Texas Heart Institute Journal最新文献

Determining the optimal length of artificial chordae tendineae and then effectively securing them is a major challenge in mitral valve repair. Our technique for measuring and stabilizing neochordae involves tying a polypropylene suture loop onto the annuloplasty ring. We used this method in 4 patients who had moderate-to-severe mitral regurgitation from degenerative posterior leaflet (P2) prolapse and flail chordae. Results of intraoperative saline tests and postoperative transesophageal echocardiography revealed only mild insufficiency. One month postoperatively, echocardiograms showed trivial regurgitation in all 4 patients. We think that this simple, precise method for adjusting and stabilizing artificial chordae will be advantageous in mitral valve repair.

Advances in stent design and technology have made stent loss during percutaneous coronary intervention rare. When stent loss occurs, the risk of life-threatening procedural complications is high. We describe the use of an endovascular snare system to retrieve a dislodged stent from the proximal right coronary artery of a 54-year-old man during percutaneous coronary intervention after other conventional retrieval techniques had failed.

Influenza causes cardiac and pulmonary complications that can lead to death. Its effect on the conduction system, first described a century ago, has long been thought to be fairly benign. We report 2 cases of high-grade atrioventricular block associated with acute influenza infection. Both patients-a 50-year-old woman with no history of cardiac disease or conduction abnormalities and a 20-year-old man with a history of complex congenital heart disease and conduction abnormalities-received a permanent pacemaker. In the first case, pacemaker interrogation at 4 months revealed persistent atrioventricular block. In the second case, pacemaker interrogation at 3 months suggested resolution. Whether such influenza-associated changes are transient or permanent remains unknown. We recommend keeping a careful watch on influenza patients with cardiac rhythm abnormalities and monitoring them closely to see if the problem resolves.

Balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty is a safe and effective treatment for isolated pulmonary valve stenosis. Several balloon catheters are available for this procedure in neonates and infants. However, obtaining additional vascular access for the double-balloon technique in this population is troublesome, and tricuspid valve injury is a concern. We used a TMP PED balloon catheter to perform valvuloplasty in 2 infants with isolated pulmonary valve stenosis. This thin-walled, relatively large 12-mm balloon catheter can be delivered through a small-diameter sheath. In both cases, the transpulmonary pressure gradient was reduced without causing any valvular or vascular injuries. Neither patient had recurrent pulmonary valve stenosis. Together, these cases highlight the suitability and feasibility of using the 12-mm TMP PED balloon catheter for treating young infants with valvular stenosis.

Malignant metastases are among the most common cardiac masses. We report a rare case of cardiac involvement by Burkitt lymphoma in a 49-year-old man who presented with a 2-month history of dyspnea and palpitations. A transthoracic echocardiogram revealed 2 intracardiac masses in the right atrium (one of which partially encased the tricuspid valve), myocardial infiltration, and pericardial disease. Results of pleural fluid cytology and flow cytometry confirmed involvement by Burkitt lymphoma. Subsequent chemotherapy markedly reduced the intracardiac tumor burden and resolved the patient's presenting symptoms. Our case highlights the importance of cardiac imaging in diagnosing systemic illness, initiating early and appropriate treatment, and monitoring disease progression in patients with intracardiac Burkitt lymphoma.

Locoregional cytokine treatment, or immunoembolization, is an experimental targeted therapy for uveal melanoma metastatic to the liver. Unlike systemic cytokine treatments that have been associated with substantial toxicity, this method of drug delivery appears to be better tolerated. Because this newer therapy is being prescribed more widely, oncologists, interventional radiologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, critical care specialists, and other providers should become familiar with potential adverse reactions. We describe the case of a 67-year-old man who had metastatic uveal melanoma. Before he underwent liver-directed immunoembolization, he had elevated markers of endothelial dysfunction. He died after the rapid onset of acute right ventricular failure from severe pulmonary hypertension with possible superimposed isolated right ventricular takotsubo cardiomyopathy. In discussing this rare case, we focus on the differential diagnosis.

Effusive-constrictive pericarditis is typically caused by tuberculosis or other severe inflammatory conditions that affect the pericardium. We report a case of effusive-constrictive pericarditis consequent to a motor vehicle accident. A 32-year-old man with gastroesophageal reflux disease presented with severe substernal chest pain of a month's duration and dyspnea on exertion for one week. Echocardiograms revealed a moderate pericardial effusion, and the diagnosis was subacute effusive-constrictive pericarditis. After thorough tests revealed nothing definitive, we learned that the patient had been in a motor vehicle accident weeks before symptom onset, which made blunt trauma the most likely cause of pericardial injury and effusion. Medical management resolved the effusion and improved his symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first report of effusion from posttraumatic constrictive pericarditis associated with a motor vehicle accident. We encourage providers to consider recent trauma as a possible cause of otherwise idiopathic pericarditis.