Clinical cardiology
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Clinical cardiology · Mar 1998
Case ReportsLeft ventricular diastolic collapse in low-pressure cardiac tamponade.
A case of systemic hypotension with volume depletion not responding to intravenous fluids was found to have features of cardiac tamponade on two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiography. Intracardiac pressures were normal on cardiac catheterization. An interesting observation was the presence of left ventricular (LV) collapse on 2-D echocardiography. To the authors' best knowledge, such a case of low pressure cardiac tamponade with LV collapse has not been reported earlier.
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Clinical cardiology · Mar 1998
Validation of a decision support tool for the evaluation of cardiac arrest victims.
There is currently no well-accepted model for early and accurate prediction of neurologic and vital outcomes after cardiac arrest. Recent studies indicate that individuals with acute myocardial ischemia as the etiology for the arrest may benefit from early revascularization. ⋯ The cardiac arrest score is a valid decision support tool in the evaluation of cardiac arrest victims. Patients with the most favorable scores may be considered for early angiography and revascularization if myocardial ischemia is the etiology of the arrest.
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Clinical cardiology · Mar 1998
Case ReportsHypocalcemic heart failure: a reversible form of heart muscle disease.
This paper reports the case of a 53-year-old woman with hypocalcemia-induced reversible cardiomyopathy. Laboratory tests showed hypocalcemia caused by idiopathic hypoparathyroidism. Her left ventricular dysfunction persisted for a long period even after normalization of the serum calcium level. Observations suggest that physicians should be aware that hypocalcemia can be a reversible cause of cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure.