Can Breaking Heroin Addiction Lead to a Broken Heart? A Case of Reverse Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy in a Patient With Heroin Withdrawal.

Reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy is triggered by emotional or physical stress and has a presentation similar to that of acute coronary syndrome. A 39-year-old woman with a history of heroin use disorder presented with intractable nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. She was diagnosed with heroin withdrawal and started on buprenorphine-naloxone. On day 2 of her hospitalization, she developed chest heaviness and had an elevated troponin I level of 3.2 ng/mL (reference range, 0.015-0.045 ng/mL); electrocardiography showed new T-wave inversions in the anterior and inferior leads. Emergent coronary angiography showed patent coronary arteries, and left ventriculography showed basal hypokinesis and apical hyperkinesis, consistent with reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy secondary to heroin withdrawal. She was started on antihypertensive agents, and her buprenorphine-naloxone dose was increased. At her 3-month follow-up visit, she reported no symptoms consistent with angina or heart failure. This appears to be the first report of heroin withdrawal causing reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Awareness of this association can lead to earlier recognition and treatment of reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

An automated fractionation mapping algorithm for mapping of scar-based ventricular tachycardia.

BACKGROUND: Mapping and ablation of fractionated electrograms is a common treatment for scar-based ventricular tachycardia (VT). An automated algorithm has been developed for rapid "fractionation mapping." METHODS: Electroanatomic maps from 21 ablation procedures (14 scar-based VT and seven control idiopathic VT/premature ventricular contractions with normal voltage) were retrospectively analyzed using the Ensite Precision fractionation map (fMap; Abbott Laboratories; Abbott Park, IL, USA) algorithm. For each study, voltage maps and 30 fMaps were generated using combinations of parameters: width (5, 10, 20 ms), refractory time (15, 30 ms), sensitivity (0.1, 0.2 mV), and fractionation threshold (2, 3, 5). Parameter sensitivity was assessed by overlap of fractionated areas (fArea) with successful VT ablation sites (defined by entrainment and/or pace mapping). Specificity was assessed by presence of fractionated areas in control patients. RESULTS: Of the 30 fMap parameter sets tested, seven identified >50% of scar-based VT ablation sites, and 26 contained <5 cm2 fractionation on control fMaps. Three combinations of fMap width/refractory/sensitivity/threshold parameters met both of the above criteria, and 20/30/0.1/2 identified the most VT ablation sites (79%) and generated 42.3 ± 28.2 cm2 of fArea on scar-based VT maps compared with 4.9 ± 3.2 cm2 on control maps (P = .001). None of the control patients and 23% of the scar-based VT patients had VT recurrence at mean 15 month follow-up. CONCLUSION: Careful selection of signal processing parameters optimizes sensitivity and specificity of automated fractionation mapping for scar-based VT. Real-time use of fMap algorithms may reduce VT ablation procedure time and improve substrate modification, which may improve outcomes.

National perioperative outcomes of pulmonary lobectomy for cancer in the obese patient: a propensity score matched analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Obesity in the United States is a growing epidemic that results in challenging patients with complicated comorbidities. We sought to compare hospital outcomes of obese patients with those of nonobese patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy for cancer. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of obese (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) and nonobese (body mass index < 30 kg/m(2)) patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy for lung cancer. By using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from 2002 to 2007, we determined independent risk factors for perioperative death, discharge to an institutional care facility, and prolonged hospital length of stay (>14 days). Cohorts were matched on the basis of propensity scores incorporating preoperative patient variables. RESULTS: We identified 1238 obese patients (3.7%) and 31,983 nonobese patients (96.3%) undergoing lobectomy for cancer. In regard to patient demographics, obese patients were younger (mean age, 64.8 vs 66.7, P < .001) and predominantly female (59.5% vs 50.0%, P < .001) compared with nonobese patients. After matching based on propensity scores, except for a greater incidence of pulmonary insufficiency (P = .03) and pneumonia (P = .01) in the obese group, there were no differences in postoperative complications. By controlling for patient demographics, obese patients had higher odds to be discharged to an institutional care facility (odds ratio, 1.21; P = .02) but not for prolonged hospital length of stay or perioperative death. CONCLUSIONS: Obese patients have an increased risk for postoperative pulmonary complications but not other morbidity, mortality, or prolonged hospital length of stay after lobectomy for cancer. Obesity should not be considered a surgical risk factor for pulmonary resection.