Acetazolamide in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure with Volume Overload.

Background: Whether acetazolamide, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor that reduces proximal tubular sodium reabsorption, can improve the efficiency of loop diuretics, potentially leading to more and faster decongestion in patients with acute decompensated heart failure with volume overload, is unclear.

Methods: In this multicenter, parallel-group, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned patients with acute decompensated heart failure, clinical signs of volume overload (i.e.

Acetazolamide in Decompensated Heart Failure with Volume Overload trial (ADVOR): baseline characteristics.

Aims: To describe the baseline characteristics of participants in the Acetazolamide in Decompensated Heart Failure with Volume Overload (ADVOR) trial and compare these with other contemporary diuretic trials in acute heart failure (AHF).

Methods And Results: ADVOR recruited 519 patients with AHF, clinically evident volume overload, elevated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and maintenance loop diuretic therapy prior to admission. All participants received standardized loop diuretics and were randomized towards once daily intravenous acetazolamide (500 mg) versus placebo, stratified according to study centre and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (≤40% vs.

Case Report and Review of the Literature: Cardiomyopathy in a Young Woman on High-Dose Quetiapine.

We describe a case of cardiomyopathy due to quetiapine. Atypical antipsychotics are known for their multiple and sometimes dangerous side effects. Various studies showed increased sudden cardiac death and sudden unexpected deaths.

A massive left-to-right shunt due to a ruptured giant aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva.

We describe a patient with a giant ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm causing a massive left-to-right shunt. The diagnosis was made by transoesophageal echocardiography and confirmed by angiography. We outline briefly a diagnostic and therapeutic work-up.

Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Illustrated by a case report, which was rather suggestive of coronary ischemic heart disease, the principle characteristics of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are outlined. Outside East Asia, it remains a very uncommon variant of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The electrocardiogram in basal conditions showed giant negative T-waves (-14 mm) in the precordial leads, while the ventriculogram in RAO projection revealed the typical, so called "ace of spades" configuration.