Texas Heart Institute journal
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Case Reports
Hyperinsulinemia euglycemia therapy for calcium channel blocker overdose: a case report.
We report the case of a patient with calcium channel blocker toxicity who was treated successfully with hyperinsulinemia euglycemia therapy, without prior use of vasopressors. The patient was a 60-year-old man with schizoaffective disorder who presented with severe hemodynamic compromise after an intentional overdose of 5,400 mg of extended-release diltiazem. He had been admitted to the hospital twice before for attempted suicide with diltiazem and nifedipine, respectively. ⋯ His bradycardia and hypotension resolved without cardiac pacing or vasopressors. Hyperinsulinemia euglycemia therapy is a potentially life-saving treatment for calcium channel blocker toxicity. We suggest that such therapy should be considered early, in conjunction with conventional therapy, for the treatment of calcium channel blocker overdose in patients not responding to initial treatment.
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Turner syndrome is a monosomy (45,X karyotype) in which the prevalence of cardiovascular anomalies is high. However, this aspect of Turner syndrome has received little attention outside of the pediatric medical literature, and the entire spectrum of cardiovascular conditions in adults remains unknown. We present the case of a 34-year-old woman who had Turner syndrome. ⋯ Fifteen years later, during preoperative examination for prosthesis-patient mismatch, severe mitral regurgitation was detected, and a congenital cleft in the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve was diagnosed with use of 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography. The patient underwent concurrent mitral valve repair and aortic valve replacement. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a cleft in the posterior mitral valve leaflet as a cardiovascular defect observed in Turner syndrome, and the first such instance to have been diagnosed with the use of 3-dimensional echocardiography.
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We report 2 noteworthy cases of very late stent thrombosis presenting as ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction, with vastly different manifestations. Both patients were women who had histories of multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention with first-generation sirolimus-eluting stents, in 2005 and 2006. ⋯ On the basis of these two cases and our review of the current literature, we ask whether it is now prudent to recommend lifelong dual antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stent deployment. Moreover, in order to account for cases of stent thrombosis that occur ≥ 5 years after drug-eluting stent implantation, should we perhaps suggest the addition of "extremely late stent thrombosis" to the existing Academic Research Consortium classification?
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Herein, we describe a plate-fixation technique as an alternative method to close a fragile or fractured sternum. A 69-year-old obese woman with diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. One week postoperatively, sternal instability was detected, and traditional rewiring was performed. ⋯ This longitudinal plate-fixation technique can be tailored to each patient. We think that the technique is safe, effective, economical, and easy to implement, and it is readily reproducible. To evaluate any associated risks, long-term follow-up in additional patients is warranted.