Pacemaker-induced Cardiomyopathy in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Report of Three Cases.

Pacing-induced cardiomyopathy (PICM) is defined as a drop in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in the setting of chronic, high-burden right ventricular pacing. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and conduction system pacing (CSP) have been proposed to manage PICM. Although acute myocardial infarction has been described as a predictor of PICM, there are no guideline recommendations for CRT or CSP in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and preserved LVEF. In this report, we present and discuss three cases of PICM in patients with CAD and preserved LVEF.

Perforation of the Pulmonary Vein During Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: A Rare Complication of Cryoballoon Ablation.

A 58-year-old man admitted for a cryoballoon ablation due to a history of symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation experienced pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade intraoperatively. A longitudinal left superior pulmonary vein perforation was confirmed by emergency thoracotomy and repaired. He developed atrial fibrillation 2 days postoperatively, which was terminated with colchicine and oral steroids the following day.

Effectiveness of virtual reality in managing pain and anxiety in adults during periprocedural period: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Patients undergoing medical procedures often experience pain and anxiety. These periprocedural outcomes can be overcome by providing a distraction using virtual reality (VR), decreasing their perception. VR has proved effective in reducing pediatric pain and anxiety; however, limited studies have confirmed its effectiveness in adults. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of VR, as opposed to standard care, in reducing periprocedural pain and anxiety in adults. METHODS: A systematic search of randomized controlled trials was conducted using the databases of MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Scopus. Trials involving patients (> 18 years) undergoing elective medical procedures conducted with or without local anesthesia and participating in VR therapy were included. Primary outcomes were pre-procedural anxiety, post-procedural anxiety, and intra-procedural pain. Pre-procedural pain, post-procedural pain, and intra-procedural anxiety were secondary outcomes. RESULTS: Data from 10 studies shortlisted for inclusion revealed no significant association between the use of VR and lower pre-procedural anxiety compared to standard care (p > 0.05) (SMD = -0.02, 95% CI = -0.18 - 0.14, P = 0.81) but demonstrated that the use of VR was significantly associated with a reduction in post-procedural anxiety (SMD = -0.73, 95% CI = -1.08 - -0.39, P < 0.0001), intra-procedural pain (SMD = -0.61, 95% CI = -1.18 - -0.04, P = 0.04), and post-procedural pain (SMD = -0.25, 95% CI = -0.44 - -0.05, P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: The use of VR caused a significant reduction in post-procedural anxiety, intra-procedural pain, and post-procedural pain in adults undergoing medical procedures, although the findings were insignificant concerning pre-procedural anxiety.

Impact of Delayed Pain to Needle and Variable Door to Needle Time On In-Hospital Complications in Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Who Underwent Thrombolysis: A Single-Center Experience.

Background Myocardial infarction is a life-threatening event, and timely intervention is essential to improve patient outcomes and mortality. Previous studies have shown that the time to thrombolysis should be less than 30 minutes of the patient's arrival at the emergency room. Pain-to-needle time is a time from onset of chest pain to the initiation of thrombolysis, and door-to-needle time is a time between arrival to the emergency room to initiation of thrombolytic treatment. Ideally, the target for door-to-needle time should be less than 30 minutes; however, it is unclear if the door-to-needle time has a significant impact on patients presenting later than three hours from the onset of pain. As many of the previous studies were conducted in first-world countries, with established emergency medical services (EMS) systems and pre-hospital ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) triages and protocols, the data is not completely generalizable to developing countries. We, therefore, looked for the impact of the shorter and longer door-to-needle times on patient outcomes who presented to the emergency room (ER) with delayed pain-to-needle times (more than three hours of pain onset).  Objective To determine the impact of delayed pain-to-needle time (PNT) with variable door-to-needle time (DNT) on in-hospital complications (post-infarct angina, heart failure, left ventricular dysfunction, and death) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who underwent thrombolysis. Methods and results A total of 300 STEMI patients who underwent thrombolysis within 12 hours of symptoms onset were included, which were divided into two groups based on PNT. These groups were further divided into subgroups based on DNT. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications between the two groups and between subgroups within each group. The pain-to-needle time was ≤3 hours in 73 (24.3%) patients and >3 hours in 227 (75.7%) patients. In-hospital complications were higher in group II with PNT >3 hours (p <0.05). On subgroup analysis, in-hospital complications were higher with longer door-to-needle time in group II (p<0.05); however, there was no difference in complications among group I. Conclusion Our study is consistent with the fact that shorter door-to-needle time, even in patients with delayed PNT (>3 hours), has a significant impact on in-hospital complications with no difference in mortality.

