Acute left anterior descending artery occlusion after IVUS leading to urgent percutaneous coronary intervention complicated with coronary perforation: Case report.

Background: Intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) has become an important complementary tool in interventional cardiology, both for preprocedural planning and for optimizing the performance of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, this tool is not free of potential complications, because of that it is essential to be aware of them and their management. Over time, new uses of IVUS have emerged, and it is currently a potential tool for predicting the risk of coronary perforation. Case report: We present the clinical case of a 51-year-old male patient who was admitted in the context of post-infarction angina. During coronary angiography, the patient presented with two acute complications, one of them associated with IVUS and the other associated with severe coronary calcification that predisposed to coronary perforation. Both complications were successfully treated. Conclusion: IVUS, although a very useful imaging tool before and during PCI, is not without risk. The overall rate of complications with certain or possible relation to IVUS is 3.9%. Vascular spasm is the most frequent complication and acute vascular occlusion, with the need for emergency coronary artery by-pass grafting, the least frequent. On the other hand, IVUS can predict the risk of developing other complications, such as coronary perforation, by means of the C-CAT sign. Knowledge of the possible complications during PCI and the rapid procedure of the hemodynamic team allows adequate management of these potentially fatal complications.

Collection of cardiac masses. Up-to-date echocardiography and cardiac MRI tools.

Heart masses, including tumors (primary and secondary) and pseudotumor (cysts and thrombus), are rare entities, but of increasing interest in cardiac imaging areas. The clinical manifestations are related to the intracardiac effect of mass, embolization, and systemic symptoms in the case of tumors; however, some of them are detected incidentally. Nowadays, imaging techniques and the advancement of their tools perform the morphological, functional, and tissue characterization of the masses, and additionally know the anatomical relationships, which are crucial factors for the treatment and surgical planning.

Role of echocardiography in the management of ventricular septal rupture after acute myocardial infarction.

Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is a rare and devastating complication of acute myocardial infarction. Early detection, assessment of the hemodynamic impact, and illustration of the pathophysiological context are crucial functions of echocardiography in decision-making for intensive management and reparative intervention. To evaluate this entity, echocardiography exhibits two strengths: its bedside nature and its multiple modalities. This document reviews the comprehensive use of echocardiography in the study of post-infarction VSR.

Williams-Beuren syndrome associated with hammock mitral valve: First case report.

Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a multisystem congenital disorder, whose cardiovascular defects are the leading cause of death. We present the case of a 38-year-old man with features of heart failure. The imaging studies showed a typical supravalvular aortic stenosis and a hammock mitral valve, this last, being a rare congenital disease. This is the first case reported of a hammock mitral valve in a patient with this chromosomopathy.

[Rheumatic mitral aggression. Usefulness of 3d transesophageal echocardiography]. / Agresión mitral reumática. utilidad de la ecocardiografía transesofágica 3D.

Rheumatic heart disease is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease in children under 25 years of age worldwide, with the highest prevalence in low-income countries. The usual and distinctive finding of rheumatic aggression is mitral stenosis, which leads to serious cardiovascular consequences. International guidelines establish transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) as the diagnostic test for rheumatic heart disease; however, it has limitations in the measurement of planimetry and those inherent to Doppler. Transesophageal 3D echocardiography (TTE-3D) is a new modality that shows realistic images of the mitral valve and has the added value of accurately locating the plane of maximum stenosis and better determining commissural involvement.

[Comparative analysis of myocardial deformation in patients recovered from mild SARS-CoV-2 infection]. / Análisis comparativo de la deformación miocárdica en pacientes recuperados de infección leve por SARS-CoV-2.

Objectives: During acute infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, myocardial involvement has been demonstrated; it is unknown if cardiovascular sequelae in patients recovered from this infection and if these are associated with global morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to compare myocardial deformation in patients recovered from mild SARS-CoV-2 virus infection with healthy controls. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study that included 33 subjects recovered from mild SARS-CoV-2 infection, who were diagnosed in the previous three to six months, and 31 healthy volunteers, both groups free of cardiovascular risk factors. The study of myocardial deformation was performed using echocardiography with the speckle tracking modality. Clinical and anthropometric variables were compared. Results: The 2D global longitudinal strain of the left ventricle was lower in the subjects recovered from mild SARS-CoV-2 infection than the controls (-20.2% ± 2.6 v -21.6% ± 2.4; p: 0.036). Both groups presented differences in the three ventricular levels, significant at the apical level (-21.2 ± 4.0 vs -23.4% ± 4.2; p: 0.044). The effect by levels shows an inverse Takotsubo pattern. The left ventricular ejection fraction was preserved in both groups (p: 0.153). Conclusions: Left ventricular myocardial deformation is affected in subjects recovered from mild SARS-CoV-2 infection, while the ejection fraction was found in normal ranges. Our study shows a potential role of global longitudinal strain in the detection of subclinical myocardial alterations in patients who had SARS-CoV-2.

Miopericarditis aguda lúpica: Reporte de un caso / Acute myopericarditis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: Case report

El Lupus Eritematoso Sistémico (LES) es una enfermedad sistémica autoinmune. La verdadera incidencia de miocarditis es difícil de determinar; se encuentra en 1 a 9% de las autopsias de rutina y de 5 a 12% de las muertes súbitas no explicadas. La miocarditis debe ser diagnosticada por la combinación de criterios clínicos y patológicos, por su presentación heterogénea. La miocarditis es una manifestación rara, pero potencialmente fatal; por ese motivo su reconocimiento temprano y el manejo de soporte e inicio temprano de terapia inmunosupresora pueden lograr resultados favorables. Reportamos el primer caso documentado de miopericarditis lúpica en una mujer joven sin evidencia de infección viral asociada, realizándose el diagnóstico por la evolución y la respuesta terapéutica. Destacamos además la secuencia de los eventos; inicialmente como pericarditis efusiva masiva y que rápidamente progresó a disfunción sistólica severa del ventrículo izquierdo. (AU)

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder. The true incidence of myocarditis is difficult to determine. It is found in 1-9% of necropsies and in 5-12% of unexplained sudden deaths. Myocarditis is a rare but potentially lethal condition, that is diagnosed by a combination of clinical and pathological findings. Early diagnosis and prompt initiation of treatment improves outcomes. We report the first case of SLE associated myopericarditis in a young female patient with no evidence of viral infection. The diagnosis was made by the clinical evolution and response to therapy. We emphasize the initial clinical presentation with massive effusive pericarditis rapidly progressing towards severe left vebtricular systolic disfunction. (AU)