One-Year Clinical Outcomes between Single- versus Multi-Staged PCI for ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction with Multi-Vessel Coronary Artery Disease: from Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institute of Health (KAMIR-NIH)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES@#Although complete revascularization is known superior to incomplete revascularization in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease (MVCD), there are no definite instructions on the optimal timing of non-culprit lesions percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We compared 1-year clinical outcomes between 2 different complete multi-vessel revascularization strategies.@*METHODS@#From the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institute of Health, 606 patients with STEMI and MVCD who underwent complete revascularization were enrolled from November 2011 to December 2015. The patients were assigned to multi-vessel single-staged PCI (SS PCI) group (n=254) or multi-vessel multi-staged PCI (MS PCI) group (n=352). Propensity score matched 1-year clinical outcomes were compared between the groups.@*RESULTS@#At one year, MS PCI showed a significantly lower rate of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.42; 95% confidential interval [CI], 0.19–0.92; p=0.030) compared with SS PCI. In subgroup analysis, all-cause mortality increased in SS PCI with cardiogenic shock (HR, 4.60; 95% CI, 1.54–13.77; p=0.006), age ≥65 years (HR, 4.00; 95% CI, 1.67–9.58, p=0.002), Killip class III/IV (HR, 7.32; 95% CI, 1.68–31.87; p=0.008), and creatinine clearance ≤60 mL/min (HR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.10–7.18; p=0.031). After propensity score-matching, MS PCI showed a significantly lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular event than SS PCI.@*CONCLUSIONS@#SS PCI was associated with worse clinical outcomes compared with MS PCI. MS PCI for non-infarct-related artery could be a better option for patients with STEMI and MVCD, especially high-risk patients.

One-Year Clinical Outcomes between Single- versus Multi-Staged PCI for ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction with Multi-Vessel Coronary Artery Disease: from Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institute of Health (KAMIR-NIH)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although complete revascularization is known superior to incomplete revascularization in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease (MVCD), there are no definite instructions on the optimal timing of non-culprit lesions percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We compared 1-year clinical outcomes between 2 different complete multi-vessel revascularization strategies.METHODS: From the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institute of Health, 606 patients with STEMI and MVCD who underwent complete revascularization were enrolled from November 2011 to December 2015. The patients were assigned to multi-vessel single-staged PCI (SS PCI) group (n=254) or multi-vessel multi-staged PCI (MS PCI) group (n=352). Propensity score matched 1-year clinical outcomes were compared between the groups.RESULTS: At one year, MS PCI showed a significantly lower rate of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.42; 95% confidential interval [CI], 0.19–0.92; p=0.030) compared with SS PCI. In subgroup analysis, all-cause mortality increased in SS PCI with cardiogenic shock (HR, 4.60; 95% CI, 1.54–13.77; p=0.006), age ≥65 years (HR, 4.00; 95% CI, 1.67–9.58, p=0.002), Killip class III/IV (HR, 7.32; 95% CI, 1.68–31.87; p=0.008), and creatinine clearance ≤60 mL/min (HR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.10–7.18; p=0.031). After propensity score-matching, MS PCI showed a significantly lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular event than SS PCI.CONCLUSIONS: SS PCI was associated with worse clinical outcomes compared with MS PCI. MS PCI for non-infarct-related artery could be a better option for patients with STEMI and MVCD, especially high-risk patients.

Impact of Thrombus Aspiration on Clinical Outcomes in Korean Patients with ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction / 전남의대학술지

We evaluated whether thrombus aspiration (TA) during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) reduces adverse clinical outcomes within 30-days and 1-year periods. There is no well-designed, Korean data about the clinical impact of intracoronary TA during primary PCI in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). From the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institute of Health, 3749 patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI within 12 hours (60.8±12.9 years, 18.7% women) with pre-procedural Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow 0, 1 in coronary angiography were enrolled between November 2011 and December 2015. The patients were divided into two groups: PCI with TA (n=1630) and PCI alone (n=2119). The primary end-point was major adverse cardiac event (MACE), defined as the composite of cardiovascular death (CVD), recurrent MI and stroke for 30-days and 1-year. TA did not diminish the risk of MACE, all-cause mortality and CVD in all patients during 30-days or 1-year. After performing the propensity score matching, TA also did not reduce the risk of MACE (Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI):1.187 [0.863-1.633], p value=0.291), all-cause mortality (HR with 95% CI: 1.130 [0.776-1.647], p value=0.523) and CVD (HR with 95% CI: 1.222 [0.778-1.920], p value=0.384) during the 1-year period. In subgroup analysis, there was no benefit of clinical outcomes favoring PCI with TA. In conclusion, primary PCI with TA did not reduce MACE, all-cause mortality or CVD among the Korean patients with STEMI and pre-procedural TIMI flow 0, 1 during the 30-day and 1-year follow ups.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypertension: Based on the Guidelines of the Korean Society of Hypertension

Since the new hypertension guideline published by the American Heart Association/American College Cardiology/American Society of Hypertension in 2017, the Korean Society of Hypertension and the European Society of Hypertension revised and announced new hypertension guidelines. Also the Korean Society of Hypertension published Korea hypertension fact sheet 2018, including prevalence, awareness, management status of hypertension, and their trends in Korea. Herein, I provide information on diagnosis and treatment of hypertension based on the new guidelines of the Korean Society of Hypertension.