Frequency and factors related to not receiving acute reperfusion therapy in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction; a single specialty cardiac center.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of no reperfusion therapy, its reasons, hospital management and intermediate-term outcome s of ST- elevation my ocardial in farction patients . METHODS: The retrospective ambi-directional observational study was conducted at Tabba Heart Institute, Karachi, and comprised record of ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients without immediate reperfusion therapy with symptom onset time of 12 hours who presented between January 2013 and December 2017. Prospective follow-up of all patients was performed till June 2018. Coronary angiography, non-invasive stress tests, medications and late revascularisation were explored. Predictors of hospital mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events at follow-up were analysed. Data was analysed using SPSS 19. RESULTS: Of the 1977 records evaluated, 218(11%) patients of mean age 60.3±12.4 years did not receive immediate reperfusion therapy. Coronary angiography was done in 163(74.7%) patients of whom 45(27.6%) were taken for immediate procedure. Besides, 26 (11.9%) patients died during hospital stay. Predictors of hospital mortality were no revascularisation (odds ratio: 24.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.3-500), cardiogenic shock (odds ratio: 65, 95% confidence interval: 5.7-745) and tachycardia (odds ratio: 17, 95% confidence interval: 1.2-254.5) at presentation. Predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events was guideline-directed medical therapy (hazard ratio 2.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.16-6.2) at discharge, while revascularisation was not a significant predictor (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: A huge number of salvageable ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients failed to receive reperfusion therapy. There is a huge potential of improvement in ST-elevation myocardial infarction care in terms of increasing community awareness, prompt reperfusion therapy and usage of optimal medical therapy.

The Conversion of Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Pattern into WPW Syndrome in the Presence of Ischemia: A Case Report.

Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is defined by the presence of a short PR interval, delta waves on the electrocardiogram (EKG), and symptomatic tachycardia. The condition is rare but can be life-threatening if not recognized in a timely manner. The WPW pattern on EKG can mask ischemic changes and may also increase the risk of arrhythmia and subsequent mortality. Our case describes the conversion of an underlying WPW pattern into WPW syndrome in the scenario of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Prevalence of non-acute ischaemic cardiomyopathy in a Pakistani cohort.

Heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF) is a frequently encountered clinical scenario. Coronary angiography (CAG) is usually performed to assess obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease (CAD) and the resultant ischaemia as causes of HFrEF. OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of obstructive CAD (OCAD) in patients with HFrEF and its independent predictors and outcomes. METHODS: Retrospective observational study in Tabba Heart Institute on patients who underwent CAG during the past 4 years. Patients with prior known CAD or revascularisation were excluded. OCAD was defined as per the criteria from Felker et al. Regression modelling was performed to evaluate the predictors of OCAD. Survival was compared between the groups using the log rank test. RESULTS: Out of 2235 patients who underwent CAG, 260 had HFrEF as a primary indication for CAG and, of these, 119 (45.8%) had OCAD. Major predictors of OCAD were age >50 years at presentation (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.7), presence of chest pain (OR 4.3, 95% CI 2.3 to 8.1), family history of premature CAD (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 5.9) and utilisation of non-invasive (NIV) stress testing before CAG (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.8 to 7.1). Survival was significantly lower (log rank p<0.001) in patients with OCAD with no revascularisation compared with OCAD with revascularisation or those who had non-obstructive CAD, and the latter two groups had comparable survival. CONCLUSIONS: OCAD is detected in nearly half of the patients with reduced left ventricular systolic function undergoing CAG. Clinical judgement based on thorough history and use of NIV stress testing can help in appropriate patient selection for this test.

Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis and Anasarca in a Female Patient with Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome Complicated by Respiratory and Kidney Failure.

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) was first described in 1960. It may occur as a complication of gonadotropin hormone therapy during assisted pregnancy or for primary infertility. A 26-year-old female patient with polycystic ovarian syndrome and primary infertility was treated to conceive. She received intravenous gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) along with follicle-stimulating hormone in an outside private clinic. She presented to the emergency department with abdominal and chest pain, loose stool, vomiting, shortness of breath and decreasing urine output. She was found to have edema, ascites, effusion and acute kidney injury (AKI). Considering the symptoms preceding the drug history and anasarca, a diagnosis of severe OHSS was made. Ascites was further complicated by spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), which had already been reported before. We speculate that low immunity due to decreased immunoglobulin in patients with OHSS makes them prone to SBP. In our case, septicemia secondary to SBP and fluid loss due to capillary leakage from OHSS resulted in AKI and respiratory failure. This critically ill patient was treated in a special care unit, and she fully recovered with supportive measures. Severe OHSS may present as anasarca including ascites which can develop SBP leading to sepsis and multiorgan failure.