by atrial screw-in lead.

A 74-year-old man who had a history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, visited the emergency department because of syncope. An electrocardiogram showed atrial fibrillation with slow ventricular response and long pauses. A permanent pacemaker was implanted under oral anticoagulation.

First episode of ventricular fibrillation in an 84-year-old man with long-QT type 2 syndrome: A case report.

Congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) is associated with ventricular arrhythmia and an increased risk of sudden cardiac death in young people. However, it is extremely rare for an elderly man to experience ventricular fibrillation (VF) due to congenital LQTS as a first episode. We describe the case of an 84-year-old man who experienced syncope after urination.

Improvement in Exercise Tolerance after Catheter Ablation for Premature Ventricular Complexes: A Case Report.

Background: Recent reports on catheter ablation for premature ventricular complex (PVC) or ventricular tachycardia in the context of cardiomyopathy suggest that ablation can improve cardiac function and decrease the number of PVCs. However, reports on exercise tolerance after catheter ablation for PVC are few.

Case: A 56-year-old woman consulted her primary care doctor presenting with palpitations and fatigue on exertion.

Favorable changes of left ventricular function in the circumferential direction following transcatheter atrial septal defect closure: a strain imaging study.

To clarify the impact on left ventricular (LV) function of percutaneous atrial septal defect (ASD) closure in adult patients. Echocardiograms of 46 patients (52 ± 18 years) who underwent ASD closure with a significant left-to-right shunt obtained before and 1 month after the procedure were retrospectively analyzed. Functional parameters were obtained by 2-dimensional speckle-tracking imaging.

Pauses in atrial rhythm in a patient with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy: A case report.

A 58-year-old woman with a history of multi-origin atrial tachycardia and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy was treated for presyncope caused by pauses in atrial rhythm. A dual-chamber pacemaker was implanted. The low-voltage area extended broadly, but 10-V pacing could not capture the large right atrium, including the right atrial appendage, except the coronary sinus ostium.

Tachycardiomyopathy Caused by a Pseudo-Ventricular Tachycardia: The Role of Imaging and Ablation in Diagnosis and Treatment.

A 50-year-old man presented with general fatigue on exertion. Investigations revealed tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy induced by Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and atrial fibrillation. He was successfully treated with catheter ablation.

A case of prolonged sinus arrest for 5 minutes after Cryo-balloon ablation to the left superior pulmonary vein.

A 63-year-old man was referred to our hospital for his palpitation due to atrial fibrillation. He was admitted for catheter ablation. Cryoablation was applied to the left superior pulmonary vein for 180 seconds, and its potential disappeared in 22 seconds.

Importance of Preoperative Computed Tomography Assessment of the Membranous Septal Anatomy in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement With a Balloon-Expandable Valve.

Background: Cardiac conduction disturbance (CD) is the most frequent complication following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This study examined whether the anatomy of the membranous septum (MS) could provide useful information about the risk of CD following TAVR with a balloon-expandable valve (BEV).

Methods and results: Among 132 consecutive patients, 106 (mean age, 85.

Imaging of Right-to-Left Shunt in an Adult Patient with Unroofed Coronary Sinus with Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava.

A 54-year-old woman with a history of multiple cardiac surgeries suffered from hypoxemia caused by a right-to-left intra-cardiac shunt due to coronary sinus (CS) anomaly with persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC). Both the contrast echocardiography and enhanced computed tomography (CT) provided conclusive diagnosis of this rare congenital anomaly, which was overlooked for a long time. However, an important diagnostic clue was left-arm injection of the contrast media.

Efficacy and Accuracy of Novel Automated Mitral Valve Quantification: Three-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiographic Study.

Background: Previous studies indicated that the three-dimensional features of the mitral valve (MV) have a significant impact on MV disease. However, quantification of MV with manual tracing software was too time-consuming for routine clinical practice. This study was performed to investigate the efficacy and accuracy of MV quantification with a novel highly automated commercially available software package developed for this purpose.