Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) in a patient who had undergone partial liver resection.

A South Asian male in his early 60s presented with acute-onset dyspnoea on postoperative day 4 after undergoing middle hepatic vein sacrificing partial liver resection for epithelioid angiomyolipoma. The patient's SpO2 on presentation was 65% in standing position which improved to 90% in left lateral decubitus. He was suspected of having platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) which was confirmed on echocardiogram with microbubble contrast showing a large intracardiac right-to-left shunt. The patient was taken up for transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO). A 30 mm Amplatzer PFO Occluder was deployed across the PFO which reduced the intracardiac shunt resulting in an improved arterial saturation as well as immediate relief of patient's symptoms. This case illustrates the importance of suspecting and recognising POS clinically as well as the efficacy of transcatheter closure of PFO in such cases leading to resolution of hypoxaemia in a short span of time.

The 'qRBBB myocardial infarction': Unwrapping an old enigma.

This single-center, prospective, observational study was conducted at a tertiary-care center over a span of two years. Patients presenting with acute Anterior-Wall STEMI were included as a study population. The subgroups included qRBBB pattern on ECG and non-qRBBB group. Among 1128 patients included in the study, 100 (11.28 %) patients presented with qRBBB pattern. Increased risk of cardiogenic shock, increased hospital-stay, a higher Killip class on presentation, high incidence of recanalized IRA, remarkably depressed LVEF were significantly associated with qRBBB-MI, which is a menacing form of ACS that leads not only to a high mortality but also to a long-term morbidity.

Endomyocardial fibrosis: a tragic conundrum or a mere negligence?

Often termed as 'vanishing mystery' epidemiologically, endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) continues to be the the most common cause of restrictive cardiomyopathy in Africa and some parts of the Indian subcontinent, where it is considered a significant public health problem. On the other hand, in developed countries, it is considered a rare phenomenon. This entity is considered incurable due to lack of targeted therapies, even after 75 years since its discovery. The authors describe here a case of an Indian male, in his early 30s who presented with complaints of dyspnoea on minimal daily activities, swelling of both legs and abdominal fullness for 3 months. The clinical features were suggestive of isolated right heart failure. He was diagnosed with EMF on echocardiography and the findings were confirmed on cardiac MRI. The patient has progressed to develop biventricular dysfunction and is being managed symptomatically with diuretics due to unavailability of targeted treatment options at present.

Resolution of aortic regurgitation due to Venturi effect after device closure of ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm.

We describe a case of a ruptured sinus of Valsalva with severe aortic regurgitation treated by transcatheter device closure. The regurgitation was purely due to leaflet entrapment because of the hemodynamic Venturi effect which was effectively treated.

Left ventricular global longitudinal strain imaging in identifying subclinical myocardial dysfunction among covid-19 survivors.

BACKGROUND: Covid-19 is multi-system viral infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus. Apart from having acute severe respiratory illness causing high mortality, the disease also has a variety of cardiovascular manifestations contributing to morbidity as well as mortality. Cardiac dysfunction and myocarditis are well established complications of Covid-19 as evident in multiple studies after the Covid-19 pandemic. However it is not sufficiently studied in Indian patients either by Echocardiography or by any other imaging modalities like cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODOLOGY: In this study, we analysed the severity of Left ventricular(LV) dysfunction in Covid-19 survivors. A total of 100 consecutive patients of Covid-19 after one month of discharge who had no underlying cardiovascular diseases underwent echocardiography and global longitudinal strain (GLS) imaging. This study cohort included patients with mild 42 (42%),moderate 46(46%) and severe 12(12%) Covid-19 disease as defined by computerised tomography (CT) severity score. RESULT: We observed that total 36(36%) patients had reduced ejection fraction(EF) which included 11 patients having EF <40% and remaining 25(25%) having EF 40-50% (p<0.002). Also 22 (22%) patients had abnormal global longitudinal strain (GLS) values with normal ejection fraction which is suggestive of subclinical myocarditis. We observed LV dysfunction in 7(19.5%) patients who had severe Covid-19 while mild to moderate LV dysfunction observed in 29(80.5%) non critical patients. CONCLUSION: In conclusion our study demonstrates that myocardial dysfunction is common in covid-19 regardless of disease severity. 2D-echocardiography with GLS is likely to detect early LV dysfunction among these patients.

