Arrhythmic manifestation of peripartum cardiomyopathy-Case report.

We report a case of 26-year-old woman, with arrhythmic manifestation of peripartum cardiomyopathy with moderate heart failure. Ventricular arrhythmia recorded in ambulatory Holter ECG (premature ventricular contractions) was most severe during pregnancy, reduced when beta-blocker therapy was initiated and almost completely resolved after delivery. Then, 1 year after hospitalization in Cardiology Department, recurrence was observed with recorded short episode of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia.

Improved outcomes in survivors of cardiac arrest qualified for early coronary angiography: A single tertiary center study.

INTRODUCTION: Most cardiac arrests in adults are related to coronary artery disease (CAD), and the role of early invasive cardiology procedures remains unclear. AIMS: We investigated the prognosis for patients hospitalized for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) or in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) who were referred within 24 hours to a tertiary cardiology department, with a focus on the role of early coronary angiography (CA) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: This was an observational, single-center study using retrospective and prospective cohorts. Consecutive patients hospitalized for OHCA or IHCA and referred within 24 hours to a cardiology department were included in the study. Survival until hospital discharge was the primary outcome. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-eight patients aged 71 (14) years were included, 68 hospitalized for OHCA, and 80 patients after IHCA. Overall, in-hospital survival in the study group was 45% (66/148). In a multivariable logistic regression model, independent predictors of death were ejection fraction (EF) ≤30% (odds ratio [OR], 4.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.69-10.03), blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) ≤90% (OR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.19-6.46), non-ST-segement elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) (OR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.02-7.21). The risk of death was lower in patients who underwent early CA (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.1-0.74) or received at least one defibrillation (OR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.05-0.27), even after adjustment for other factors. CONCLUSIONS: In this series from a tertiary cardiac center, patients who underwent early CA had improved outcomes after cardiac arrest. In the multivariable logistic regression model, lower SpO2, lower EF, and NSTEMI were independent risk factors of death, whereas early CA and initial shockable rhythm improved survival.

Elevated resistin opposed to adiponectin or angiogenin plasma levels as a strong, independent predictive factor for the occurrence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events in patients with stable multivessel coronary artery disease over 1-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Adipokines such as adiponectin and resistin, as well as angiogenin, may be associated with inflammation and atherosclerosis. The relationship between their levels and prognosis in high risk patients is, however, still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of these adipokines in patients with stable multivessel coronary artery disease (MCAD). MATERIAL/METHODS: The study group comprised 107 MCAD patients (74% males, mean age 63 ± 8 years). Adiponectin, resistin and angiogenin plasma levels were measured at admission and after 1-year follow-up. Primary end point (major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events--MACCE) was defined as cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and hospitalization for angina or heart failure over a 1-year period. RESULTS: After 1-year follow-up, 9 (8%) patients died, all from cardiovascular causes. Primary end point was experienced by 32% of patients. Surgical treatment (CABG) was received by 51% of patients, while 49% were treated medically alone. Total cholesterol concentration levels ≥ 173 mg/dl were associated with a 7-fold increase (OR 7.3; 95% CI, 1.6-33.0); LDL ≥ 93.5 mg/dl with a 16-fold increase (OR 16.3; 95% CI, 2.8-93.8), and resistin ≥ 17.265 ng/ml with a 13-fold increase in MACCE risk (OR 13.5; 95% CI, 2.3-80.3). In multivariate analysis, a medical treatment strategy (p = 0.001), a higher CCS class (p = 0.004), resistin levels (p = 0.003) and a higher Gensini score (p = 0.03) were independent predictors of MACCE. CONCLUSIONS: In stable patients with MCAD, elevated plasma resistin (as opposed to adiponectin or angiogenin) is a strong, independent predictive factor for the occurrence of MACCE over 1-year follow-up.

