A case report of a triad causing platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) is a rare condition characterized by hypoxaemia and dyspnoea when changing from a recumbent to an upright position. Diagnosis requires a high clinical suspicion and is often underdiagnosed. CASE SUMMARY: We report a case of POS in a 50-year-old woman with dyspnoea and new-onset atrial fibrillation. Oxygen saturation and dyspnoea worsened as she changed from a supine to a sitting position (96 vs. 86%, respectively). Transoesophageal echocardiography demonstrated enlargement of both atria and right ventricle with reduced systolic function and a large Chiari network (CN). Colour Doppler discovered severe tricuspid regurgitation with tenting and tethering of the valve leaflets. Finally, a bubble test revealed the cause of POS to be a patent foramen ovale along with the severe tricuspid regurgitant jet moving into the left atrium and favoured by the CN. Surgical closure of the foramen ovale resulted in the resolution of symptoms. DISCUSSION: Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome is most commonly caused by a right-to-left shunt through an anatomical defect of the interatrial septum, typically a patent foramen ovale, combined with elevated right atrium pressure. This case illustrates an uncommon cause of POS in the absence of elevated atrium pressure due to the interplay of three key elements: a patent foramen ovale, tricuspid regurgitation, and the CN. Our aim is to alert physicians to the possibility of an intracardiac shunt as the cause of unexplained and/or refractory hypoxaemia related to position changes. Early recognition of this syndrome promotes timely treatment, greatly improving patient outcomes.

Hyperkalemia in heart failure patients in Spain and its impact on guidelines and recommendations: ESC-EORP-HFA Heart Failure Long-Term Registry.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Hyperkalemia is a growing concern in the treatment of patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction because it limits the use of effective drugs. We report estimates of the magnitude of this problem in routine clinical practice in Spain, as well as changes in potassium levels during follow-up and associated factors. METHODS: This study included patients with acute (n=881) or chronic (n=3587) heart failure recruited in 28 Spanish hospitals of the European heart failure registry of the European Society of Cardiology and followed up for 1 year. Various outcomes were analyzed, including changes in serum potassium levels and their impact on treatment. RESULTS: Hyperkalemia (K+> 5.4 mEq/L) was identified in 4.3% (95%CI, 3.7%-5.0%) and 8.2% (6.5%-10.2%) of patients with chronic and acute heart failure, respectively, and was responsible for 28.9% of all cases of contraindication to mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist use and for 10.8% of all cases of failure to reach the target dose. Serum potassium levels were not recorded in 291 (10.8%) of the 2693 chronic heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction. During follow-up, potassium levels increased in 179 of 1431 patients (12.5%, 95%CI, 10.8%-14.3%). This increase was directly related to age, diabetes, and history of stroke and was inversely related to history of hyperkalemia. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the magnitude of the problem of hyperkalemia in patients with heart failure in everyday clinical practice and the need to improve monitoring of this factor in these patients due to its interference with the possibility of receiving optimal treatment.

[Advances in hypertension and diabetes]. / Temas de actualidad en hipertensión arterial y diabetes.

In the course of the last year, a number of important clinical trials on cardiovascular disease, principally in hypertensive and diabetic patients, have published their results. The findings, some of which were unexpected, have enabled us, in certain instances, to confirm what already we knew about controlling these risk factors, but they have also led to active discussion about well-established topics, such as: To what extent should blood pressure and glycemia levels be reduced in patients with cardiovascular disease? In addition, up-to-date information has become available about treating hypertension with new drugs or new combinations of existing drugs. This article contains a review of all these topics and also summarizes the findings of some observational studies carried out by the working group on hypertension of the Spanish Society of Cardiology that have been reported in the last year.

[Global treatment of cardiovascular risk in the hypertensive patient]. / Tratamiento global del riesgo cardiovascular en el paciente hipertenso.

During 2006, new evidence supporting the need to adopt a global approach to the treatment of cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients has been reported. It is increasingly clear that it is not sufficient to aim for optimum blood pressure control, which in any case is not easy to achieve, and that it is essential to treat all cardiovascular risk factors by using drugs with proven benefits, even when those benefits are supplementary to the drug's principal effects. In addition, drugs that could have a detrimental effect or that are, merely, less beneficial should be avoided or kept as a last resort. This appears to have happened with atenolol, and with beta-blockers in general, which have been withdrawn as first-line treatment in the recommendations of some professional societies. To lower cardiovascular risk, it is essential to prevent the development of conditions like diabetes, which are known to have drastic effect on the patient's prognosis. Recently, the results of the DREAM study, which are discussed in detail in this article, have been reported. They could lead to a change in therapeutic strategy in patients who are expected to develop diabetes. In addition, this year has seen the publication of substantial data on a new antihypertensive agent, aliskiren, the first oral renin inhibitor. It is awaiting approval by the international medicine agencies (i.e., the FDA and the EMEA), but should provide a very promising tool in the difficult area of high blood pressure management. Despite numerous advances in the pharmacologic treatment of high blood pressure, control is very difficult to achieve, principally in the elderly, in whom the prevalence of hypertension is high. In these patients, social factors and difficulties with treatment compliance also have an influence and must be dealt with by public health measures aimed at improving blood pressure control.