Parenteral Iron Therapy in Patients with Heart Failure in a Resource Constrained Setting In India - Our Experience.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of Iron Deficiency and impact of Parenteral Iron therapy in patients with Symptomatic Heart failure, the role of exercise capacity and serial Echocardiography in assessing treatment response. METHODS: Study was performed in a Government Hospital for 24 months, December 2017 to December 2019.120 participants were recruited. Patients with symptomatic heart failure and Serum Ferritin <100 mg/dl were recruited and those with diagnosed Ischemic Cardiomyopathy or unwilling to give consent were excluded. They underwent a functional assessment and 2D Echo at baseline, after 30 and 90 days of IV Carboxymaltose. The data was analysed represented in appropriate figures. A P value <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Of 120 patients recruited, 28 were male and 92 were female. The mean age of presentation was 44 +/- 5.4 years. The Mean baseline Haemoglobin was 11.7 +/- 0.38 gm/dl.The baseline Ferritin levels were 16.69 +/-2.9 ug/L. HFpEF was predominant with 65% cases. The NYHA status and 6min HWT tests showed a statistically significant improvement and Echocardiography findings showed a statistically insignificant improvement after Parenteral Iron. CONCLUSION: Iron Deficiency is a major risk factor in Heart Failure including HFpEF and prevails in the younger population.Parenteral Iron Carboxymaltose followed by oral iron supplementation is effective in Heart Failure patients, especially in HFpEF. Functional capacity and NYHA status appear to be the time tested markers for Iron repletion.

Anomalous origin of coronary artery from the opposite aortic sinus of Valsalva-a single center experience with a therapeutic conundrum.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery anomalies are rare congenital abnormalities, most often found incidentally on conventional coronary angiography and CT angiography (CTA). CTA better delineates the origin and course of anomalous coronaries. Anomalous origin of coronary artery from the opposite aortic sinus of Valsalva (ACAOS) has a prevalence of 1% with a very few having an interarterial (malignant) course. There is limited literature, especially in the Indian population, dealing with this topic. METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, angiographic data of 8500 consecutive patients from June 2011 to December 2019 at a large tertiary care hospital in western India was analyzed. Patients diagnosed with ACAOS underwent CTA for delineation of the exact anatomy. Those with a non-malignant course with evidence of ischemia clinically or on stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), underwent PCI. Others with a non-malignant course were medically managed. Patients with malignant (interarterial) course were revascularized by coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in case of LCA involvement or positive MPI test. Asymptomatic patients with negative MPI were managed medically. Clinical follow-up over 12 months of patients undergoing PCI and those with a malignant course showed no major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). RESULTS: Of the 8500 patients studied, 74 (0.87%) had ACAOS. Of these, 51 (68.9%) patients had anomalous origin of right coronary artery (RCA) from the left aortic sinus, 21 (28.4%) had anomalous origin of the circumflex artery (Cx) from the right aortic sinus and two patients (2.7%) had an anomalous origin of the left main coronary artery (LCA) from the right aortic sinus. Interarterial course was found in five (6.7%) patients. Of these, four patients underwent CABG-one asymptomatic patient with LCA from right aortic sinus and three with positive MPI in anomalous RCA. All five patients with malignant course and ten patients who underwent PCI were free of MACE over 12 months' clinical follow up. CONCLUSIONS: ACAOS is a rare anomaly and if interarterial course is excluded, then PCI is feasible in selected cases with significant stenosis. Patients with malignant course with inducible ischemia or LCA involvement should undergo surgical revascularisation.

