Ecocardiography

Prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) in aortic valve and its complication coronary embolism is a very rare condition. Diagnosis and treatment process is challenging. We present a young patient with acute myocardial infarction who underwent mechanical aortic valve replacement (AVR) operation one month earlier. Percutaneous coronary intervention was performed and it was succesful. Transeasophageal ecocardiography (TEE) was performed. Thrombus was seen on the mechanical aortic valve and thrombolytic therapy was initiated...

We reported a case of non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) in a 37-year-old woman who presented with signs and symptoms of cardio-embolic cerebral stroke caused by a prothrombotic state due to underlying advanced uterine cancer. Multimodal imaging, including 3D-ecocardiography, as well as laboratory and cultural tests, were critical in making the diagnosis. After starting anticoagulation therapy with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), the patient underwent surgical aortic valve replacement due to worsening aortic valve function, initial left ventricle enlargement, increasing dimensions, and mobility of vegetations...

UNLABELLED: Radiation in breast cancer patients may result in cardiovascular disease affecting the pericardium, myocardium, and cardiac valves. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the cardiotoxic consequences of radiotherapy in breast cancer patients who underwent adjuvant trastuzumab treatment by echocardiographic left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) measurement. METHODS: In this retrospective study patients treated with postoperative breast irradiation with adjuvant trastuzumab were examined in terms of LVEF...

Recent research has increased focus and interest in characterizing the physiology of the transition circulation using echocardiography. Critique of published normative neonatal echocardiography data among healthy term neonates has not been performed. We have performed a comprehensive literature review using the key terms: cardiac adaptation, hemodynamics, neonatal transition, term newborns. Studies were included if they had reported echocardiography indices of cardiovascular function in the presence of maternal diabetes, intrauterine growth restricted newborns and prematurity and had a comparison group of healthy term newborns within first seven postnatal days...

OBJECTIVE: To study the value of fetal epicardial fat thickness (EFT) in gestational diabetes mellitus in the third trimester of pregnancy and its relationship with clinical parameters and perinatal outcomes. METHODS: A total of 80 participants, including 40 with diagnosed GDM and 40 healthy pregnant women, were included in the study. Demographic data were obtained from medical records. Sonographic examinations were performed, such as amniotic fluid value, fetal biometric measurements, and Doppler parameters of the umbilical artery...

RATIONALE: Congenital portosystemic shunt (Abernethy malformation) is a rare entity causing the portal blood to drain directly into the systemic circulation, eluding the liver. These shunts arise through disturbances in the embryonic development. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 9-year-old male patient was referred to our department for further evaluation of a vascular malformation which was diagnosed in another facility when the patient was 2 years old, following a routine abdominal ultrasound...

Heart failure (HF) is one of the most frequent cause of hospitalization in elderly and often coexists with concurrent geriatric syndromes, like cognitive disturbances; various pathophysiological mechanisms are shared by HF and cognitive decline, notably a substrate of low-grade inflammation. We investigated whether SNPs in the purinergic receptor (P2X7R) and apolipoprotein (APO) E genes, both involved in a series of inflammatory responses, are associated to HF or cognitive impairment and are able to predict post-discharge mortality in the elderly...

Selective treatments for myocardial infarction (MI) induced cardiac fibrosis are lacking. In this study, we focus on the therapeutic potential of a synthetic cardio-protective agent named ZYZ-168 towards MI-induced cardiac fibrosis and try to reveal the underlying mechanism. ZYZ-168 was administered to rats with coronary artery ligation over a period of six weeks. Ecocardiography and Masson staining showed that ZYZ-168 substantially improved cardiac function and reduced interstitial fibrosis. The expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and Collagen I were reduced as was the activity of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9)...

Tropheryma whipplei endocarditis is an uncommon condition with very few series and <90 cases reported in the literature. The aim of the study was to analyze the epidemiological, clinical, and outcome characteristics of 17 cases of T. whipplei endocarditis recruited in our country from a multicentric cohort from 25 Spanish hospitals from the Spanish Collaboration on Endocarditis-Grupo de Apoyo al Manejo de la Endocarditis infecciosa en España.From a total of 3165 cases included in the cohort, 14.2% were diagnosed of blood culture negative endocarditis (BCNE) and 3...

OBJECTIVE: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute systemic vasculitis affecting medium-sized arteries, particularly the coronary arteries. Classic diagnosis is based in prolonged fever and different clinical features, including acute arthritis. Our objective is to determine the prevalence of arthritis at the moment of the diagnosis, the response to intravenous immunoglobulin infusion and the relation with cardiac findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study through review of medical records of 42 patients with KD from 1988 to 2013...