Inter- and Intraobserver Repeatability of Myocardial Flow Reserve Values Determined with SPECT Study Using a Discovery NM530c Camera and Corridor 4DM Software.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial blood flow (MBF) and flow reserve (MFR) examination, especially useful in the diagnosis of multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD), can be assessed with a cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) SPECT gamma camera, as an alternative to the expensive and less available PET. However, study processing is not free from subjective factors. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate intra- and interobserver repeatability of MBF and MFR values obtained by the same operator and two independent operators. METHODS: This study included 57 adult patients. MBF and MFR were assessed using a Discovery NM530c camera in a two-day, rest/dipyridamople protocol, using 99mTc-MIBI. Data were processed using Corridor4DM software, twice by one operator and once by another operator. RESULTS: The repeatability of the assessed values was quite good in the whole myocardium, LAD and LCX vascular territories, but was poor in the RCA territory. CONCLUSIONS: The poor repeatability of MBF and MFR in RCA vascular territory can be explained by poor automatic orientation of the heart axis during post-processing and a so-called "cardiac creep" phenomenon. Better automatic heart orientation and introduction of automatic motion correction is likely to drastically improve this repeatability. In the present state of the software, PET is better for patients requiring assessment of MFR in the RCA territory.

The feasibility and clinical implication of tricuspid regurgitant velocity and pulmonary flow acceleration time evaluation for pulmonary pressure assessment during exercise stress echocardiography.

AIMS: Echocardiography can estimate pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) from tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TRV) or acceleration time (ACT) of pulmonary flow. We assessed the feasibility of TRV and ACT measurements during exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) and their correlation in all stages of ESE. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed ESE in 102 subjects [mean age 49 ± 17 years, 50 females, 39 healthy, 30 with cardiovascular risk factors, and 33 with pulmonary hypertension (PH)] referred for the assessment of exercise tolerance and ischaemia exclusion. ESE was performed on cycloergometer with the load increasing by 25 W for each 2 min. Assessment of TRV with continuous wave and ACT with pulsed Doppler were attempted in 306 time points: at rest, peak exercise, and recovery. In 20 PH patients we evaluated the correlations of TRV and ACT with invasively measured PAP. The success rate was 183/306 for TRV and 304/306 for ACT (feasibility: 60 vs. 99%, P < 0.0001). There was a close correlation between TRV and ACT: r = 0.787, P < 0.001 and ACT at peak ≤67 ms showed 94% specificity for elevated systolic PAP detection. Moreover, TRV and ACT at peak exercise reflected better that resting data the invasive systolic PAP and mean PAP with r = 0.76, P = 0.0004 and r = -0.67, P = 0.0018, respectively. CONCLUSION: ACT is closely correlated with and substantially more feasible than TRV during ESE and inclusion of both parameters (TRACT approach) expands the possibility of PAP assessment, especially at exercise when TRV feasibility is the lowest but correlation with invasive PAP seems to increase.

Treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension in a multidisciplinary team.

BACKGROUND: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) may be treated with pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA), balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) and medical therapy (MT). Assessment in a multidisciplinary team of experts (CTEPH team) is currently recommended for treatment decision making. The aim of the present study was to report the effects of such an interdisciplinary concept. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 160 patients were consulted by the CTEPH team between December 2015 and September 2018. Patient baseline characteristics, CTEPH team decisions and implementation rates of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures were analysed. Change in World Health Organization (WHO) functional class and survival rates were evaluated by treatment strategy. A total of 51 (32%) patients were assessed as operable and 109 (68%) were deemed inoperable. Thirty-one (61% of operable patients) underwent PEA. Patients treated with PEA, BPA(+MT) and MT alone were 50.9 ± 14.7, 62.9 ± 15.1 and 68.9 ± 12.7 years old, respectively. At the follow-up, PEA patients had the highest WHO functional class improvement. Patients treated with BPA(+MT) had significantly better survival than PEA (p = 0.04) and MT patients (p = 0.04; 2-year survival of 92%, 79% and 79%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The CTEPH team ensures that necessary diagnostic procedures are performed. A relatively low proportion of patients was assessed by the CTEPH team as operable and underwent surgery, which in survivors resulted in the best functional improvement. Although patients undergoing BPA(+MT) were older than patients treated with PEA, their survival was better than patients subjected to PEA or MT alone. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.

Diabetes as an independent predictor of left ventricular longitudinal strain reduction at rest and during dobutamine stress test in patients with significant coronary artery disease.

