Acute Myocardial Infarction Due to Coronary Artery Embolism during Chemotherapy with mFOLFOX-6 Plus Bevacizumab for Metastatic Colon Cancer.

Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor, may be associated with arterial embolisms. We herein report a case of acute myocardial infarction caused by coronary embolism during combination chemotherapy with mFOLFOX-6 and bevacizumab in a patient with metastatic colon cancer. Thromboembolism occurred only in the distal right posterolateral branch without stenotic lesions or plaque rupture in the proximal branch of the right coronary artery. Sole thromboaspiration was successfully performed; the final angiogram demonstrated no stenosis in the right coronary artery. Bevacizumab may be associated with acute coronary syndrome in patients with coronary risk factors, despite no significant coronary narrowing.

Difficulty Diagnosing Retrograde Type A Aortic Dissection with Intramural Hematoma and Risk of Re-dissection and Rupture: A Report of Two Cases.

Acute type A aortic dissection is a potentially fatal disease, and emergency surgery should be considered when it is diagnosed. We herein report two cases of retrograde type A aortic dissection with intramural hematoma, followed by re-dissection, rupture, and cardiac tamponade. The diagnoses in these cases had to be made carefully, as the false lumen of the ascending aorta was sometimes unclear on contrast-enhanced computed tomography.

Clinical feasibility of pulmonary vein orifice pacing for the prediction of phrenic nerve injury during cryoballoon ablation of atrial fibrillation.

INTRODUCTION: Phrenic nerve (PN) injury is a well-known complication of cryoballoon ablation (CBA) for pulmonary vein (PV) isolation in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, it is still insufficient to practically predict phrenic nerve injury (PNI) before freezing. We hypothesized that phrenic nerve capture (PNC) with phrenic nerve orifice pacing (PVOP) might be a surrogate sign of the close proximity of the PN, and that might predict PNI and changes in the compound motor action potential (CMAP) amplitude. METHODS: Seventy patients (60 ± 12 years, male 80%, paroxysmal 56%) underwent PVOP with a 20-electrode ring catheter before the CBA. The clinical outcome was the occurrence of transient and persistent PNI. In addition, the PV position and pacing threshold during PNC with PVOP, and changes in the CMAP amplitude were recorded. We compared these measurements between patients with and without PNC (PNC/non-PNC group) with PVOP. RESULTS: PNC with PVOP occurred in 39 (56%) patients and was localized only to the right superior PV. Transient PNI occurred in seven (10%) patients and permanent in none. The CMAP amplitude decreased significantly more in the PNC group (PNC 33% vs non-PNC 16%, P = .027). PNC group had a higher risk of the composite outcome of transient PNI or ≥30% decrease in the CMAP amplitude (PNC 54% vs non-PNC 13%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This PVOP technique could be feasible and contribute to predicting transient PNI and CMAP amplitude reductions before cryoapplications. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the additional efficacy of PVOP over CMAP monitoring alone.

Effectiveness of plasma lyso-Gb3 as a biomarker for selecting high-risk patients with Fabry disease from multispecialty clinics for genetic analysis.

PURPOSE: Plasma globotriaosylsphingosine (lyso-Gb3) is a promising secondary screening biomarker for Fabry disease. Here, we examined its applicability as a primary screening biomarker for classic and late-onset Fabry disease in males and females. METHODS: Between 1 July 2014 and 31 December 2015, we screened 2,359 patients (1,324 males) referred from 168 Japanese specialty clinics (cardiology, nephrology, neurology, and pediatrics), based on clinical symptoms suggestive of Fabry disease. We used the plasma lyso-Gb3 concentration, α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A) activity, and analysis of the α-Gal A gene (GLA) for primary and secondary screens, respectively. RESULTS: Of 8 males with elevated lyso-Gb3 levels (≥2.0 ng ml-1) and low α-Gal A activity (≤4.0 nmol h-1 ml-1), 7 presented a GLA mutation (2 classic and 5 late-onset). Of 14 females with elevated lyso-Gb3, 7 displayed low α-Gal A activity (5 with GLA mutations; 4 classic and 1 late-onset) and 7 exhibited normal α-Gal A activity (1 with a classic GLA mutation and 3 with genetic variants of uncertain significance). CONCLUSION: Plasma lyso-Gb3 is a potential primary screening biomarker for classic and late-onset Fabry disease probands.