Acute Right Heart Failure

Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) has been used in pediatric and adult perioperative cardiac intensive care for over three decades. NO is a cellular signaling molecule that induces smooth muscle relaxation in the mammalian vasculature. Inhaled NO has the unique ability to exert its vasodilatory effects in the pulmonary vasculature without any hypotensive side-effects in the systemic circulation. In patients undergoing cardiac surgery, NO has been reported in numerous studies to exert beneficial effects on acutely lowering pulmonary artery pressure and reversing right ventricular dysfunction and/or failure...

UNLABELLED: We present a case of a man with ischemic cardiomyopathy and single chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator who developed sinus arrest creating sudden dependence on right ventricular (RV) pacing. He presented with cardiogenic shock secondary to abrupt onset ventricular dyssynchrony from RV pacing, which required emergent stabilization and completely resolved with atrial pacing. LEARNING OBJECTIVE: To establish a basic understanding of cardiogenic shock management...

BACKGROUND: We present a case of a pregnant patient with recurrent angina, in which her symptoms were initially attributed to coronary artery spasm. However, during follow-up, she was diagnosed as having pheochromocytoma, a rare neuroendocrine tumour. CASE SUMMARY: The 35-year-old patient was admitted to the hospital because of chest pain and elevated cardiac troponins after the use of MDMA. Physical examination, electrocardiogram, echocardiography, coronary angiogram, and cardiac MRI were normal...

BACKGROUND: An epicardial connection (EC) through the intercaval bundle (EC-ICB) between the right pulmonary vein (RPV) and right atrium (RA) is one of the reasons for the need for carina ablation for PV isolation and may reduce the acute and chronic success of PV isolation. We evaluated the intra-atrial activation sequence during RPV pacing after failure of ipsilateral RPV isolation and sought to identify specific conduction patterns in the presence of EC-ICB. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study included 223 consecutive patients who underwent initial catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation...

BACKGROUND: We report a case of a 72-year-old patient developing a significant tricuspid regurgitation (TR) 6 years after a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. The aim of this case is to demonstrate the feasibility of transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) of the tricuspid valve and the excellent clinical benefit in long-term follow-up in an LVAD patient. CASE SUMMARY: Our patient presented with recurrent acute heart failure syndrome. After a fulminant myocarditis in 2005, his previous treatment consisted of cardiac resynchronization therapy, TEER of the mitral valve, and LVAD (HeartMate III) implantation...

BACKGROUND: Following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, a post-infectious multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A) has been identified. It affects multiple organ systems and can lead to multi-organic failure. CASE SUMMARY: This case report describes a patient with MIS-A with significant cardiac involvement including peri-myocarditis, pulmonary hypertension, right-sided heart failure, tricuspid regurgitation, and cardiogenic shock...

Amyloidosis presents a diagnostic challenge, particularly when concomitant with severe conditions like acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In this report, we detail the case of a 73-year-old patient with acute exacerbation of IPF and simultaneous emergence of cardiac amyloidosis. The patient's clinical journey began with persistent exertional dyspnea, progressing to hypoxemia on admission. Chest CT scans showed extensive ground-glass opacities, consolidations, and pre-existing honeycombing-like cysts and reticular shadows, accompanied by a right-sided pleural effusion...

Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a rare complication of long bone fractures, with fulminant FES developing within 12 h of injury and often proving fatal (Shaikh, 2009 [1]). Here, we present a case of fulminant FES in a patient who developed sudden right heart failure after undergoing external fixation of a lower leg fracture and required veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). A 79-year-old woman injured in a traffic accident was transferred to our emergency department. Upon arrival, her level of consciousness deteriorated, and she developed circulatory failure...

Pulmonary hypertension is a challenging disease entity with various underlying etiologies. The management of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (WHO Group 1) remains challenging especially in the critical care setting. With risk of high morbidity and mortality, these patients require a multidisciplinary team approach at a speciality care facility for pulmonary hypertension for comprehensive evaluation and rapid initiation of treatment. For acute decompensated right heart failure, management should concentrate on optimizing preload and after load with use of pulmonary vasodilator therapy...

BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis of the aortic valve can result in a wide range of destructive pathology beyond the valve leaflets and annulus which require careful surgical planning to provide appropriate debridement and reconstruction. Failure to do so can result in a failure of surgical treatment, recurrent infection and cardiac failure with concomitant high morbidity and mortality. CASE REPORT: We describe the case of a 45-year-old male with previous patch repair of a ventricular septal defect, who was diagnosed with sub-acute bacterial endocarditis of the native aortic valve and developed a new fistula from the aorta to the right ventricular outflow tract which...

