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Coronary artery aneurysm is a relatively rare disorder that is usually discovered as a secondary finding in patients undergoing coronary artery angiography. Coronary artery fistulas are relatively more frequent than rare aneurysms and are often associated with other cardiac abnormalities. The etiology of aneurysms is mostly atherosclerotic, and they are less frequently associated with other acquired or congenital diseases, such as Kawasaki disease, connective tissue diseases, septic emboli, arteritis, and iatrogenic disease. We report a 70-year-old woman with a rare combination of a coronary artery aneurysm associated with a coronary artery fistula, which drained into the pulmonary artery. The diagnosis of our patient was made by selective coronary angiography and confirmed by computed tomography angiography. The patient was treated surgically because of the symptomatic course of the disease.

Localized pericardial calcification is a relatively rare finding of often unknown etiology. We present the case of a 68-year-old man who was found to have bulky pericardial calcification, resulting in external compression of epicardial coronary arteries. (Level of Difficulty: Beginner.), Graphical abstract, Localized pericardial calcification is a relatively rare finding of often unknown etiology. We present the case of a 68-year-old man who was found to…

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) represents the third most common cause of heart failure and the most frequent cause of heart transplantation. Infectious, mostly viral, and autoimmune mechanisms, together with genetic abnormalities, have been reported as three major causes of DCM. We hypothesized that Lyme disease (LD), caused by spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), might be an important cause of new-onset unexplained DCM in patients living in a highly endemic area for LD such as the Czech Republic. We performed endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) in 39 consecutive patients presenting with symptomatic unexplained left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction lasting no more than 12 months. In eight subjects (21%), Bb was detected in the EMB sample by polymerase chain reaction or by electron microscopy. None of these patients exhibited any form of atrioventricular block or other extracardiac manifestation of Bb infection. Serological testing identified IgG antibodies against Bb in only two cases and IgM antibodies in none. All affected patients were treated with intravenous ceftriaxone for 3 weeks. At 6 months follow-up, LV morphology and function as well as functional status of these patients significantly improved. In conclusion, Bb infection may represent an important cause of new-onset unexplained DCM in patients living in endemic regions such as the Czech Republic. Because the antibiotic treatment appears to be markedly effective and serological examination does not provide a tool for diagnosing the disease, EMB focused on the detection of Bb should be performed in all patients from endemic areas with new-onset unexplained DCM not responding to conventional therapy.

Background Surgical revascularisation in patients with acute myocardial infarction with ST-Segment Elevation (STEMI) is usually considered as a second choice when direct angioplasty/stent fails. However, improvements in surgical technique and postoperative care may justify coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in STEMI. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively gathered data of 135 patients with acute STEMI, treated with CABG in our department from February 2008 to December 2012. Patients were divided into two groups – operated up to 6 hours (35 patients) and 6 to 24 hours (100 patients) from onset of symptoms. Results Preoperatively, 18 (13%) patients were in cardiogenic shock, 10 (7.4%) had mechanical ventilation, and 36 (27%) had intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABC). Mean number of distal anastomoses was 3.3 (range, 1 to 5), cardiopulmonary bypass time 122.7 + 52.6 minutes. In hospital (30-day) mortality was 8.1% (11 patients) with no significant difference in both groups (p = 0.541); 45 (33%) patients had one MACE, again with no difference in both groups (p = 0.89). Risk factor analysis revealed that Killip class at admission, cardiogenic shock, preoperative need for catecholamines, ventilation and low ejection fraction are risk factors for early mortality. Conclusions Acute CABG in patients with STEMI can be performed with good results. Risk factors for early mortality and morbidity are cardiogenic shock, poor haemodynamic status and impaired ejection fraction. Time from infarction to reperfusion did not influence the results.

Out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has a poor outcome. Recent non-randomized studies of ECLS (extracorporeal life support) in OHCA suggested further studies to define population that would benefit from ECLS. Ongoing prospective randomized study compares prehospital intraarrest hypothermia

The differentiation between chronic pulmonary thromboembolic hypertension (CTEPH) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remains a clinical challenge. The aim of our study was to evaluate the usefulness of both echocardiographically and invasively derived pulmonary artery pulsatility indexes in the etiologic differentiation of patients with CTEPH and PAH. We retrospectively analyzed the results of echocardiographic and invasive hemodynamic examinations in 125 patients with either CTEPH (n = 62) or PAH (n = 63). Invasive data were obtained in 52 patients with CTEPH and 43 PAH patients. Using echocardiography, pulmonary artery systolic (PASP), diastolic (PADP) and mean (PAMP) pressures were estimated from velocities of tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary regurgitation, respectively. Pulse pressure (PP) was calculated as the difference between PASP and PADP. To obtain pulmonary artery pulsatility indexes, we normalized PP by PASP (PP/PASP), by PAMP (PP/PAMP) and by PADP (PP/PADP). Pulsatility indexes assessed by echocardiography did not differ between CTEPH and PAH patients except for PP/PAMP [PP/PAMP (1.82 ± 0.33 vs. 1.40 ± 0.3, p < 0.001)]. Invasively derived pulsatility indexes were significantly higher in subjects with CTEPH (0.60 ± 0.08 vs. 0.53 ± 0.09 for PP/PASP; 0.98 ± 0.21 vs. 0.81 ± 0.21 for PP/PAMP; 1.58 ± 0.52 vs. 1.21 ± 0.41 for PP/PADP; all p < 0.001). The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves analysis showed that no cutoff value allowed discriminating between CTEPH and PAH by using echocardiographically or invasively derived pulsatility indices. Invasively derived pulmonary artery pulsatility indexes as well as echocardiographically determined PP/PAMP indexes are higher in CTEPH compared to PAH. However, due to the important overlap no optimal threshold values of these parameters can be given to allow satisfactory discrimination of the two diseases in clinical practice.

The Svelte (New Providence, NJ) sirolimus-eluting coronary stent utilizing a bioresorbable amino acid-based (PEA) drug carrier is mounted on a novel Integrated Delivery System (IDS) consisting of a low-compliant balloon with balloon control bands (BCBs) affixed to a 0.014 integrated wire with

To the Editor: One-third of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, usually those presenting late, show ongoing left ventricular (LV) remodeling and poor clinical outcome despite primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) ([1][1]). Cardiac transfer of bone marrow-derived stem