Revista portuguesa de cardiologia : orgão oficial da Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia = Portuguese journal of cardiology : an official journal of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology
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Brugada syndrome is a rare syndrome, with an estimated prevalence in Europe of 1-5/10 000 population, whose initial clinical presentation can be sudden death. Although it has a characteristic electrocardiographic pattern, this can be intermittent. The authors present the case of a 32-year-old man, with no family history of syncope or sudden death, who went to the emergency department for syncope without prodromes. ⋯ During further diagnostic studies, a repeat ECG revealed type 1 Brugada pattern. This pattern was later seen in a more marked form during a respiratory infection. The patient subsequently underwent electrophysiological study, followed by implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), with an episode of ventricular fibrillation converted via ICD shock two months after implantation.
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Case Reports
Transient ST-segment elevation and chest pain following percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty.
Transient ST-segment elevation occurring in the context of percutaneous cardiac interventions has not been fully characterized. We present a case of an inferior ST-segment elevation associated with angina and hypotension following percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty. Coronary angiography during ST elevation found no abnormalities and no myocardial necrosis was documented. Thus, as the Inoue balloon had been reinflated and overinflated, we suggest that mechanical myocardial compression might be responsible for the transmural transient ischemia observed in some cardiac percutaneous procedures involving balloons or closure devices.
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Atherosclerosis is an active process and the inflammatory component appears to be particularly correlated with the development of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein that appears in the circulation in response to inflammatory cytokines. The present study investigated the association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) on admission and follow-up prognosis after an ACS. ⋯ Although the GRACE risk score is routinely used for stratification of patients with ACS, assessment of hsCRP may provide additional prognostic value in the follow-up of non-STEMI patients.
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Pulmonary angiography by computed tomography (CT) is the method of choice for the detection of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Studies have shown that the severity of PE can be estimated by clot burden scores. ⋯ QS >18 points proved to be an independent predictor of RVD in PE, and correlated linearly with variables associated with higher morbidity and mortality.