Texas Heart Institute journal
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A 55-year-old woman with a history of complete heart block, atrial flutter, and progressive right ventricular failure was referred to our tertiary care center to be evaluated for cardiac transplantation. The patient's clinical course included worsening right ventricular dysfunction for 3 years before the current evaluation. Our clinical findings raised concerns about arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. ⋯ Biopsy samples of the cardiac allograft 6 months after transplantation showed no recurrence of sarcoidosis. This atypical presentation of isolated cardiac sarcoidosis posed a considerable diagnostic challenge. In addition to discussing the patient's case, we review the relevant medical literature and discuss the need for updated differential diagnostic criteria for end-stage right ventricular failure that mimics arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.
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Massive pulmonary embolism is associated with mortality rates exceeding 50%. Current practice guidelines include the immediate administration of thrombolytic therapy in the absence of contraindications. However, thrombolysis for pulmonary embolism is said to be absolutely contraindicated in the presence of recent hemorrhagic stroke and other conditions. ⋯ Despite this practice guideline, we administered tissue plasminogen activator systemically in order to save the patient's life. This therapy did not evoke intracranial bleeding, and the patient was eventually discharged from the hospital. Until guidelines specific to venous thromboembolic disease are developed, we think that the current contraindications to thrombolysis should be considered on an individual basis in patients who are at high risk of death from massive pulmonary embolism.
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Percutaneous closure of paravalvular leaks has emerged as an alternative to repeated surgeries. Different percutaneous techniques and various devices have been used, off-label, for paravalvular leak closure. For mitral leaks, antegrade transseptal, retrograde transfemoral, and retrograde transapical techniques have been developed. ⋯ We present the cases of 3 patients in whom we closed mitral paravalvular leaks by means of a retrograde transfemoral approach, with use of an Amplatzer™ Duct Occluder II device and without the construction of an arteriovenous wire loop. We think that this approach can be very useful in a specific group of patients-reducing costs, fluoroscopy times, and complications related to transseptal puncture and construction of an arteriovenous wire loop. In our institution, this reported technique is routinely used for mitral paravalvular leak closure.
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Although survival rates after cardiac arrest remain low, new techniques are improving patients' outcomes. We present the case of a 40-year-old man who survived a cardiac arrest that lasted approximately 3½ hours. Resuscitation was performed with strict adherence to American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Advanced Cardiac Life Support guidelines until bedside extracorporeal membrane oxygenation could be placed. ⋯ On day 179, he was discharged from the hospital in ambulatory condition. To our knowledge, this is the only reported case in which a patient survived with good neurologic outcomes after a resuscitation that lasted as long as 3½ hours. Documented cases of resuscitation with good recovery after prolonged arrest give hope for improved overall outcomes in the future.
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In the present study of mitral valve replacement, we investigated whether complete preservation of both leaflets (that is, the subvalvular apparatus) is superior to preservation of the posterior leaflet alone. Seventy patients who underwent mitral valve replacement in our clinic were divided into 2 groups: MVR-B (n=16), in whom both leaflets were preserved, and MVR-P (n=54), in whom only the posterior leaflet was preserved. The preoperative and postoperative clinical and echocardiographic findings were evaluated retrospectively. ⋯ Bileaflet preservation prevented the decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction that usually followed preservation of the posterior leaflet alone. However, posterior leaflet preservation alone yielded excellent results in terms of decreased left ventricular diameter. Bileaflet preservation should be the method of choice to prevent further decreases in ejection fraction and to avoid death in patients who present with substantially impaired left ventricular function.