Acta cardiologica
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Case Reports
Quinidine for the management of electrical storm in an old patient with Brugada syndrome and syncope.
We report the case of a 63-year-old male with episodes of syncope which led to negative neurologic rule-out. One month later, after another episode of syncope, an emergency room ECG showed ventricular tachycardia treated by DC-shock and, after defibrillation, a typical ECG Brugada pattern. ⋯ Nine-month follow-up was uneventful, without recurrence of ventricular tachycardia at ICD controls. Quinidine may be regarded as an adjunctive therapy for patients at higher risk of ventricular fibrillation and may reduce the number of ICD shocks in patients with multiple recurrences.
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The number of fitness centres has increased in Western countries, some proposing specific training programmes (cardiac patients, weight loss or seniors).There is a real risk of cardiovascular events for individuals without cardiovascular evaluation. Fitness centres could represent a place at particularly high risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). ⋯ The rate of SCA in fitness centres in French-speaking Belgium is comparable to that reported in other countries. AED were available in less than 10% of centres and no CPR trained staff was available in almost one third of the centres.
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Comparative Study
Clinical features and prognosis in Chinese patients with acute fulminant myocarditis.
There is still a lack of large-scale studies focusing on acute fulminant myocarditis (AFM) and knowledge of this disease is unimpressive. To better understand the clinical features of AFM and improve the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, we analysed the data of consecutive Chinese AFM patients admitted to our department. ⋯ This study describes the clinical features of Chinese AFM patients. The short- and mid-term prognosis of AFM is good. AFM patients may benefit from a treatment with glucocorticoids.
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Review Case Reports
Ictal asystole: case report with review of literature.
Cardiac arrhythmias are frequently observed during epileptic seizures. Mostly they are benign, but severe bradycardia and asystole occur in 0.27-0.5% of patients who have seizures on video-EEG monitoring units. ⋯ Ictal bradycardia could be a cause of SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) and pacemaker insertion might therefore improve survival in selected cases, although more research is needed to prove this. We present a case of prolonged ictal asystole in a patient with newly diagnosed partial epilepsy originating from the temporal lobe.
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We aimed to investigate the role of QRS duration on the surface electrocardiogram (ECG) in predicting response to levosimendan therapy in patients with acute systolic heart failure. ⋯ QRS duration on ECG may be used as a practical bedside indicator in estimating short-term response to levosimendan therapy.