Validation of "left ventricular early inflow-outflow index": A novel echocardiographic method for quantification of mitral regurgitation in an Indian population with special focus on rheumatic etiology.

BACKGROUND: Quantification of mitral regurgitation (MR) has always required an "integrated approach" as there is no single gold-standard method. We investigated a new Doppler-derived parameter "left ventricular early inflow-outflow index (LVEIO)" for the quantification of MR and its likelihood to predict severe MR in correlation with already established parameters in an Indian population including a large subset of patients with rheumatic etiology. METHODS: A prospective study was performed at a major tertiary care center in western India over a 5-month period. Five hundred patients diagnosed with isolated MR including 260 (52%) patients with rheumatic etiology were included in the study after applying exclusion criteria. We analyzed MR using color flow jet, effective regurgitant orifice area (EROA), and vena contracta (VC) width. LVEIO is a simplification of the regurgitant volume (RV) method, which was calculated as "E velocity divided by LV outflow velocity integrated over the systolic ejection period left ventricular outflow tract velocity time integral" and compared with the established parameters. RESULTS: LVEIO was 4.65 ± 1.45, 6.56 ± 1.52, and 9.91 ± 3.70 among patients diagnosed with mild, moderate, and severe MR, respectively (p < 0.001). Those with LVEIO ≥8 were the most likely to have severe MR (positive likelihood ratio: 10.42). LVEIO had specificity of 93.25% for diagnosis of severe MR with positive predictive value of 86.36%. There was positive correlation observed between LVEIO and VC width (r = 0.591), RV (r = 0.410), and EROA (r = 0.778) (all p < 0.001) in the Pearson correlation test. The specificity of LVEIO remained consistent in diagnosing severe MR in patients with rheumatic etiology. CONCLUSION: LVEIO is a simple yet specific Doppler echocardiographic parameter for estimation of severity of MR including that of rheumatic etiology.

Appropriateness of elective percutaneous coronary intervention and impact of government health insurance scheme - A tertiary centre experience from Western India.

BACKGROUND: There is a dearth of data regarding the appropriateness of elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a limited-resource country such as India. In an attempt to rationalise the use of PCI, Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) were developed for cardiovascular care in the USA. In the Indian context, considering the high prevalence of coronary artery disease, the dramatic rise in the number of revascularization procedures and an increasing role of government/private reimbursements, application of AUC could potentially guide policy to optimize the utilization of resources and the benefit-risk ratio for individual patients. OBJECTIVES: The study sought to determine the overall and year-wise trends in the appropriateness of elective PCI using the AUC and also understand the impact of the government health insurance scheme (GHIS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The inpatient records of all patients undergoing elective PCI, at a single large tertiary care centre in Western India, from January 2009 to December 2014 were retrospectively analysed (n=972, 759 males, 213 females) by a neutral observer. The AUC scores and subsequent ranking were calculated using the dedicated web-based software and each PCIwas ranked as either 'appropriate', 'uncertain' or 'inappropriate'. Elective PCI performed within a month after the index acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was considered as 'ACS' while applying the AUC. All other indications were considered as 'non-ACS'. Nearly 95% of elective PCI performed after July 2012 were covered under theGHIS and therefore the period January 2009-June 2012 was compared with the July 2012- December 2014 to assess the impact of this scheme. RESULTS: A total of 894 elective PCI (379 and 515 PCI in the ACS setting and non-ACS setting respectively) performed on 857 patients were analysed. The elective PCI performed in the pre-GHIS and GHIS period were 458 and 436 respectively. As per AUC, 352 (39.6 ± 4.4 %) of the overall elective PCI were ranked as 'appropriate', while 487 (55.3 ± 4.1 %) cases as 'uncertain' and 55 (5.1 ± 0.6 %) cases as 'inappropriate'. An overall year-wise temporal trend in the proportion of cases in any of the AUC rankings did not show any significant trends(p > 0.05). However, 80.4 ± 7.3 % of elective PCI in the ACS setting were categorised as 'appropriate' and 82.6 ± 6.9 % of elective PCI in non-ACS setting were ranked as 'uncertain'. With state-wide implementation of the GHIS, the total number of elective PCI increased by 50% (436 in the 3½ year pre-GHIS study period as against 458 in the 2½ year GHIS study period). The introduction of GHIS led to a marginal increase (p > 0.05) in the average annual number of elective PCI in non-ACS setting as opposed to a 120% rise in the number of elective PCI done in the ACS setting (p < 0.001) and the delay in performing PCI after coronary angiogram reduced from 55.8 ± 43.6 days to 33 ± 22.9 days (p < 0.01). Also, the ratio of men: women undergoing elective PCI rationalised from 5.4:1 to 2.7:1 (p < 0.001). With the introduction of the GHIS, the share of 'inappropriate' elective PCI in the ACS setting increased from 1.34 % to 4.81 % (p =0.065). However, there was also a fall in 'appropriate' elective PCI in the non-ACS setting from 15.0 ± 3.2% to 7 ± 1.6% (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: On applying the 2012 updated AUC, about 5 % of overall elective PCI were deemed as 'inappropriate'. About four in every five elective PCI in the non-ACS setting were of 'uncertain' appropriateness. The implementation of the GHIS not only significantly reduced the gender bias and delay in seeking interventional coronary care but also led to a significant rise in the proportion of PCI performed in the ACS setting. However, there was also a rise in 'inappropriate' PCI in the ACS setting and a significant fall in 'appropriate' PCI in the non-ACS setting after introduction of the GHIS..