Aims: Diabetes (DM) is a strong cardiovascular risk factor modifying also the left ventricular (LV) function that may be objectively assessed with echocardiographic strain analysis. Although the impact of isolated DM on myocardial deformation has been already studied, few data concern diabetics with coronary artery disease (CAD), especially in all stages of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE). We compared LV systolic function during DSE in CAD with and without DM using state-of-the art speckle-tracking quantification and assessed the impact of DM on LV systolic strain. Methods and results: DSE was performed in 250 patients with angina who afterwards had coronarography with ≥50% stenosis in the left main artery and ≥70% in other arteries considered as significant. In this analysis, we included 127 patients with confirmed CAD: 42 with DM [DM(+); mean age 64 ± 9 years] and 85 patients without DM [DM(-); mean age 63 ± 9 years]. The severity of CAD and LV ejection fraction (EF) were similar in both groups. Global and regional LV peak systolic longitudinal strain (PSLS) revealed in all DSE phases lower values in DM(+) group: 14.5 ± 3.6% vs. 17.4 ± 4.0% at rest; P = 0.0001, 13.8 ± 3.9% vs. 16.7 ± 4.0% at peak stress; P = 0.0002, and 14.2 ± 3.1% vs. 15.5 ± 3.5% at recovery; P = 0.0432 for global parameters, although dobutamine challenge did not enhance further resting differences. LV EF, body surface area, and diabetes were independent predictors for strain in 16-variable model (R2 = 0, 51, P < 0.001). Conclusion: PSLS although diminished in both groups with CAD was lower in diabetics at all DSE stages, and DM was an independent predictor of this impairment. However, the dobutamine challenge did not deepen the resting differences, suggesting that the direct impact of coronary stenoses effaces the influence of DM during DSE. The comparison with our previous data revealed synergistic, detrimental effect of coexisting CAD and DM on myocardial strain.

Preventive echocardiographic examination in athletes and workers - Quadricuspid aortic valve and atrial septal aneurysm in a young basketball player.

Ensuring safety of young athletes and employees who perform hard physical work within the scope of their professional duties, with a special focus on prevention of a sudden cardiac death at sports fields or during hard physical work is one of the most important tasks, which demands joint effort of cardiologists and sport physicians or occupational physicians, who qualify patients for a job or a sport discipline. Apart from hypertrophic and arhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, coronary anomalies and aortic dissection belong to the most frequent causes of dramatic complications during competitive exercise or work with an increased energy expenditure. Although a detailed medical history and a physical examination combined with 12-lead ECG assessment may significantly improve the safety in competitive sports, adding echocardiography examination gives a detailed and noninvasive insight into the heart morphology and function. Therefore, in our opinion, it should constitute a standard part of the evaluation of candidates for competitive sports. The practice indicates that beyond subjects with severe heart diseases and those classified as normal, there is a group of individuals with abnormalities which should be more closely monitored, but are not contraindications against professional sports or work with an increased energy expenditure. We describe the case of a young female with a diagnosis of rare congenital aortic valve disease, quadricuspid valve, with mild regurgitation and atrial septal aneurysm which was established during transthoracic echocardiography and confirmed and expanded during TEE examination.

Broken heart as work-related accident: Occupational stress as a cause of takotsubo cardiomyopathy in 55-year-old female teacher - Role of automated function imaging in diagnostic workflow.

Takotsubo cardiomiopathy (TTC) (known also as "ampulla cardiomyopathy," "apical ballooning" or "broken heart syndrome") is connected with a temporary systolic left ventricular dysfunction without the culprit coronary lesion. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy was first described in 1990 in Japan after octopus trapping pot with a round bottom and narrow neck similar in shape to left ventriculogram in TTC patients. The occurrence of TTC is usually precipitated by a stressful event with a clinical presentation mimicking myocardial infarction: chest pain, ST-T segment elevation or T-wave inversion, a rise in cardiac troponin, and contractility abnormalities in echocardiography. A left ventricular dysfunction is transient and improves within a few weeks. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy typically occurs in postmenopausal women and the postulated mechanism is catecholamine overstimulation. Moreover, the distribution of contractility impairments usually does not correspond with typical region supplied by a single coronary artery. Therefore, the assessment of regional pattern of systolic dysfunction with speckle-tracking echocardiography and automated function imaging (AFI) technique may be important in diagnosis of TTC and may improve our insight into its patophysiology. We described a 55-year-old female teacher with TTC diagnosed after acute psychological stress in workplace. The provoking factor related with occupational stress and pattern of contraction abnormalities documented with AFI technique including basal segments of left ventricle make this case atypical.

