Left Ventricular Assist Device in Older Adults.

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are an effective therapy for a growing and aging population in the background of limited donor supply. Selecting the proper patient involves assessment of indications, risk factors, scores for overall outcomes, assessment for right ventricular failure, and optimal timing of implantation. LVAD complications have a 5% to 10% perioperative mortality and complications of bleeding, thrombosis, stroke, infection, right ventricular failure, and device failure. As LVAD engineering technology evolves, so will the risk-prediction scores. Hence, more large-scale prospective data from multicenters will continually be required to aid in patient selection, reduce complications, and improve long-term outcomes.

Elevated troponins and the Churg-Strauss syndrome: a case report.

In a patient with persistently elevated troponin levels but normal ischemic work-up, a diagnostic dilemma can ensue. This is the case of a 65-year-old woman whose only cardiac risk factor was age. She presented repeatedly with chest pain, elevated troponins, and consistently elevated eosinophil levels until the fourth admission when she presented with multi-organ abnormalities including asthma and vasculitis that led to the diagnosis of Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS). Initiation of corticosteroids immediately resolved all of her presenting symptoms; troponin and eosinophil levels quickly normalized. Eosinophilia from CSS can lead to multi-organ damage including the heart. Therefore, one must consider CSS in the differential of eosinophilia as early detection and treatment may be critical in decreasing morbidity and mortality.

Case report: aortic dissection and cystic medial degeneration in a 24-year-old without Marfan syndrome.

The effective management of aortic dissection relies heavily on a high index of suspicion followed by timely definitive diagnosis. Young adults without a history of blunt trauma who are not at risk for atherosclerotic disease may lower this suspicion. We present a 24-year-old patient with complaints of chest pain who presented in multiple urgent care clinics and emergency departments. With a normal chest radiograph, he was repeatedly discharged home on analgesics until a loud murmur was heard. An echocardiogram revealed a dilated aortic root with an intimal flap consistent with a type II dissection. After surgical aortic repair with a Bentall procedure, he was discharged with complete relief of symptoms. Histologic reports revealed cystic medial degeneration. Physical examinations did not demonstrate the phenotypic manifestations of Marfan syndrome. This case illustrates the importance of cardiac auscultation when assessing an individual with chest pain, even with a low likelihood for alteration in arterial structure, and the maintenance of a high index of clinical suspicion despite a normal chest radiograph. We consider this case to be of interest because of its rarity in a 24-year-old.

Refractory coronary vasospasm following drug-eluting stent placement treated with cyproheptadine.

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) has been recently shown to be an important mediator of coronary vasospasm. Its divergent effect on normal and atherosclerosed arteries has been demonstrated in both animal and human studies. We present a case of coronary vasospasm in a 55-year-old man with repeated episodes of chest pain following coronary percutaneous intervention. Repeat angiography demonstrated no reocclusion or complication. The patient's symptoms were resistant to treatment with maximum doses of two calcium channel antagonists and oral and intravenous nitrates, but responded to cyproheptadine, a nonselective serotonin antagonist. Currently, there are only two reported cases of coronary vasospasm following balloon angioplasty responding to treatment with serotonin antagonists. This is the first case reported case following drug-eluting stent deployment.