Cardiac Arrest as First Presentation of Thyroid Storm.

Thyroid storm is a life-threatening condition characterized by a high level of circulating thyroid hormones and harbors high mortality and morbidity, even if diagnosed and treated early. The condition is frequently overlooked and under-recognized in emergency departments owing to its rarity. Here, we present a case of a 24-year-old male patient, previously healthy, who presented with cardiac arrest and was found to have heart failure and high thyroid hormone levels after investigations.

Pulmonary vein stenosis presenting as massive hemoptysis, treated with pulmonary veins angioplasty.

Two patients with history of cardiac ablation presented with massive hemoptysis secondary to pulmonary vein stenosis. They underwent successful pulmonary vein angioplasty and stenting. Although the second patient ended up having a lobectomy, the successful opening of the Left Superior Pulmonary Vein helped sparing the superior lobe and lingula.

Focal Myocarditis As the First Sign in the Presentation of a COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2). Patients with COVID-19 typically present with symptoms and signs related to respiratory tract infection. However, a broad spectrum of cardiac manifestations including myocarditis has been reported as complications of this virus.

Update on coronary artery bioresorbable vascular scaffolds in percutaneous coronary revascularization.

Coronary angioplasty was first introduced in 1977. From plain old balloon angioplasty to the introduction of bare metal stents in 1986 and dual antiplatelet therapy in 1992 to much more later on. Due to the unacceptable rate of stent restenosis, drug eluting stents (DES) were introduced in 2000.

Thoracic aortic disease: Can we safely cover the branches?

Thoracic aortic disease has usually been treated with surgery. Thoracic endovascular aortic repair is challenging if supra-aortic vessels are involved. In situ fenestration of the main graft from a retrograde approach while using bare-metal stents as bridge stents appears to be a safe and practical technique.

Delivery catheters: Do they truly make a difference in transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement?

Transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) is a safe and feasible procedure for treating pulmonary stenosis, failed right ventricular conduits, or failed bioprosthetic valves. The medtronic melody valve and the Edwards Sapien XT and S3 valves have been the main prosthetic valves used in TPVR. Using the GORE DrySeal sheath helps valve delivery and facilitates TPVR.

Myocardial fibrosis and MitraClip: Does it even matter?

Preprocedural myocardial fibrosis as identified by magnetic resonance imaging correlates with worse outcomes after MitraClip placement. Post-MitraClip mitral regurgitation gradient >2 or ischemic cardiomyopathy also correlates with worse outcomes. In the literature, other variables are mentioned (e.

TAVI: How to best predict postprocedural outcomes?

Baseline risk scores for TAVI patients, including STS and EuroSCORE, might not predict long-term outcomes. Including postprocedural data might improve risk stratification. The ACEF-7 risk score includes the lowest creatinine clearance in the first 7 postprocedural days and appears to be a good predictor of worse long-term outcomes.

Does single-valve surgery cause ischemia?

Isolated valve surgery is associated with a small incidence of postoperative PCI. PCI after single-valve surgery is associated with elevated mortality and morbidity risk. Possible mechanisms for cardiac ischemia include iatrogenic causes (such as suture-related or air embolism), intimal hyperplasia, and immunologic reaction to the valve prosthesis.

Plug vs. suture: Who wins in large bore access closure?

Large Bore Access in increasingly common and surgical closure used to be the gold standard for closure. Novel less invasive closure devices such as the suture based vascular devices offer a safe alternative to surgery. Recent developments provide us with MANTA (Essential Medical Inc.

Aortic dissection: Is the false lumen really important?

Aortic dissection is associated with a high mortality rate and has been increasingly treated with endovascular therapy. False lumen (FL) patency has been shown to be associated with worse outcomes. FL interventions that incorporate the FLIRT (FL intervention to promote remodeling and thrombosis) concept have been associated with improved aortic remodeling that may confer favorable long-term outcomes.

Bleeding in patients receiving non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants: clinical trial evidence.

In optimizing anticoagulation therapy, it is essential to balance treatment efficacy with the major adverse effect of anticoagulant treatment, bleeding risk. This narrative review examines the efficacy and safety of the non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban compared with standard anticoagulation or placebo. NOAC therapies provide equivalent to superior protection versus standard therapy, with similar or superior safety, and potential benefits in convenience.

