1/360. ST segment elevation in the right precordial leads induced with class IC antiarrhythmic drugs: insight into the mechanism of brugada syndrome.We evaluated two patients without previous episodes of syncope who showed characteristic ECG changes similar to brugada syndrome following administration of Class IC drugs, flecainide and pilsicainide, but not following Class IA drugs. Patient 1 had frequent episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation resistant to Class IA drugs. After treatment with flecainide, the ECG showed a marked ST elevation in leads V2 and V3, and the coved-type configuration of ST segment in lead V2. A signal-averaged ECG showed late potentials that became more prominent after flecainide. Pilsicainide, a Class IC drug, induced the same ST segment elevation as flecainide, but procainamide did not. Patient 2 also had frequent episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Pilsicainide changed atrial fibrillation to atrial flutter with 2:1 ventricular response, and the ECG showed right bundle branch block and a marked coved-type ST elevation in leads V1 and V2. After termination of atrial flutter, ST segment elevation in leads V1 and V2 continued. In this patient, procainamide and quinidine did not induce this type of ECG change. In conclusion, strong Na channel blocking drugs induce ST segment elevation similar to brugada syndrome even in patients without any history of syncope or ventricular fibrillation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = cor (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/360. Left ventricular ischemia due to coronary stenosis as an unexpected treatable cause of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.We present a patient with exercise-induced paroxysmal atrial fibrillation who was eventually scheduled for a Cox-maze operation due to persistence of his complaints of fatigue, impaired exercise tolerance, and predominantly exercise-related irregular palpitations despite treatment with several antiarrhythmic drugs. A preoperative exercise stress test without antiarrhythmic or negative chronotropic drugs, however, showed clear evidence of myocardial ischemia. After coronary angioplasty of a significant stenosis in the left anterior descending artery, there was no recurrence of atrial fibrillation during a follow-up of 7 months.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.25keywords = cor (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/360. Congestive heart failure induced by recipient atrial tachycardia conducted to the donor atrium after orthotopic heart transplantation: complete regression after successful radiofrequency ablation.We describe the case of a 30-year-old female patient who developed an interatrial tachycardia from the recipient to the donor atrium associated with signs of congestive heart failure 5 years after orthotopic heart transplantation. The patient underwent catheter mapping followed by successful radiofrequency (RF) ablation at the site of the presumed electrical connection between the recipient and the donor atria, through the interatrial surgical suture line, with stable recovery of sinus rhythm and disappearance of signs of left ventricular dysfunction. RF catheter ablation is confirmed to be feasible and safe in the treatment of heart transplant patients even in the presence of rare forms of arrhythmias, thus offering a cure for tachycardia to these patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.777249514097keywords = heart (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/360. Reproducibility of spontaneous initiations of atrial fibrillation.INTRODUCTION: It has been suggested that some atrial regions may play a role in the maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF), whereas little is known about the presence of critical areas for the initiation of AF. It is conceivable that the identification of such critical areas may lead to more localized and selective strategies of ablative therapy. methods AND RESULTS: A patient suffering from paroxysmal AF was extensively mapped in both the atria with a multielectrode basket catheter in right atrium and two decapolar catheters placed in the coronary sinus and along the left septum. During the mapping, seven identical patterns of initiation of AF were recorded. AF was initiated by an atrial premature beat (APB) arising from the superior right septum, followed by a reentrant beat originating from the same area that slowly propagated through the atria and resulted in late activation of the right lateral wall. During sinus rhythm, the majority of the electrograms were single potentials, whereas during the APB, and particularly during the first atrial reentrant beat, a high percentage of fragmented complexes was present, mainly located in the right superior septum. These fragmented complexes were present in the same sites in each initiating episode and remarkably, they showed an almost identical morphology. CONCLUSION: This case suggests that in some patients the initiation of AF could be caused by reentrant circuits localized in specific atrial regions and the reentrant circuits could be identical in the different episodes of AF. This highlights the importance of increasing our understanding of the mechanisms of the initiation of AF so that we can identify any critical area involved in the genesis of AF where selective RF lesions may be effective in curing this arrhythmia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = cor (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/360. hypoglycemia