The Canadian journal of cardiology
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Comparative Study
Incidence and significance of pericardial effusion in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
The incidence of pericardial effusion (PEF) during long-term follow-up among patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is unknown. We aimed to determine the incidence and prognostic significance of developing a new PEF among PAH patients. ⋯ PEF develops frequently in PAH patients. In patients with no PEF at baseline, the appearance of a new moderate-size or larger PEF is associated with increased mortality, whereas no significantly increased mortality was observed when a small PEF develops.
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Case Reports
Infective endocarditis presenting as an isolated aneurysm of the posterior mitral leaflet.
We describe the case of a 64-year-old woman in whom an aneurysm located on the posterior mitral leaflet was detected. Blood cultures grew methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus epidermidis, and histologic examination of the operative specimen showed polymorphonuclear neutrophilic infiltration of the valve wall associated with fibrin and necrosis, consistent with a diagnosis of endocarditis. The posterior mitral location of the aneurysm and the absence of vegetation are exceptionally rare in this setting. This case demonstrates that a mitral aneurysm may be the sole cardiac presentation of infective endocarditis.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Does preoperative atrial fibrillation portend a poorer prognosis in patients undergoing isolated aortic valve replacement? A multicentre Australian study.
Preoperative atrial fibrillation (preop-AF) has been associated with poorer early and late outcomes after cardiac surgery. Few studies, however, have evaluated the impact of preop-AF on early and late outcomes after isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR). ⋯ Preop-AF is associated with an increased risk of late mortality after isolated AVR. As such, concomitant atrial ablation with AVR should be prospectively studied.
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Epidemiologic evidence has demonstrated that air pollution may impair cardiovascular health, leading to potentially life-threatening arrhythmias. Efforts have been made, with the use of epidemiologic data and controlled exposures in diverse animal and human populations, to verify the relationship between air pollution and arrhythmias. The purpose of this review is to examine and contrast the epidemiologic and toxicologic evidence to date that relates airborne pollutants with cardiac arrhythmia. ⋯ Numerous pollutants have demonstrated some arrhythmic capacity among healthy and health-compromised populations. However, some exposure studies have shown no significant correlation of air pollutants with arrhythmia, which suggests some uncertainty about the arrhythmogenic potential of air pollution and the mechanisms involved in arrhythmogenesis. While data from an increasing number of controlled exposures with human volunteers suggest a potential mechanistic link between air pollution and altered cardiac electrophysiology, definite conclusions regarding air pollution and arrhythmia are elusive as the direct arrhythmic effects of air pollutants are not entirely consistent across all studies.