Rev Cardiovasc Med
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A mainstay of therapy for congestive heart failure has been the use of potent diuretic agents, such as furosemide, that target the kidney to enhance sodium and water excretion. Although furosemide is widely used to treat the symptoms of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), the consequent activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system may limit the natriuretic response by reducing the glomerular filtration rate. ⋯ In order to preserve and/or enhance renal function in ADHF, especially with agents such as conventional diuretics and vasodilators, an understanding of intrarenal factors that may protect the kidney may provide a direction for optimal use of current therapies and also lead to newer therapeutic strategies. Vasodilators, especially those that are linked to cGMP activation, may provide an alternative approach.
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A persistent patent foramen ovale produces an intermittent intra-atrial right-to-left shunt and occurs in approximately 25% of the general population. Although the vast majority of people with patent foramen ovale are asymptomatic, a patent foramen ovale is believed to act as a pathway for chemicals or thrombus that can result in a variety of clinical manifestations, including stroke, migraine headache, decompression sickness, high-altitude pulmonary edema, and platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome. ⋯ Percutaneous closure appears to have a low risk profile and has been considered in high-risk patients who are not candidates for randomized clinical trials. Randomized clinical trials that are underway should help define the best management of patent foramen ovale, as well as the true safety and efficacy of percutaneous closure devices.
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Review Case Reports
Treatment of intractable angina pectoris utilizing spinal cord stimulation.
Intractable angina pectoris affects approximately 5% to 15% of patients with ischemic heart disease. Current treatment options for refractory angina can be divided into 3 groups: pharmacological, nonpharmacological noninvasive, and invasive. The newest pharmacological treatment option for intractable angina pectoris is ranolazine. ⋯ Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) as a palliative intervention for refractory angina has been underutilized in the United States. This case review describes application of SCS in a 43-year-old woman with a 10-year history of symptomatic ischemic heart disease who was unresponsive to all available treatment options for intractable severe chest pain. Following spinal cord stimulator placement, the patient reported no further angina, discontinued nitroglycerine, had improved sleep quality, and resumed full-time employment.
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One of the principal complications of radiographic procedures utilizing intravascular iodinated contrast media is acute kidney injury. Although several clinical and procedural factors impact a patient's risk for contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI), substantial attention has been focused on the relationship between the type of contrast agent used and renal injury. ⋯ This article summarizes the physicochemical properties that define and differentiate iodinated contrast media, discusses the purported relationship between these properties and kidney injury, and describes the salient findings of clinical trials and meta-analyses that have compared the nephrotoxic effects of contrast agents. Although ongoing and future studies will further elucidate our understanding of the relationship between iodinated contrast and risk for CIAKI, a sound understanding of the currently available data will help inform evidence-based decisions on the use of these agents in clinical practice.
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Natriuretic peptide (NPs) levels have achieved worldwide acceptance. They are excellent rule-in and rule-out biomarkers for patients presenting with dyspnea. ⋯ NP levels drop during hospitalization as the patient is decongested. In the future, NP levels may be used as a surrogate to titrate outpatient therapy.