Modified transjugular approach for percutaneous atrial septal defect closure.

Femoral venous route is routinely used for percutaneous closure of atrial septal defects (ASDs). However, a situation may arise where transfemoral approach is not feasible. We describe a successful transjugular closure of a moderate-sized ASD in a 49-year-old symptomatic man with interrupted inferior vena cava, using a novel deployment technique, which helped in overcoming difficulties such as maintaining stable sheath position and minimizing risk of air embolism.

Percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty with Inoue balloon catheter technique for pulmonary valve stenosis in adolescents and adults.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty is the procedure of choice for uncomplicated severe or symptomatic pulmonary stenosis. The present study describes our experience in balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty using the Inoue balloon catheter in adolescent and adult patients. AIMS: To assess the immediate and mid-term outcomes of percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty with Inoue balloon catheter in adolescent and adult patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between June 2010 and July 2015, we performed percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty with Inoue balloon catheter in 32 patients (59.37% females) aged 8 to 54 years (mean 23.6±11.5). Following the procedure, the mean right ventricular systolic pressure and the pulmonary valvular peak-to-peak systolic gradient decreased from (121.6±42.4 to 61.19±24.5mmHg, p=0.001) and (100.9±43.3 to 36.4±22.5mmHg, p=0.001), respectively. Twenty patients (Group A) showed immediate optimal results with post-procedure peak systolic gradient <36mmHg while 12 patients (Group B) had suboptimal results. An increase in pulmonary regurgitation by one grade was detected in 17 patients (53.2%). Twenty-three patients available for follow-up (mean duration, 2.75 years [range 0.25-5 years]) had a mean residual peak gradient of 23.6±2.51mmHg on Doppler echocardiography with attenuation of reactive RVOT stenosis in all Group B patients. There was no further increase in grade of pulmonary regurgitation or restenosis on mid-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous Inoue balloon technique is an attractive alternative with excellent mid-term results for adolescents and adults with isolated pulmonary stenosis.

A rare endocrine cause of electrical storm - a case report.

