Ventricular tachycardia triggered by pregnancy in left-ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy: a controversial indication to automated defibrillator implantation.

Left-ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a rare form of cardiomyopathy. Its clinical presentation is highly variable and during pregnancy is frequently associated with heart failure, embolic events, and arrhythmias. Herein we report a case of a woman with left ventricular non-compaction who had an automated defibrillator implantation for recurrent ventricular arrhythmias during pregnancy. During pregnancy and at long-term follow-up no interventions of the device were documented. In conclusion, the management of malignant arrhythmias during pregnancy is one of the concerns for patients with LVNC and requires a careful approach in third-level centers.

Acute Coronary Syndrome and Ischemic Heart Disease in Pregnancy: Data From the EURObservational Research Programme-European Society of Cardiology Registry of Pregnancy and Cardiac Disease.

Background The prevalence of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in women of child-bearing age is rising. Data on pregnancies however are scarce. The objective is to describe the pregnancy outcomes in these women. Methods and Results The European Society of Cardiology-EURObservational Research Programme ROPAC (Registry of Pregnancy and Cardiac Disease) is a prospective registry in which data on pregnancies in women with heart disease were collected from 138 centers in 53 countries. Pregnant women with preexistent and pregnancy-onset IHD were included. Primary end point were maternal cardiac events. Secondary end points were obstetric and fetal complications. There were 117 women with IHD, of which 104 had preexisting IHD. Median age was 35.5 years and 17.1% of women were smoking. There was no maternal mortality, heart failure occurred in 5 pregnancies (4.8%). Of the 104 women with preexisting IHD, 11 women suffered from acute coronary syndrome during pregnancy. ST-segment‒elevation myocardial infarction were more common than non‒ST-segment‒elevation myocardial infarction, and atherosclerosis was the most common etiology. Women who had undergone revascularization before pregnancy did not have less events than women who had not. There were 13 women with pregnancy-onset IHD, in whom non‒ST-segment‒elevation myocardial infarction was the most common. Smoking during pregnancy was associated with acute coronary syndrome. Caesarean section was the primary mode of delivery (55.8% in preexisting IHD, 84.6% in pregnancy-onset IHD) and there were high rates of preterm births (20.2% and 38.5%, respectively). Conclusions Women with IHD tolerate pregnancy relatively well, however there is a high rate of ischemic events and these women should therefore be considered moderate- to high-risk. Ongoing cigarette smoking is associated with acute coronary syndrome during pregnancy.

Never trust first impressions when assessing the heart of a pregnant woman.

We describe the echocardiographic finding of a 35-year-old pregnant woman, referred for a clinical consultation at our institution because of congestive heart failure. She underwent echocardiography with only little information about a history of cardiac surgery during infancy. At the first sight, parasternal long axis view demonstrates normal structures, but on the apical view we diagnosed a very rare condition with typical imaging findings: Criss Cross heart.

Outcomes and management of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in pregnancy: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited disease with an estimated prevalence of up to 1:5000 in the general population. Few cases of ARVC during pregnancy are described in literature. CASE SUMMARY: A 32-year-old primigravida was referred to our clinic during the 32nd gestational week. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy diagnosis with biventricular involvement was made according to Task Force criteria. Beta-blocker therapy was started and an elective caesarean section was planned, during the 37th gestational week; no complications occurred. Thirteen months after delivery, the patient was readmitted in our hospital due to an episode of pre-syncope and after team discussion, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was implanted. DISCUSSION: This case suggests that the absence of signs and symptoms of heart failure (HF) at a first evaluation plays a major role to predict maternal and foetal outcome in ARVC. Our experience is consistent with the evidence that indicates a favourable outcome in asymptomatic patients treated with optimal medical therapy during pregnancy. In our case, despite no major HF or arrhythmic complications during pregnancy, delivery, and puerperium, we observed an arrhythmic disease progression more likely independent from pregnancy, leading to ICD implantation.

Retrograde dissection during percutaneous coronary intervention: sealing of the entry site by covered stent implantation.

We present a case of iatrogenic aortic haematoma, developed during percutaneous coronary intervention, treated with covered stent implantation followed by a conservative approach characterised by the integration of both clinical and multimodal imaging information. This complication can lead to overt aortic dissection (28-47%), rupture (20-45%) or death (21%). In 10% of the cases it can completely regress. Guidelines for its treatment are debated because of the unpredictable natural history of intramural haematoma. Nowadays, a close follow-up with multimodal imaging is considered a valid strategy for the appropriate management of this severe condition. On the basis of the patient's clinical condition and the information obtained by multiple imaging tests (angiography, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography and multidetector CT scan) we decided to treat our patient with medical therapy. To date, a 1-year follow-up negative for cardiac events is recorded.

Flecainide as first-line treatment for supraventricular tachycardia in newborns.

BACKGROUND: Flecainide for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) in newborns is still controversial because of its potentially severe proarrhythmic effects. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between January 2004 and December 2006, we used flecainide to treat 20 consecutive newborns (15 males) with paroxysmal SVT without any structural heart disease. Their age at hospitalization was 11.5 +/- 11.1 days. The intravenous administration of flecainide (1 mg/kg) effectively restored sinus rhythm in all the patients. Once stable sinus rhythm had been restored, the drug was administered orally at a dose of 2 mg/kg/day twice daily, which was uptitrated as the patients gained weight. The patients were followed up for up to 24 months with clinical evaluations, baseline ECG and 24-h Holter monitoring every 3 months. There were neither deaths nor any episodes of heart failure or sustained ventricular tachycardia during follow-up. SVT were completely controlled in 17 patients (85%), with an oral dose of 3.35 +/- 1.35 mg/kg/day of flecainide; in the remaining three patients with refractory arrhythmias, propranolol was added for optimal treatment. No significant increase in the duration of QRS (70 +/- 1.09 vs. 63.8 +/- 1.87 ms, P = NS) or any significant QTc prolongation (413 +/- 7.4 vs. 412.6 +/- 8.01 ms, P = NS) was observed. One patient developed an incomplete right bundle branch block promptly reverted by reducing the dose. CONCLUSION: This preliminary experience indicates that flecainide is well tolerated and effective as first-line treatment for paroxysmal SVT in newborns without structural heart disease.