Clinical characteristics and role of early cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients with suspected ST-elevation myocardial infarction and normal coronary arteries

A variety of conditions other than acute myocardial infarction may cause ST-elevation. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) on differential diagnosis from a prospective series of patients with suspected ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and completely normal coronary arteries. Among 1,145 patients with suspected STEMI, 49 patients had completely normal coronary arteries and entered a prospective registry. CMR was done within 24 h, if possible, and included function analyses, T2-weighted imaging (T2 ratio), T1-weighted imaging before and after gadolineum administration (global relative enhancement; gRE), and late gadolineum enhancement (LGE). All patients were asked for a follow-up CMR after approximately 3 months. The incidence of patients with suspected STEMI and normal coronary arteries was 4.3% and mean age was 45 ± 14 years (STEMI group 64 ± 13 years; P < 0.001). 55% had a recent history of infection. Cardiac biomarkers showed a moderate elevation on admission. There was a significant change from baseline to follow-up for LV end-diastolic volumes (EDV) (P < 0.001), LV mass (P < 0.05), mean T2 ratio (P < 0.05), and LGE volume (P < 0.05). Major diagnostic groups were myocarditis (29%), pericarditis (27%), and takotsubo cardiomyopathy (10%). 18% were regarded as non-diagnostic. The study showed an incidence of 4.3% of patients with suspected STEMI and completely normal coronary arteries. Early CMR was valuable in the evaluation of the differential diagnoses and to exclude myocardial abnormalities in patients with uncertain aetiology. Further studies are needed for the assessment of long-term outcome

Clinical and histologic studies of a Qatari family with myofibrillar myopathy

The current Study reports the first family with confirmed rnyofibrillar myopathy (MFM) in the Middle East and the third family worldwide. This Study highlights the importance of considering MFM in Young patients presenting with idiopathic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia or atrioventricular block in the Gulf states. This is the first report that presented 2 different types of cardiomyopathy and 2 different indications of permanent pacemaker placement in the same Generation of a family with MFM. This report studies a Qatari family consisting of one brother and 3 sisters. The brother had restrictive cardiomyopathy at the age of 16 years. One sister underwent heart transplantation for severe hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at the age of 15 years, the other sister had permanent pacemaker for complete heart block at the age of 21 years. This report is focused mainly on the clinical presentation and investigations carried out for the brother including echocardiogram, cardiac catheterization, cardiac and skeletal muscle biopsy, and electromyography and electrophysiology studies. The Study findings Support the diagnosis of MFM

Does the circadian pattern for acute cardiac events presentation vary with fasting?

Background: Over one billion Muslims fast worldwide during the month of Ramadan. The impact of fasting on circadian presentation with acute cardiac events is unknown. Aim: To determine if fasting has any effect on the circadian presentation of acute cardiac events. Setting and Design: A prospective study in a general hospital. Materials and Methods: Patients with acute coronary events were divided into two groups based on the history of fasting. Information about age, gender, cardiovascular risk factor profiles, and outcome was collected. The relationship of time of presentation of initial symptoms with fasting was evaluated using Student\u2032s t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and x2sub analysis. Results: Of the 1019 patients hospitalized during the study period, 162 were fasting. Although, fasting patients were more likely to present to the emergency department in the time periods 5-6 AM (10.5% vs 6.3%) and 11 PM (11.1% vs 7.1%) and were less likely to present in the time periods 1-2 PM (3.7% vs 7.2%) and 5-6 PM (3.7% vs 7.0%); these differences were not statistically significant. Fasting patients were less likely to have their symptoms start between 5 and 8 AM (11.1% vs 19.4%) and more likely to have symptoms between 5 and 6 PM (11.1% vs 6.0%) and 3 and 4 AM (11.1% vs 6.9%). These differences for time of initial symptoms were statistically significant (P=0.002). Conclusion: Exogenous factors associated with fasting, namely, the changes in food intake and/or sleep timings, affect the circadian rhythm and influence the timing of presentation of acute coronary events

An Active Temporal Model for Network Management Databases

The purpose of a network management system is to provide smooth functioning of a large heterogeneous network through monitoring and controlling of network behavior. ISO/OSI has defined six management functionalities that aid in overall management of a network: configuration, fault, performance, security, directory and accounting management. These management functionalities provide tools for overall graceful functioning of the network on both day-to-day and long-term basis. All of the functionalities entail dealing with huge volumes of data. So network management in a sense is management of data, like a DBMS is used to manage data. This is precisely our purpose in this paper to show that by viewing the network as a conceptual global database the six management functionalities can be performed in a declarative fashion through specification of management functionalities as data manipulation statements. But to be able to do so we need a model that incorporates the unique properties of netw..

Rationale and design of the Pan-African Sudden Cardiac Death survey: the Pan-African SCD study

BACKGROUND: The estimated rate of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in Western countries ranges from 300,000 to 400,000 annually, which represents 0.36 to 1.28 per 1 000 inhabitants in Europe and the United States. The burden of SCD in Africa is unknown. Our aim is to assess the epidemiology of SCD in Africa. METHODS: The Pan-Africa SCD study is a prospective, multicentre, community-based registry monitoring all cases of cardiac arrest occurring in victims over 15 years old. We will use the definition of SCD as 'witnessed natural death occurring within one hour of the onset of symptoms' or 'unwitnessed natural death within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms'. After approval from institutional boards, we will record demographic, clinical, electrocardiographic and biological variables of SCD victims (including survivors of cardiac arrest) in several African cities. All deaths occurring in residents of districts of interest will be checked for past medical history, circumstances of death, and autopsy report (if possible). We will also analyse the employment of resuscitation attempts during the time frame of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in various patient populations throughout African countries. CONCLUSION: This study will provide comprehensive, contemporary data on the epidemiology of SCD in Africa and will help in the development of strategies to prevent and manage cardiac arrest in this region of the worl