Sheehan's syndrome, also called Simmond's syndrome, postpartum apoplexy, postpartum pituitary necrosis, and postpartum panhypopituitary syndrome, is the name given to postpartum hypopituitarism. The syndrome is caused by an infarction in the adenohypophysis, usually precipitated by massive uterine haemorrhage and hypovolemic shock during or after childbirth. Extensive destruction of pituitary cells results in varying degree of hypopituitarism. Acute loss of adenohypophysis function can be fatal without glucocorticoid and thyroid replacement therapy and survivors will require life time hormonal replacement therapy. Most cases present in the postpartum period with lactation failure or after months to years after the delivery. In many affected women, anterior pituitary dysfunction is not diagnosed for many years. Dyselectrolytemia is one of a common presentation in Sheehan's syndrome. Herein, we report a case of a 35-year old female with a history of obstetric hysterectomy 2 years ago in view of severe postpartum haemorrhage with history of failure of lactation and three episodes of syncope since last 1½ years and now presented with polymorphic ventricular tachycardia which required DC cardioversion. She was referred as a case of long QT syndrome. On investigating further, she had hypokalaemia secondary to hypopituitarism due to Sheehan's syndrome.

Echocardiographic parameters in clinical responders to surgical pericardiectomy - A single center experience with chronic constrictive pericarditis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic constrictive pericarditis (CCP) is the end result of chronic inflammation of the pericardium. Developing countries continue to face a significant burden of CCP secondary to tuberculous pericarditis. Surgical pericardiectomy offers potential cure. However, there is paucity of echocardiography data in post-pericardiectomy patients vis-a-vis their clinical status. We studied the changes in multiple echocardiographic parameters in these patients before and after pericardiectomy. METHODS: Twenty-three patients (14 men, 9 women) who underwent pericardiectomy for CCP in the last 5 years (from January 2009 to December 2014) were subjected to detailed clinical and echocardiographic evaluation during the study period (between June 2013 and December 2014). Patients with residual symptoms of NYHA class II and below were considered as 'responders'. The data thus obtained were compared to the pre-operative parameters. RESULTS: After pericardiectomy, the incidence of vena caval congestion decreased from 100% to 15% (p<0.001). There was significant reduction in the mean left atrial size from 39.33±10.52mm to 34.45±10.08mm (p<0.001) and also the ratio of left atrium to aortic annulus from 1.93 to 1.69 (p<0.001) among 'responders' to pericardiectomy. Septal bounce was observed to persist in 5 (25%) patients after pericardiectomy. There was significant respiratory variation of 39.23±15.11% in the mitral E velocity before pericardiectomy. After pericardiectomy, this variation reduced to 14.43±7.76% (p<0.001). There was also significant reduction in the respiratory variation in tricuspid E velocities from 31.33±18.81% to 17.35±16.26% (p<0.001). After pericardiectomy, the mean ratio of mitral annular velocities, medial e': lateral e', reduced from 1.08 to 0.87 (p<0.03). The phenomenon of 'annulus reversus' was found to persist in 6 'responders', thereby reflecting a 50% reduction in its incidence after pericardiectomy (p<0.001). The ratio of mitral E to medial e' (E/e') increased from 4.21±1.35 before pericardiectomy to 6.91±2.62 after pericardiectomy (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Among clinical responders to surgical pericardiectomy, echocardiographic assessment revealed a significant reduction in vena caval congestion, LA size, ratio of LA to aortic annulus, septal bounce, respiratory variation in mitral and tricuspid E velocities, mitral annular medial e' and the phenomenon of annulus reversus. Also, there was a significant rise in minimum tricuspid and mitral E velocities and the E/e' ratio.

Cardiac manifestations in mucopolysaccharoidosis.

Through this case, we want to highlight, that in patients with mucopolysaccharoidosis (MPS), coronary arteries need to be screened in patients with LV dysfunction. Further, CT scan may not be a good modality and newer diagnostic modalities like IVUS must be offered to delineate concentric obstruction. Also, meticulous screening for hypertension must be carried out in all MPS patients.