Use of an AFX aortic cuff in the endovascular treatment of aortocaval fistula secondary to abdominal aortic pseudoaneurysm.

Aortocaval fistula (ACF) is rare and lethal and can be either primary (due to an enlarged abdominal aortic aneurysm) or secondary (iatrogenic or secondary to abdominal surgery) in origin. We describe a case of an ACF secondary to a ruptured abdominal aortic pseudoaneurysm that we successfully treated with a planned endovascular approach using an AFX aortic cuff on both the arterial and venous sides.

Peripheral artery disease: How do genes and pharmacology interplay?

In patients with peripheral artery disease, high on-treatment platelet reactivity (HoTPR) might be associated with worse outcomes for those taking clopidogrel, but not for those taking aspirin. Certain genetic polymorphisms might account for HoTPR. Current literature supports the importance of antiplatelet therapy in treating patients with PAD with clopidogrel, aspirin, or both.

Chronic total occlusion: Does anti-platelet choice impact outcomes?

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) is associated with worse outcomes compared to non CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). CTO might be associated with vasomotor dysfunction Ticagrelor is a novel P2Y12 inhibitor that increases local adenosine The TIGER-BVS trial plans to assess the impact of using ticagrelor vs. clopidogrel on vasomotor activity and outcomes after successful CTO PCI.

A cardiologist's nightmare: Coronary obstruction during transcatheter aortic valve implantation: How to identify patients at highest risk for this complication.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is associated with several complications including coronary obstruction (CO) CO occurs in ∼1% of patients and mostly in patients receiving the SAPIEN XT valve Possible predictors of CO include coronary height <10 mm and aortic sinus diameter of <30 mm.

"To close or not to close?" When should vascular closure devices be used after cardiac catheterization procedures?

Vascular closure devices (VCD) appear to be safe when compared to manual compression or surgical closure. VCDs' main advantage seems to stem from lower time to hemostasis (TTH) and time to mobilization. In anticoagulated patients with 6-Fr femoral sheaths, the new Celt ACT VCD, which uses a stainless-steel permanent implant, seems to be safe and decreases TTH when compared to manual pressure.

Drug-coated balloons: "Do they still have a role in treating coronary artery disease?".

Small vessels with coronary artery disease (CAD) are at high risk of restenosis, despite the use of drug-eluting stents (DESs). Drug-coated balloon (DCB) therapy offers a viable alternative to DESs for the management of small vessel CAD. The literature regarding the use of DCBs in lieu of the newer generation DESs to treat small vessel CAD is controversial.

Optical Coherence Tomographic Evaluation of Hyperacute Bivalirudin-Induced Coronary Stent Thrombosis.

Thrombus formation after stent deployment has been linked to the use of heparin and of antithrombotic agents, such as bivalirudin, during percutaneous coronary intervention. Fluoroscopy has been used to identify stent thrombosis, typically after patients become symptomatic. We describe our use of optical coherence tomography to diagnose and evaluate intraprocedural stent thrombosis in a 68-year-old man who was given bivalirudin just before a percutaneous coronary procedure.

"ICE or not to ICE during LAAO?" What are the benefits and disadvantages of ICE during LAAO?

For left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO), intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) could be a safe alternative to transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). ICE obviates the need for general anesthesia and can be readily implemented in practice. Randomized controlled trials are needed to assess the noninferiority of ICE to TEE for LAAO.

Percutaneous Closure of 2 Paravalvular Leaks and a Gerbode Defect after Mitral Valve Replacement for Infective Endocarditis.

Surgical valve replacement after infective endocarditis can result in local destructive paravalvular lesions. A 30-year-old woman with infective endocarditis underwent mitral valve replacement that was complicated postoperatively by 2 paravalvular leaks. During percutaneous closure of the leaks, a Gerbode defect was also found and closed.

Plasmapheresis in severe methemoglobinemia following occupational exposure.

Ferrous iron can be converted to ferric iron by oxidative stress which results in the formation of methemoglobin. Consequently, the oxygen dissociation curve is shifted to the left, which leads to tissue hypoxia and ultimately may cause death. Acquired methemoglobinemia can be due to a host of offending agents and chemicals including nitrites, local anesthetics, aniline and antimalarial drugs.