A new diagnostic method for woven coronary artery: Optical coherence tomography

PubMedID: 23324909Woven coronary artery is an extremely rare and not clearly defined congenital malformation in which the epicardial coronary artery is divided into multiple thin channels. These multiple channels merge again into a normal conduit. This anomaly is a benign condition because there is normal blood flow after the anomalous segment of the abnormal coronary artery. We describe a woven coronary artery anomaly in the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and its first diagonal (DI) branch causing myocardial infarction that was confused with coronary dissection. The definitive diagnosis was made by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Although woven coronary is a benign anomaly, it may cause myocardial infarction. We used the novel method of OCT for the definitive diagnosis and appropriate treatment of this anomaly. © 2013 Urban & Vogel

A new diagnostic method for woven coronary artery Optical coherence tomography

WOS: 000320243600024PubMed ID: 23324909Woven coronary artery is an extremely rare and not clearly defined congenital malformation in which the epicardial coronary artery is divided into multiple thin channels. These multiple channels merge again into a normal conduit. This anomaly is a benign condition because there is normal blood flow after the anomalous segment of the abnormal coronary artery. We describe a woven coronary artery anomaly in the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and its first diagonal (DI) branch causing myocardial infarction that was confused with coronary dissection. The definitive diagnosis was made by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Although woven coronary is a benign anomaly, it may cause myocardial infarction. We used the novel method of OCT for the definitive diagnosis and appropriate treatment of this anomaly

Alcohol ablation of a coronary artery fistula supplying a tumor-like malformation as the cause of angina

PubMedID: 23324911[No abstract available

Churg-Strauss syndrome presenting with pericardial effusion: Case report

Churg-Strauss Syndrome (CSS) is a rare autoimmune systemic necrotizing vasculitis of unknown cause which is characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of small vessels and extravascular granulomas. Cardiac involvement, the main determinant of prognosis, is seen 17-92% in CSS. Cardiac involvement in CSS includes eosinophilic myocarditis, coronary vasculitis, coronary artery dissection, valvular heart disease, systolic dysfunction, cardiac conduction defects, arrhythmias, pericarditis and ventricular thrombus. Pericardial effusion, which is usually found incidentally with echocardiography, is a well known type of cardiac involvement in CSS and is generally well tolerated. In this report we describe a 24 year old female patient with CSS, presented with exertion and cold related dyspnea, cough, wheezing; and with moderate pericardial effusion, eosinophilia and lung infiltrates. Copyright © 2013 by Türkiye Klinikleri

Is cystatin C an evaluative marker for right heart functions in systemic sclerosis?

PubMedID: 27414726Background/objectives Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a progressive autoimmune disorder with multi-organ involvement. Patients who have SSc are at risk of developing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and right heart failure. Impaired right heart hemodynamic function is the most powerful predictor of mortality in these patients. We assessed the interactions between levels of NT-proBNP, cystatin C, and right ventricular functions in SSc patients without significant PAH. Methods Fifty SSc patients without significant PAH (37 women and 13 men, mean age 47.2 ± 10.3), and 44 healthy participants as a control group (29 women and 15 men, mean age 47.9 ± 10.4) were included in the study. Results Cystatin C and NT-proBNP levels were significantly higher in patients with SSc. Both cystatin C and NT-proBNP levels possitively correlate with age, interventricular septum thickness, left ventricular posterior wall thickness, systolic pulmonary artery pressure, the peak late diastolic filling velocity, tricuspid regurgitation velocity, and negatively correlate with pulmonary artery acceleration time in the patients. Conclusions Our results showed that elevated cystatin-C and NT-proBNP levels may be a clue for diastolic impairment in right ventricular functions in SSc. © 2016 Elsevier Ireland LtdOur study was funded by the scientific research project support unit of Cukurova University

Prevalence of cardiac arrhythmia and risk factors in chronic kidney disease patients

PubMedID: 29970732Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have a high risk for cardiac arrhythmia. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of cardiac arrhythmia in CKD patients and to evaluate the relationship between arrhythmia and biochemical and echocardiographic parameters. CKD patients between 18 and 80 years of age were enrolled from the nephrology outpatient clinic. Physical examination, complete blood count, urinalysis biochemical analysis, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and 24-h Holter electrocardiogram were performed. Patients with and without cardiac arrhythmia were compared regarding their characteristics, laboratory findings, and echocardiographic parameters. Risk factors for cardiac arrhythmia were also evaluated. The carotid intima-media thickness was measured using Doppler ultrasonography. In our study involving 59 patients, 44 (74%) had atrial arrhythmia (AA) and 40 (68%) had ventricular arrhythmia (VA). Atrial and/or VA were diagnosed in 46 patients (78%), of whom six (10.2%) had AA, two (3.4%) had VA and 38 (64.4%) had AA plus VA. Atrial fibrillation (AF) was present in two patients (3.4%) in the form of paroxysmal AF. Risk factors for AA were low calcium level and posterior wall thickness, while factors associated with VA were age, triglyceride level, leukocyte count, and nonusage of angiotensin 2 receptor blockers. Risk factors for AA and/or VA included increased platelet count, age, and leukocyte count. AA and/or VA were found in as high as 78% of CKD patients. Further studies evaluating course of the disease from early stages are needed to identify risk factors