induced by interaction between clarithromycin and disopyramide.A 59-year-old man receiving hemodialysis was hospitalized due to severe hypoglycemic attack. The patient had been treated with disopyramide (50 mg/day) because of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. hypoglycemia occurred after taking clarithromycin (CAM, 600 mg/day), a macrolide antibiotic. The serum disopyramide concentration reached 8.0 micrograms/ml (23.6 microM) in the presence of CAM, while it was 1.5 micrograms/ml before the addition of CAM. A 75 g oral glucose tolerance test and daily profiles of blood glucose value showed that blood glucose levels were significantly lower in the presence of CAM and disopyramide compared to that in the absence of these drugs. The Turner index in the presence of CAM and disopyramide was significantly higher than that in the absence of these drugs, suggesting that a toxic concentration of disopyramide enhanced insulin secretion, resulting in the induction of hypoglycemic attacks, in which the inhibitory effects of CAM on the hepatic chytochrome P-450 might be involved. QT and QTc intervals were prolonged in the presence of CAM and disopyramide, but torsades de points were not observed in this patient receiving nicorandil (15 mg/day). Thus, it should be taken into account that life-threatening hypoglycemia may result from the interaction between clarithromycin and disopyramide.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.25keywords = cor (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/360. Early proarrhythmia during intravenous amiodarone treatment.We present a case of early (within the first 24 hours) development of malignant torsades de pointes (TdP) associated with intravenous amiodarone therapy. After correction of predisposing factors (heart failure, hypokalemia, digoxin) amiodarone again resulted in torsades. This observation suggests that in patients who have experienced amiodarone-induced proarrhythmia, amiodarone administration under different, more stable clinical conditions may still be hazardous.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.41156813764518keywords = cor, heart (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/360. atrial fibrillation and anabolic steroids.A young male bodybuilder, consuming large doses of anabolic steroids (AS), presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with symptomatic rapid atrial fibrillation (AF). Echocardiogram revealed significant septal hypokinesis, and posterior and septal wall thickness at the upper limit of normal for highly trained athletes. The atrial fibrillation had not recurred at 10 weeks after discontinuation of AS use. Consumption of these agents in athletes has been associated with hypertension, ischemic heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and sudden death.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16156813764518keywords = heart (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/360. Cardiogenic shock due to coronary narrowings one day after a MAZE III procedure.A MAZE III procedure was performed on a patient with a small body surface area. On the first postoperative day, the patient developed severe dysfunction of the left ventricle, due to significant narrowings of the right and circumflex coronary arteries in the areas that were cryoablated during the MAZE III procedure. The coronary narrowings were treated by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). At discharge the coronary anatomy was normal again with an almost normal left ventricular function.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = cor (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/360. procainamide-induced postoperative pyrexia.procainamide is an effective antiarrhythmic that is often used to convert atrial fibrillation to normal sinus rhythm. A side effect of procainamide, rarely reported in the surgical literature, is pyrexia. The pyrexia is a manifestation of an allergic response to this medication. If unrecognized, procainamide-induced pyrexia can lead to unnecessary testing, hospitalization, and treatment. We present a case of a post-coronary artery bypass surgery patient who repeatedly displayed pyrexia when reexposed to procainamide indicating an allergic response to this drug.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.25keywords = cor (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/360. Atrial infarction is a unique and often unrecognized clinical entity.A patient with heart failure and acute atrial fibrillation received the final diagnosis of atrial infarction associated with ventricular infarction based on clinical findings of ischemia in association with atrial fibrillation and heart failure (mechanisms probably involved: contractile dysfunction and loss of atrial contribution). Although a transesophageal echocardiography, which could refine the diagnosis of anatomic abnormalities, was not performed, all evidence led to the diagnosis of atrial involvement. Electrocardiographic findings were consistent with Liu's major criterion 3. Therapy with digitalis, quinidine and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors was chosen, as the patient had acute pulmonary edema. The use of beta-blockers and verapamil was res-tricted. No other complications, such as thrombo-embolism or atrial rupture, were noted.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.32313627529036keywords = heart (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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