Cardiotoxic effect due to accidental ingestion of an organic solvent.

Toxic myocardial injury can be misdiagnosed as a myocardial infarction, resulting in the patient undergoing standard treatment for cardiac rehabilitation. However, such inadequate therapeutic strategies can lead to cardiovascular complications including dilated cardiomyopathy. This study presents a case of a 65-year-old man after accidental ingestion of organic solvents (toluene and xylene), whose condition demonstrated all the criteria for diagnosis of myocardial infarction. The qualitative determinations of the above mentioned volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in whole blood were carried out using a headspace sampling by means of gas chromatography. Cardiac catheterization revealed no specific coronary lesions, only a muscular bridge causing a 30-50% stenosis in the middle of the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery.

Feasibility and correlation of standard 2D speckle tracking echocardiography and automated function imaging derived parameters of left ventricular function during dobutamine stress test.

Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a method of quantitative assessment of myocardial function complementary to ejection fraction and visual evaluation. Standard STE analysis, demands manual tracing of the myocardium whereas automated function imaging (AFI) offers more convenient (based on selection of three points) assessment of longitudinal strain. Nevertheless, feasibility and correlation between both methods were not thoroughly examined, especially during tachycardia at peak stage of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE). We performed DSE in 238 patients (pts) with recording of apical views during baseline (0) and peak (1) DSE and analyzed them by STE and AFI. According to angiography, 127/238 pts had significant (≥70%) lesions in coronary arteries. We assessed correlations between STE and AFI derived peak systolic longitudinal strain values for global and regional parameters, feasibility, time of analysis and interobserver agreement. Global systolic longitudinal strain measured during baseline and peak stage of DSE by AFI showed very good correlation with standard STE parameters, with correlation coefficients r = 0.90 and r = 0.86 respectively (p < 0.0001). For regional parameters correlation coefficients ranged from 0.83 to 0.85 for baseline and from 0.70 to 0.79 for peak DSE. Both methods provided good and similar feasibility with only 1% segments excluded from analysis at peak stage of DSE with shorter time and lower coefficient of variance offered by AFI. Global and regional longitudinal strain achieved by faster and less operator-dependent AFI method correlate well with standard more time-consuming STE analysis during baseline and peak stage of DSE.

Characteristics, management and five-year outcomes of patients with high risk, stable multivessel coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Multivessel coronary artery disease (MCAD) is a common manifestation of advanced coronary atherosclerosis. AIM: To determine the clinical characteristics and long term follow up prognostic factors in patients with high risk, stable MCAD from a single institution. METHODS: We included in the final analysis 270 patients with stable MCAD. Patients were followed for the occurrence of death, stroke and myocardial infarction (MI). We defined a cumulative major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) asa composite of death, stroke, MI and urgent revascularisation. Median follow up was 5 years (4-5.5 years). 176 (65%) patients were treated surgically (coronary artery bypass grafting, CABG), 19 (7%) patients were treated percutaneously, while 75 (28%) patients were treated medically; this meant that 94 (35%) patients were treated non-surgically. RESULTS: Predictors of MACCE in the study group of patients revealed by univariate logistic regression analysis were: diabetes mellitus (p = 0.04), kidney failure (p = 0.05), total cholesterol (p = 0.05), LDL-cholesterol (p = 0.02), chest pain symptoms in CCS III class (p = 0.05), heart rate (p = 0,02), NT-proBNP (p = 0.01), left ventricular diastolic (p = 0.003) and systolic diameter (p = 0.003), left ventricular ejection fraction (p = 0.001), Gensini score (p = 0.05) and CABG treatment strategy (p = 0.001). In Cox logistic regression analysis, non CABG treatment strategy (b = 0.06), heart rate (b = 0.02), and LDL cholesterol level (b = 0.006) were independent predictors of MACCE (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that patients with advanced MCAD who are qualified for complete surgical revascularisation benefitted more with regard to several primary end points at five-year follow-up than those who were not qualified for surgery and who were treated with medical therapy supplemented in selected cases with incomplete percutaneous revascularisation.