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the leading cause of in-hospital death and the third most frequent cause of cardiovascular death. The clinical presentation of PE is variable, and choosing the appropriate treatment for individual patients can be challenging. CASE SUMMARY: A 64-year-old man presented to hospital with acute chest pain, shortness of breath, and pulmonary oedema. Electrocardiogram revealed ST-elevation myocardial infarction. D-dimer was 18.8 mg/L fibrinogen equivalent units (FEU) (normal <0...

BACKGROUND: Heart transplantation is an effective treatment for end-stage congestive heart failure, however, achieving the right balance of immunosuppression to maintain graft function while minimising adverse effects is challenging. Serial endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) are currently the standard for rejection surveillance, despite being invasive. Replacing EMB-based surveillance with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-based surveillance for acute cardiac allograft rejection has shown feasibility...

We present a case of a 52-year old woman with cardiogenic shock (CS) with refractory right ventricular (RV) failure due to spontaneous dissection of the right coronary artery (RCA). She remained dependent on mechanical support for several weeks and both RV assist device (RVAD) implantation and bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis (BCPA) were explored as long-term support options. History of malignancy and possible RV functional recovery resulted in a decision in favour of BCPA and concomitant tricuspid valve (TV) annuloplasty...

Hepatic subcapsular biloma is a rare but significant complication following laparoscopic cholecystectomy, characterized by the accumulation of bile beneath the hepatic capsule. Despite its infrequency, recognizing this condition is crucial due to its potential for significant morbidity. This report aims to elucidate the presentation, diagnosis, and management of this complication to enhance clinical outcomes. We present the case of a 59-year-old male with a complex medical history including atrial fibrillation, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, and alcohol abuse...

As patients continue to live longer from diseases that predispose them to right ventricular (RV) dysfunction or failure, many more patients will require surgery for acute or chronic health issues. Because RV dysfunction results in significant perioperative morbidity if not adequately assessed or managed, understanding appropriate assessment and treatments is important in preventing subsequent morbidity and mortality in the perioperative period. In light of the epidemiology of right heart disease, a working knowledge of right heart anatomy and physiology and an understanding of the implications of right-sided heart function for perioperative care are essential for perioperative practitioners...

INTRODUCTION: Biventricular pacing (BiVp) improves outcomes in systolic heart failure patients with electrical dyssynchrony. BiVp is delivered from epicardial left ventricular (LV) and endocardial right ventricular (RV) electrodes. Acute electrical activation changes with different LV-RV stimulation offsets can help guide individually optimized BiVp programming. We sought to study the BiVp ventricular activation with different LV-RV offsets and compare with 12-lead ECG. METHODS: In five patients with BiVp (63 ± 17-year-old, 80% male, LV ejection fraction 27 ± 6%), we evaluated acute ventricular epicardial activation, varying LV-RV offsets in 20 ms increments from -40 to 80 ms, using electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) to obtain absolute ventricular electrical uncoupling (VEUabs, absolute difference in average LV and average RV activation time) and total activation time (TAT)...

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy is a biventricular disease in which the effect on the left ventricle can be either equivalent to or more severe than that on the right ventricle. It is a rare disease due to its low reported prevalence and typically becomes clinically evident during the second to fourth decade of life. It represents 4% of sudden cardiac death cases referred for autopsy and 10% of cases of unexplained cardiac arrest. We present a challenging case report of a 68-year-old man who arrived at the emergency room with chest discomfort, palpitations, and light-headedness before a syncopal episode with urinary incontinence...

Right ventricular failure is a mechanism of hemodynamic collapse in acute aortic dissection. Mostly RV failure happens as a result of coronary malperfusion secondary to compression of right coronary artery ostium by the false lumen of type A aortic dissection or the dissection flap involving this coronary artery. Another mechanism is compression of pulmonary artery and an acute rise of pulmonary pressure below the level of obstruction, which is rarely reported. Herein, we presented an 82-year-old man who was admitted with type A aortic dissection in whom echocardiographic examination revealed right pulmonary artery compression resulting in acute right ventricular failure...

BACKGROUND: Utilization of right ventricular mechanical circulatory support (RV-MCS) devices has been limited by a lack of recognition of RV failure as well as a lack of availability and experience with RV-MCS. AIMS: We report a single-center experience with the use of percutaneous RV-MCS and report predictors of adverse outcomes. METHODS: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study. Data from consecutive patients who received RV-MCS for any indication between June 2015 and January 2022 were included...

BACKGROUND: A coronary artery aneurysm is a dilation exceeding 1.5 times the diameter of the patient's largest coronary vessel. They are rare, varying in prevalence between 1.4 and 4.9%. Additionally, they carry a high risk of potential complications, including thrombosis and myocardial infarction, with a risk of rupture. We present an interesting case of a patient with initial imaging suggesting a mass in the right ventricle. CASE SUMMARY: This patient initially presented with acute hypoxic respiratory failure related to pulmonary oedema...