Texas Heart Institute journal
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A 26-year-old woman, a well-trained runner, had a sudden cardiac arrest just before crossing the finish line of a marathon. She was rapidly resuscitated and was later found to have an ectopic origin of the left coronary artery. This anomaly was surgically repaired by translocating the ostium from the right to the left sinus of Valsalva. ⋯ Because the mode and mechanism of the patient's condition and events were documented in unusual detail, this case furthers our understanding of sudden cardiac arrest in athletes who have rare coronary anomalies. We conclude that ectopia of a coronary artery does not itself cause potentially fatal ischemia. Rather, these events are due to the ectopic artery's intramural proximal course within the aortic media, which might result in critical stenosis by means of hypoplasia or lateral compression of the artery.
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Case Reports
ST-elevation myocardial infarction and myelodysplastic syndrome with acute myeloid leukemia transformation.
Acute myocardial infarction and acute myeloid leukemia are rarely reported as concomitant conditions. The management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in patients who have acute myeloid leukemia is challenging: the leukemia-related thrombocytopenia, platelet dysfunction, and systemic coagulopathy increase the risk of bleeding, and the administration of thrombolytic agents can be fatal. We report the case of a 76-year-old man who presented emergently with STEMI, myelodysplastic syndrome, and newly recognized acute myeloid leukemia transformation. ⋯ However, we think that a more conservative approach--balloon angioplasty with the provisional use of bare-metal stents--might be safer. Simultaneous chemotherapy for the acute myeloid leukemia is crucial. Older age seems to be a major risk factor: patients too frail for emergent treatment can die within hours or days.
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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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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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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.