[Severe coronary artery disease in premenopausal woman with familial hypercholesterolaemia]. / Zaawansowana choroba wiencowa u premenopauzalnej kobiety z hipercholesterolemia rodzinna

We present a case of a 51 year-old, premenopausal, non-smoker for many years woman with severe, two-coronary artery disease in the form of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and severe hypercholesterolaemia as the predominant risk factor. The first clinical diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia has been established at the time of diagnosis of ACS. Satisfactory effect of pharmacological treatment is achieved by a complex lipid-lowering therapy.

[Critical stenosis left main coronary artery in 39-year-old woman treated with percutaneous angioplasty]. / Krytyczne ostialne zwezenie pnia lewej tetnicy wiencowej u 39-letniej kobiety leczonej przezskórna angioplastyka

Isolated critical stenosis of left main coronary artery (LMCA) due to atherosclerosis is very rare and affects about 0.2% of patients. We present the case of a 39-year-old, non-smoker women with risk factors for diseases of the cardiovascular system in the form of hypercholesterolaemia and hypertension, in addition to positive family history and chronic oral contraception. Sick from occurring since atypical angina masked depressive symptoms, with a critical stenosis of LMCA and little suggestive symptoms of ischaemia because of the existing collateral circulation.

Prognostic value of platelet indices after acute myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Mean platelet volume (MPV) is a strong predictor of impaired angiographic reperfusion and 6-month mortality in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). No data is available for other platelet volume indices: platelet distribution width (PDW) and platelet large cell ratio (P-LCR). The aim was to assess the impact of 3 platelet volume indices on long-term prognosis in patients treated with primary PCI in acute MI. METHODS: This prospective study enrolled 538 patients who underwent primary PCI in acute MI. Admission blood samples were measured for MPV, PDW, and P-LCR. The patients were followed-up a mean period of 26 ± 11 months with regard to cardiac death, non-fatal reinfarction, re-PCI or coronary artery bypass grafting. RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a significantly higher 26-month mortalityrate in patients with high MPV (≥ 11.7 fL) than in those with low MPV (< 11.7 fL) (14.6% vs. 5.5%, p = 0.0008). Similar findings were related to high P-LCR (≥ 38.1%) vs. low P-LCR (< 38.1%) - mortality 13.8% vs. 5.8%, p = 0.0025. Higher PDW values (≥ 16 fL) correlated with higher mortality rate as compared to PDW < 16 fL (17.4% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.0012). PDW was found to be an independent prognostic factor for cardiac mortality and composite endpoint. CONCLUSIONS: Mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width and platelet large cell ratio measured on admission are strong, independent prognostic factors in PCI-treated acute MI.

Influence of treatment strategy on serum adiponectin, resistin and angiogenin concentrations in patients with stable multivessel coronary artery disease after one-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Adiponectin and resistin, as well as the novel angiogenetic factor angiogenin, may be associated with inflammation and atherosclerosis. However, the available data are limited regarding adipocytokines and angiogenesis factors long-term serum concentration changes in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). AIM: To evaluate the treatment strategy-dependent changes in serum concentrations of adiponectin, resistin and angiogenin in patients with stable multivessel CAD (MCAD) and their association with cardiovascular events. METHODS: The study group comprised 107 MCAD patients (80 males, mean age 63±8 years); 55 (51%) patients were treated surgically (coronary artery bypass grafting-CABG), while the other 52 (49%) were treated medically. Adiponectin, resistin and angiogenin plasma levels were measured on admission and after one-year follow-up. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were defined as cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke or hospitalisation for angina or heart failure over the 12 month period. RESULTS: During one-year follow-up, nine (8%) patients died, all from cardiovascular causes, and 34 (32%) patients experienced MACE. The CABG group revealed significant decrease in angiogenin (p<0.0001) and adiponectin (p=0.03) serum levels. In the medically treated group, we noted a significant reduction in the adiponectin serum concentration (p=0.003), with no change in resistin and angiogenin serum levels. CONCLUSIONS: In stable patients with MCAD, the choice of treatment strategy (optimal medical therapy or surgery) influences cytokines profile and modifies serum concentration of angiogenin and adiponectin during 12 months of follow-up. Assessing the dynamic concentration changes of these novel biomarkers may be useful for clinical practice.