International journal of cardiology
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Historical Article
Vasovagal syncope in the Canon of Avicenna: the first mention of carotid artery hypersensitivity.
Ibn Sina, known as Avicenna in the West, was a celebrated Persian thinker, philosopher, and physician who is remembered for his masterpiece, The Canon of Medicine. The Canon that served as an essential medical encyclopedia for scholars in the Islamic territories and Europe for almost a millennium consisted of 5 books. In the third book, Avicenna described patients with symptoms of carotid hypersensitivity syndrome. ⋯ In this paper, we presented a brief account of Avicenna's life and works and discuss his description of the so-called carotid hypersensitivity syncope. Notwithstanding his loyalty to the Greek theory of humoralism, Avicenna set forth his own version of "theory of spirits" to explain the mechanism of this disease. An account of the theory of spirits is also given.
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Letter Case Reports
Demonstration of coronary-to-pulmonary fistula with MDCT and conventional angiography.
The coronary pulmonary fistulas are usually discovered incidentally during routine cardiac catheterization after the development of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. Here we present a 59-year-old man with anginal symptoms who was found to have two fistulas originating from the left coronary system and right coronary sinus and draining into the pulmonary trunk. We delineated the courses of the fistulas in detail using both of the imaging techniques of MDCT and conventional angiograhy.
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Previous studies explored the association between hemorheological alterations and acute myocardial infarction, pointing out the role of hematological components on microvascular flow. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between blood viscosity and infarct size, estimated by creatine kinase (CK) peak activity and cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) peak concentration in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). ⋯ These results demonstrate a significant and independent association between hemorheology and infarct size in STEMI patients after PCI suggesting that blood viscosity, in a condition of low flow, might worsen myocardial perfusion leading to an increased infarct size. The measurement of whole blood viscosity in STEMI patients could help to identify those who may benefit from new therapeutic strategies.
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Letter Case Reports
Tako-tsubo syndrome following a difficult urinary catheterization.
Tako-tsubo syndrome is a cardiac syndrome triggered by emotional or physical stress and characterized by acute extensive but reversible akinesia of the apex and mid part of the left ventricle (LV) in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. It typically presents with chest pain and/or dyspnea and may mimic an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with ischemic changes in the electrocardiogram and elevated cardiac biomarkers. The precise etiology remains unknown, but prognosis is generally excellent. This is the first reported case of Tako-tsubo syndrome following a difficult outpatient cystoscopic procedure for urinary retention.