11/88. Concealed conduction in the reentrant pathway as a mechanism of stable ventricular quadrigeminy. This is the first report on the stable occurrence of ventricular quadrigeminy as a manifestation of concealed bigeminy in a case of fixed and late coupled ventricular extrasystoles. A 46-year-old man is reported in whom the period of ventricular bigeminy alternated with the period of ventricular quadrigeminy. Coupling intervals of the extrasystoles were fixed and much longer than sinus QT intervals. When the heart rate is decreased, the period of bigeminy changed to the period of quadrigeminy without gradual decrease in coupling of the preceding extrasystoles. Once such a change occurred, stable quadrigeminy is maintained for a period. These findings suggest the possibility that concealed electrotonic conduction of blocked impulses and interference of conducted impulses may occur in the reentrant extrasystolic pathway as a mechanism of stable ventricular quadrigeminy. ( info) |
12/88. Morphology of right ventricular paced beats in posterior myocardial infarction. Premature ventricular beats or paced beats can unmask new or old myocardial infarction when sinus beats fail to exhibit the typical infarct pattern. knowledge of their morphology is vital, since they may be the earliest or even the only evidence of a myocardial infarction in certain cases. Morphology of premature ventricular beats or paced beats in anterior, anteroseptal, and inferior infarct has been described but not in the setting of a posterior infarct. We describe the morphology of right ventricular paced beats in a patient with posterior infarct and discuss its significance. ( info) |
13/88. First evidence of premature ventricular complex-induced cardiomyopathy: a potentially reversible cause of heart failure. tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy is a well-recognized and reversible condition, but left ventricular dysfunction due to frequent isolated premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) has not been reported. We observed resolution of dilated cardiomyopathy in a patient after a focal source of PVCs was eliminated by radiofrequency ablation. In a subset of patients with heart failure, PVC-induced cardiomyopathy may be a potentially reversible cause of left ventricular dysfunction. ( info) |
14/88. Isolated congenital left ventricular diverticulum with perinatal dysrhythmia: a case report and review of the literature. We report a case of isolated congenital left ventricular diverticulum (LVD) with perinatal dysrhythmia, which disappeared spontaneously 1 week after birth. The LVD arose from the lateral wall of the LV, and the contraction of the LVD was synchronous with the kinetics of the main LV chamber. The LVD changed very little in size during the first 30 months after birth, and its relative size to the growing LV main chamber decreased. The patient had neither any symptoms nor complications during this time. The available literature on prenatal and neonatal cases with isolated LVD or LV aneurysm is also reviewed. ( info) |
15/88. The heart-brain connection. We have long known that patients with vascular disease in one system are at risk for vascular disease in other systems. Beyond this, we are recognizing the increased risk for cardiovascular patients to develop stroke not only as the result of arrhythmia, but also at the time of cardiovascular events or procedures. This presents clinical challenges to nurses with either neurological or cardiovascular expertise, requiring development of new awareness, clinical and critical thinking skills, and collaboration with their colleagues in other specialties. Three case studies illustrate patient presentations ranging from the subtle to the obvious. Pathophysiology of stroke is reviewed. Leading-edge management strategies and supporting literature highlight the benefits of prompt identification and management of the stroke patient. The stroke Watch Action Team (SWAT) has proved to be an effective means of expediting patient identification and access to effective stroke treatment. ( info) |
16/88. ataxia caused by mutations in the alpha-tocopherol transfer protein gene. A 48 year old woman with ataxia with vitamin e deficiency is described. Gene analysis identified two point mutations in exon 1 of the alpha-tocopherol transfer protein (alpha-TTP) gene, one missense mutation and an upstream initiation codon mutation in the 5'-untranslated region (Kozak sequence). The latter mutation is the first one identified in the translation regulatory region. This mutation decreased the level of alpha-TTP protein expression. The clinical features included uncommon urinary disturbance and deafness and relatively rare retinitis pigmentosa. Supplementary therapy increased her serum vitamin E concentration to the normal range with mild improvement of the deep senses. ( info) |
| We report the case of a 54-year-old woman with idiopathic VT originating in the left ventricular outflow tract. She initially presented with palpitations and light-headedness. The morphology of the PVCs exhibited an inferior axis and tall R waves were noted in all the precordial leads. Spontaneous PVCs were transiently terminated by an intravenous injection of adenosine triphosphate. Radiofrequency catheter ablation from the left sinus of valsalva successfully abolished the PVCs and the VT. ( info) |
18/88. Electrocardiographic manifestations: aberrant ventricular conduction. Aberrant ventricular conduction is a common electrocardiographic (EKG) manifestation that occurs when the supraventricular electrical impulse is conducted abnormally through the ventricular conducting system. This results in a wide QRS complex that may be confused with a ventricular ectopic beat. This differentiation is important because the treatment and prognosis is quite different. Hemodynamically unstable patients with a wide-complex tachycardia should be promptly cardioverted. Although up to 10% of cases will defy differentiation, ventricular tachycardia and aberrant conduction can be distinguished utilizing history, physical examination, and EKG criteria. The mechanisms of aberrant ventricular conduction are discussed. ( info) |
19/88. serum KL-6 as a possible marker for amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity. amiodarone is a useful drug for the treatment of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. However, amiodarone can induced pulmonary toxicity (APT) and may cause life-threatening lung damage. APT can be difficult to diagnose, but early diagnosis is important. Here, in a 51-year-old man with APT, the high serum KL-6 level was correlated with the severity of symptoms and chest X-ray findings, and it was inversely correlated with PaO2 and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide levels. The findings suggest that the serum KL-6 level may be increased in APT and that therefore it's the determination of serum KL-6 may provide a useful indicator and/or monitoring marker of APT. KL-6 is believed to be produced and secreted by type II pneumocytes. Typical pathological findings of APT include proliferation of type II pneumocytes which may produce KL-6, and result in increased serum KL-6 levels. ( info) |
20/88. Inactivation of a ventricular tachycardia preventive algorithm during automatic mode switching for atrial tachyarrhythmia. A patient with a dual chamber implantable defibrillator and pause dependent VT in whom a rate smoothing algorithm failed to operate during automatic mode switching due to device idiosyncrasy is reported. Preventive measures are discussed. ( info) |