Although extrarenal manifestations of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome are not frequent, myocardial dysfunction should be given special consideration because of the importance of proper early haemodynamic management and potential complications. We report the case of a 21-month-old child with haemolytic-uraemic syndrome who developed clinical signs of poor myocardial function with depressed myocardial function noted by bedside echocardiography and significant elevation of biomarkers. Early intervention and supportive treatment for the patient were crucial during the acute phase of cardiac failure, and repeated monitoring of biomarkers and ecocardiography were useful diagnostic tools that provided relevant information throughout the patient's evolution...

INTRODUCTION: Metabolic syndrome is a systemic disorder and manifests as a group of conditions including abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and coronary artery disease. The importance of epicardial adipose tissue has been proven through recognition of its contribution to inflammation by pro-inflammatory cytokine discharge. Several investigations have been performed on vitamin D receptors in different tissues. In this study, epicardial adipose tissue thickness (EATT) and the levels of vitamin D were measured and compared with a healthy control group...

Venlafaxine is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor used as an antidepressant. Interindividual variability and herb-drug interactions can lead to drug-induced toxicity. We report the case of a 35-year-old female patient diagnosed with synchronous pneumonitis and acute cardiomyopathy attributed to venlafaxine. The patient sought medical attention due to dyspnea and dry cough that started three months after initiating treatment with venlafaxine for depression. The patient was concomitantly taking Centella asiatica and Fucus vesiculosus as phytotherapeutic agents...

OBJECTIVES: Myocarditis is a rare but serious manifestation of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) is a disorder of myocardial morphogenesis frequently associated to neuromuscular diseases. Hypertrabeculation, a cardinal echocardiographic feature of LVNC, might represent a morphological expression of a number of morbidities, nevertheless. The relationship of LVNC with connective tissue disorders such as SLE is unknown. We aim to present a case of a patient with SLE who recently showed features compatible with an atypical LVNC...

Congenital heart disease is one of the most frequent prenatal malformation representing an incidence of 5/1000 live births; moreover, it represents the first cause of death in the first year of life. There is a wide range of severity in congenital heart malformations from lesions which require no treatment such as small ventricular septal defects, to lesions which can only be treated with palliative surgery such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome. A good prenatal examination acquires great importance in order to formulate an early diagnosis and improve pregnancy management...

Arterial thromboembolism in patients with an unknown source of embolization is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Once the acute process has been treated, a search of the offending embolic source must be conducted to prevent additional episodes. The most common sources of peripheral embolism include intracardiac thrombi (>85%), thrombus within arterial aneurysm, thrombus overlying complex atherosclerotic plaques, and paradoxical embolization from deep venous thrombus. A strong association has been shown between protruding, noncalcified plaques>4 cm in the aorta detected by transesophageal echocardiography and the risk of embolism...

OBJECTIVE: This paper demonstrates the initial and pioneering experience implant of the Inovare prosthesis implant through transfemoral or iliac artery route. METHODS: Six patients underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation. The access was femoral or iliac through which the delivery device, a latex balloon catheter with the crimped prosthesis, was inserted. Through the femoral introducer 24 Fr Gore® DrySeal sheath, an extra stiff guide wire with non-traumatic tip was positioned in the left ventricle by passing through the valve ring...

INTRODUCTION: Takotsubo syndrome is a transient stress cardiomyopathy associated with a distinctive left ventricular contraction pattern. It has been described as a cardioembolic source or as a consequence of stroke. Two patients are reported that illustrate the reciprocal relationship between Takotsubo syndrome and stroke and the physiopathological mechanisms implicated are analyzed. CASE REPORTS: Two women aged 70 and 78 years respectively are described. The first one was admitted with electro-cardiogram ST-segment elevation, slight troponin elevation and stroke symptoms...

Infective endocarditis can be associated with complex clinical presentations, sometimes with a difficult multi-disciplinary management. Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans belongs to the Haemophilus species, Actinomycetemcomitans, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens and Kingella species group, responsible for 5% to 10% of infective endocarditis in native heart valves. These organisms have slow fastidious growth pattern, often associated with negative cultures, and cause systemic embolism with abscess formation...

INTRODUCTION: The hysto-morfological composition of the ascending aorta wall gives to the vessel its characteristic elasticity/distensibility, which is deteriorated due to both physiological (age) and pathological events (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia). This contributes to reduce the wall elasticity and to occurrence of cardiovascular events. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty young healthy subjects (20 males, 10 females, age <30 yr), were subjected to different postural conditions with and without Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) with conventional procedures, to simulate the microgravity conditions in space flight...