[Ventricular hernia: a case report and review of the literature]. / Hernia ventricular: presentación de un caso y revisión de la literatura.

We report a case of one young patient with symptoms of palpitations and ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias documented in the 24-hours Holter record. He had a deformity of silhouette and pericardial calcification in the chest roentgenogram. In the computed tomography and the magnetic resonance employed in the evaluation of structural anomalies, dates compatible with ventricular herniation, across one parcel of pathologically calcified pericardium, were present. The probable etiology, operatory findings and the management of those patients are discussed.

[The efficacy of verapamil in sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia]. / Eficacia del verapamilo en la taquicardia ventricular monomorfa sostenida.

We present a 36-year-old male without overt cardiac disease who suffered, since he was 15 years old, from sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia of left bundle branch block with a right axis, lasting for several hours; sometimes, syncope was a clinical form of manifestation. Electrophysiologic study, twenty-four hours Holter recording, cardiac catheterization and blood analysis were not useful in order to find its etiology. Efficacy of different drugs, like Mexiletil, Amiodarone, Atenolol and Verapamil (at a dose of 240 mg/day) were tested through multistaged graded-treadmill stress-testing using the Bruce protocol. Ventricular tachycardia was suppressed by administration of Lidocaine. Oral verapamil given at a dose of 360 mg/day prevented the induction of the arrhythmia, the efficacy was tested with maximal treadmill exercise and twenty-four hours Holter recording.