Cardiol J
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Case Reports
T wave oversensing and low percentage of biventricular pacing in cardiac resynchronization therapy.
The success of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) depends on a high percentage of ventricular pacing. We present the electrocardiography and electrograms of a patient who underwent an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) with CRT implantation showing a low percentage of ventricular pacing as a result of T wave oversensing of paced QRS. The patient showed no clinical improvement. We suggest finding a good sensitivity of F waves in induced ventricular fibrillation during ICD implantation in order to overcome the harm of possible oversensing.
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It has been demonstrated in numerous studies that N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is strongly associated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), functional capacity (FC), and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in heart failure (HF) patients. The aim of the present study was to determine the predictive cutoff values of NT-proBNP for predicting these parameters. ⋯ Use of NT-proBNP cutoff values is easy and reliable method for the prediction of low FC and decreased LVEF, and may aid identification of patients at the highest risk for future CV events. We suggest to use NT-proBNP cutoff value of 940 pg/mL for predicting these parameters.
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Bicuspid aortic valve is one of the most common congenital cardiac anomalies and it may be accompanied by other cardiovascular anomalies. Sinus of Valsalva aneurysm is a rare anomaly in adult population, but it coexists with bicuspid aortic valve quite often. This report describes a 57 years-old patient who had a bicuspid aortic valve accompanied by unruptured Valsalva sinus aneurysm with significant left anterior narrowing and who underwent successful surgery with ascending aorta and aortic valve replacement as well as coronary by-pass grafting.
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Inappropriate shocks from implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) may occur for many reasons. Inappropriate shocks are not simply painful inconveniences for patients; they also may result in the need for further operative procedures, and sometimes even death. Herein, we report the case of a patient who after upgrade of an ICD to a cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator device (CRT-D), returned with multiple shocks due to altered sensing and defibrillation polarities that resulted from actual physical reversal of the distal (-) and proximal (+) lead terminals in the header of the device.
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Distortion of the terminal portion of the QRS in the initial electrocardiogram (ECG) is a strong predictor of adverse outcome in myocardial infarction. Our purpose is to assess the relationship of distortion of QRS and other ECG characteristics with older age. ⋯ The distortion of the terminal portion of the QRS in myocardial infarction is more frequent in elderly people, and is significantly related to adverse prognosis. This ECG finding can be helpful to promptly stratify the risk in elderly patients.