Maternal health and early outcome in pregnant woman with Eisenmenger's Syndrome and Ebstein anomaly

Eisenmenger's syndrome [or ES, Eisenmenger's reaction or tardive cyanosis] is defined as the process in which a left to right shunt caused by a congenital heart defect in the fetal heart causes increased flow through the pulmonary vasculature, causing pulmonary hypertension,[1] which in turn causes increased pressures in the right side of the heart and reversal of the shunt into a right-to-left shunt. Eisenmenger syndrome is a cyanotic heart defect characterized by a long-standing intracardiac shunt [caused by "VSD": Ventricular septal defect, "PDA": Patent ductus arteriosus, or, less commonly, "ASD": Atrial septal defect] that eventually reverses to a right-to-left shunt. This syndrome is less frequent today because of medical screening with echocardiography early in life. Eisenmenger's syndrome specifically refers to the combination of a cardiac shunt [systemic-to-pulmonary], significant enough to cause cyanosis and overtime pulmonary hypertension. Pregnancy should ideally be avoided in a woman with Eisenmenger's syndrome, since it carries a high [approximately 50 percent] risk of sudden death for mother, frequently occurring a few days postpartum [2].A case of Eisenmenger syndrome and Ebstein anomaly in pregnancy where the patient's postpartum complications were successfully managed is reported

Management of acute myocardial infarction and its effect on women's health [female versus male]

Acute Myocardial Infarction [AMI] has traditionally been considered a disease affecting mostly men, yet women are increasingly at risk due to the obesity and diabetes. This study used archival data on hospital discharges from the cardiac care unit [CCU] to examine the AMI risk factors and its management among female patients' presentations at emergency rooms [ER] ended at CCU with a concurrent diagnosis of AMI and to compare the results with men of the same diagnosis. The study was conducted as a prospective cohort survey among patients admitted to CCU. All patients in that ward admitted with documented diagnosis of AMI and positive troponin results were obtained from the study. Some characteristics of the patients such as age, gender, education, risk factors, outcome, cardiac enzymes recorded by one of the researchers at the first day of the admission. Then those patients were followed up until discharge, either referring to another facility or death. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS for Windows version 13.0. The data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. A total of 182 patients 140 men [68.6%] and 42 women [20.6%] admitted with AMI were enrolled in the study. Women on average had 2 years age difference and had a greater prevalence of hypertension. Men had more previous myocardial revascularization procedures and more often were smokers. There were no difference in previous admission, death, or need for CAG [Coronary ansiography]. The awareness needs to be directed towards eliminating the disparities within the female population and heart disease. In this study any important and significant differences were not shown between male and female AMI management