Texas Heart Institute journal
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In selected patients, transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects with the AMPLATZER Septal Occluder has yielded excellent results. However, there is a slight risk of device embolization after deployment. We report the case of a 26-year-old woman in whom an embolized AMPLATZER device was retrieved percutaneously from the right pulmonary artery. We also discuss important technical principles for managing this uncommon but potentially severe complication.
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Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation that targets complex fractionated electrogram sites has been widely applied in the management of persistent atrial fibrillation. The clinical outcomes of pulmonary vein isolation alone and pulmonary vein isolation plus the use of complex fractionated electrogram-guided ablation (CFEA) have not been fully compared in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. This prospective study included 70 patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation that remained inducible after pulmonary vein isolation. ⋯ After a mean follow-up of 23 months, freedom from recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmias was significantly higher in Group 2 than in Group 1 (P=0.037). In Group 1, all of the recurrent tachyarrhythmias were atrial fibrillation, whereas regular tachycardia was the major mechanism of recurrent arrhythmias in Group 2 (atrial tachycardia or atrial flutter in 5 of 6 patients and atrial fibrillation in 1 patient). We found that CFEA after pulmonary vein isolation significantly reduced recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmia and might modify the pattern of arrhythmia recurrence in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
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Conivaptan is a nonspecific arginine vasopressin receptor antagonist that has been used as therapy in adults who have hypervolemic hyponatremia due to congestive heart failure. Its use in children with congestive heart failure has not been reported. We describe the use of conivaptan in a 4-month-old infant girl with severe hypervolemic hyponatremia and heart failure. ⋯ Conivaptan therapy was administered for 48 hours, after which the patient recovered from her hyponatremia without untoward effects. Arginine vasopressin receptor antagonists such as conivaptan may be useful as therapy for hyponatremia associated with heart failure. Further studies are required before conivaptan can be recommended for routine use in children.
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Case Reports
Transseptal biopsy of a left atrial mass with 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic guidance.
A 31-year-old man presented with a large cardiac mass that originated from the basal posterior left atrial wall and occupied most of the dilated atrium. Minimally invasive studies yielded inconclusive results, but the patient was considered at high risk for an open cardiac biopsy due to the size of the mass. ⋯ We thereby determined that the mass was a primary left atrial sarcoma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report concerning the use of 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography for biopsy of a left atrial mass.
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Case Reports
Left circumflex coronary artery occlusion after mitral valve annuloplasty: "a stitch in time".
The left circumflex coronary artery is susceptible to injury during mitral valve surgery because of its proximity to the mitral valve annulus. We report the case of a 73-year-old woman who had undergone mitral valve repair and experienced a perioperative myocardial infarction due to occlusion of the left circumflex coronary artery. ⋯ Although injuries to the left circumflex coronary artery are rare during mitral valve surgery, we believe that increasing awareness of the risk will help to prevent potentially fatal complications. We also recommend that surgeons gather as much detail as possible about the patient's anatomy before operation, use careful and meticulous surgical techniques, and use transesophageal echocardiography to look for wall-motion abnormalities before closing the incision.