Mild hyperkalemia and low eGFR a tedious recipe for cardiac disaster in the elderly: an unusual reversible cause of syncope and heart block

Hyperkalemia affects the myocardial tissue producing electrocardiographic abnormalities, such as prolongation of the P-R interval, tall peaked T waves, a reduction in the amplitude and an increase in the duration of P wave, and atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, including variable degree heart blocks. Elderly patients are particularly predisposed to developing hyperkalemia and the associated abnormalities due to an age-related reduction in glomerular filtration rate and pre-existing medical problems. Therefore, the impact of aging on potassium homeostasis must be taken into consideration, and preventive measures, such as early recognition of possible hyperkalemia in the geriatric population treated with certain medications or supplements must be investigated. The threshold for cardiac arrhythmias in the elderly can be lower than the general population. We report 3 unusual cases of mild hyperkalemia in elderly patients presenting with hypotension, syncope and variable degree heart blocks which resolved spontaneously with the correction of hyperkalemia

COVID-19-induced latent relapsing hypercoagulable state in the absence of persistent viral infection

Hypercoagulability in coronavirus disease 2019 infection is already a known fact. But in this article, we have discussed a unique case where the patient had suffered from relapsing thrombus formation. This report describes the case of a patient who presented with chronic coronavirus disease 2019-induced recurrent thrombi refractory to multiple antithrombotic regimens because of multiple recurrent inflammatory flares without any evidence of chronic persistent viral infection. The patient was treated with anticoagulation and anti-inflammatory medications. Still, he had repeated episodes of right ventricular thrombus. Coronavirus disease 2019 can provoke a severe relapsing hypercoagulable state without evidence of persisting viral infection. Rebound inflammatory flares rather than viral recurrence may play a trigger

Trends in Therapy and Outcomes Associated With Respiratory Failure in Patients Admitted to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

PURPOSE: To describe the epidemiology, outcomes, and temporal trends of respiratory failure in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort analysis of 2,986 unique Mayo Clinic CICU patients from 2007 to 2018 with respiratory failure. Temporal trends were analyzed, along with hospital and 1-year mortality. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine adjusted hospital mortality trends. RESULTS: The prevalence of respiratory failure in the CICU increased from 15% to 38% during the study period ( CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of respiratory failure in CICU more than doubled during the last decade. The use of noninvasive respiratory support increased, while overall mortality declined over time. Cardiac arrest and shock accounted for the majority of deaths. Further research is needed to optimize the outcomes of high-risk CICU patients with respiratory failure

Correlation of Angiographic Late Loss With Neointimal Proliferation in Stents Evaluated by OCT and Histology in Porcine Coronary Arteries

ObjectivesWe aimed to evaluate the correlation of angiographic late loss (LL) with the degree of in-stent neointimal proliferation assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and histology.BackgroundAngiographic LL is the most common endpoint used in clinical trials for the evaluation of the efficacy of drug-eluting stents (DES). However, there are few data in regards to the accuracy of angiographic LL in the evaluation of DES displaying lower degrees of neointimal proliferation.MethodsA total of 49 stents (36 DES and 13 bare-metal stents) were deployed in coronary arteries of 23 domestic swine and followed up for 28 or 90 days, thus obtaining different degrees of neointimal proliferation. Each stent was divided into 8 to 9 segments along the longitudinal axis to match corresponding histological cross sections. Angiographic LL was calculated at each segment throughout the entire length of the stent and compared with in-stent neointimal thickness (NT) obtained by OCT and histology.ResultsA total of 382 angiographic segments were suitable for matched comparison with both OCT and histological findings. The mean LL at follow-up was 0.60 ± 0.57 mm (range: −0.46 to 2.3 mm) for all segments. Approximately 13.9% of stent segments had a LL between −0.5 and 0 mm, and 22.5% had a LL greater than 1.0 mm. The correlation between OCT and histology for the evaluation of NT was adequate regardless the level of angiographic LL. In addition, overall correlations between angiographic LL and NT by OCT or histology were adequate (R = 0.77 and 0.63, respectively). However, angiographic LL showed a poor correlation with NT by OCT or histology at a value <0.55 mm (R = 0.38 and 0.15, respectively).ConclusionsAngiographic LL below a threshold value of 0.55 mm correlates poorly with NT obtained by OCT and histology. These results suggest a cautious interpretation is needed to evaluate angiographic endpoints in DES trials in which LL values below this threshold are reported