Non-surgical treatment of Lutembacher syndrome: combined percutaneous transcatheter therapy.

A woman in her 30s presented with progressive worsening of dyspnoea for 6 months. On evaluation, she was diagnosed with severe rheumatic mitral stenosis (mitral valve area of 0.6 cm2) and a large ostium secundum atrial septal defect (21 mm) with a left to right shunt and severe pulmonary artery hypertension. She was diagnosed with Lutembacher syndrome and was evaluated for suitability of a percutaneous approach. She was subjected to a combined procedure of percutaneous transluminal mitral commissurotomy followed by device closure of the atrial septal defect. The patient tolerated the procedure, remained haemodynamically stable and was discharged after 4 days. This procedure can prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with anaesthesia and cardiac surgery and the psychological trauma of a thoracotomy scar particularly in a female patient, as well as obviate the need for prolonged hospital stay.

Percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty in a pregnant woman with severe pulmonary valve restenosis.

A 34-year-old woman, a known case of valvular heart disease, post balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty done 8 years ago during her first pregnancy, presented with progressive exertional breathlessness with New York Heart Association class III symptoms in her third trimester of pregnancy. On examination, she had features of right heart failure. ECG showed right axis deviation, right ventricular hypertrophy with strain pattern. Transthoracic echocardiography showed severe pulmonary valve stenosis, right ventricular hypertrophy, right ventricular and atrial dilatation with reduced right ventricular function. As the patient was symptomatic, she underwent percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty. The procedure was successful with a significant reduction in the pulmonary valve gradient and the patient was discharged in stable condition with reduced symptoms. The timely intervention of the valvular stenotic lesion in pregnancy reduces the mortality risk to both the mother and the fetus.

Cardiac tamponade and massive pleural effusion in a young COVID-19-positive adult.

COVID-19 has a broad spectrum of cardiac manifestations, and cardiac tamponade leading to cardiogenic shock is a rare presentation. A 30-year-old man with a history of COVID-19-positive, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) done 1 week ago and who was home-quarantined, came to the emergency department with palpitations, breathlessness and orthopnoea. His ECG showed sinus tachycardia with low-voltage complexes, chest X-ray showed cardiomegaly and left pleural effusion and two-dimensional echocardiography showed large pericardial effusion with features suggestive of cardiac tamponade. He was taken up for emergency pericardiocentesis which showed haemorrhagic pericardial fluid. Intercostal drainage insertion was done for left-sided large pleural effusion. After ruling out all the other causes for haemorrhagic pericardial effusion, the patient was started on colchicine, steroids, ibuprofen and antibiotics to which he responded. Both pericardial and pleural effusions resolved completely on follow-up.

Hypomagnesaemia causing functional hypoparathyroidism in rheumatic mitral stenosis leading to sudden cardiac arrest in a young woman.

A 23-year-old young woman with a known history of valvular heart disease of rheumatic origin, post balloon mitral valvotomy 5 years ago, presented with fever, palpitations and breathlessness. ECG showed atrial fibrillation with fast ventricular rate. A 2D transthoracic echocardiography showed severe restenosis of mitral valve and moderate left ventricular dysfunction. She was admitted for evaluation of fever and control of the ventricular rate. She sustained cardiac arrest due to unknown cause and was resuscitated. When the patient sustained another cardiac arrest, torsades de pointes was detected on the monitor. Blood parameters showed hypomagnesaemia, hypocalcaemia and hypokalaemia, causing functional hypoparathyroidism which was treated with intravenous magnesium, oral calcium and vitamin D supplements. Timely detection of a tachyarrhythmia due to a ventricular origin was life saving, which is rarely seen in patients with rheumatic heart disease and mitral stenosis.