The Curves Exercise Suppresses Endotoxemia in Korean Women with Obesity

Obesity and metabolic syndrome is a worldwide pandemic and associated with high cardiovascular risk. Metabolic endotoxemia (ME) is thought to be an underlying molecular mechanism. It triggers toll-like receptor 4-mediated inflammatory adipokines and causes a chronic low grade inflammatory status, which results in cardiovascular risk increase. Exercise is the best nonpharmacological treatment to improve prognosis. In this study, we examined the circulating endotoxin level in Korean obese women and investigated effects of exercise on it. Women over body mass index (BMI) 25 kg/m2 participated in a resistance training exercise, Curves. At baseline and after 12 weeks exercise, tests including blood samples were taken. In Korean obese women, the fasting endotoxin was 1.45 ± 0.11 EU/mL. Ingestion of a high calorie meal led to a peak level after 2 hours (postprandial 2 hours [PP2]) and a significant rise over the 4 hours (postprandial 4 hours [PP4]) in it (1.78 ± 0.15 and 1.75 ± 0.14 EU/mL for PP2 and PP4, P < 0.05 vs. fasting). After exercise, BMI and hip circumference were reduced significantly. The total cholesterol (TC) at fasting, PP2 and PP4 were decreased significantly. All levels of circulating endotoxin at fasting, PP2 and PP4 showed reduction. But, the peak change was only significant (baseline vs. 12 weeks for PP2; 1.78 ± 0.15 vs. 1.48 ± 0.06 EU/mL, P < 0.05). We report the circulating endotoxin level in Korean obese women for the first time. Also, we establish that energy intake leads to endotoxemia and exercise suppresses the peak endotoxemia after meal. It suggests an impact for a better prognosis in obese women who follow regular exercise.

Incidence and Clinical Course of Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in Patients with Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can cause tissue hypoxia and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) requiring intensive medical management. Our objectives were to find incidence and clinical course of LVSD CO intoxicated patients and make a clinical scoring to predict LVSD. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We included all consecutive patients with CO exposure in the emergency room. LVSD was defined by LVEF 100/min), pulmonary edema on chest X-ray, serum NT pro-BNP (>100 pg/mL), troponin-I (>0.1 ng/mL) and lactic acid (>4.0 mg/dL) after a univariate analysis. Combining these into a clinical score, according to their beta score after a multivariate analysis (rage=0-16), allowed prediction of LVSD with a sensitivity of 84% and specificity of 91% (reference ≥8, area under the curve=0.952, p<0.001) CONCLUSION: About 31% showed LVSD in patients with CO poisoning, and most of them (86%, 18 of 21 patients) recovered within 3 days. Patients with a higher clinical score (≥8) might have LVSD.

Elevation of the Serum Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease 1/Redox Factor-1 in Coronary Artery Disease

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox effector factor-1 (APE1/Ref-1) is a multifunctional protein involved in the DNA base excision repair pathway, inflammation, angiogenesis, and survival pathways. We investigated serum APE1/Ref-1 in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Serum APE1/Ref-1 was measured with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from 360 patients who received coronary angiograms. They were divided into two groups; a control (n=57) and a CAD group (n=303), the latter included angina (n=128) and myocardial infarction (MI, n=175). RESULTS: The levels of APE1/Ref-1 were higher in the CAD than the control (0.63+/-0.07 vs. 0.12+/-0.07 ng/100 microL, respectively; p<0.01). They were also higher in MI than angina (0.81+/-0.10 vs. 0.38+/-0.11 ng/100 microL, respectively; p<0.01) and different according to the thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow (0.88+/-0.09 for TIMI flow 0, 1, 2 vs. 0.45+/-0.13 ng/100 microL for TIMI flow 3, p<0.01) in acute coronary syndrome. In correlation analysis, the levels of APE1/Ref-1 were positively correlated with Troponin I (r=0.222; p<0.0001) and N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP, r=0.217; p<0.0001) but not high sensitivity to C-reactive protein. Also, they revealed a negative correlation with ejection fraction (EF, r=-0.221; p=0.002). However, there were no significant differences among the three groups, were divided by their levels of APE1/Ref-1, for major adverse cardiovascular events (death, recurrent MI, stroke, revascularization) (8.2 vs. 14.0 vs. 12.5%, p=ns). CONCLUSION: The levels of serum APE1/Ref-1 are elevated in CAD, and are higher in MI than in angina. They are correlated with Troponin I, NT-proBNP, and EF.

Association of Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Response to Graded Exercise Test with Left Atrial Volume Index and Pulse Wave Velocity

BACKGROUND: Exaggerated blood pressure (BP) response to exercise can be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. The purpose of this study was to define the factor that effect on early systolic BP response to exercise. METHODS: We examined echocardiographic data, BP, heart rate from graded exercise test and brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (PWV) of 205 patients (137 men and 68 women; mean age 58 +/- 11 years; range, 19 to 83 years). Graded exercise test was conducted in BRUCE protocol. We define delta systolic blood pressure (SBP) as systolic BRUCE stage "n" BP minus baseline BP. RESULTS: Resting BP (127 +/- 16 mm Hg) was elevated to 171 +/- 26 mm Hg after peak graded exercise test. Resting heart rate (80 +/- 15 bpm) was increased to 146 +/- 27 bpm after peak graded exercise test. Stepwise regression test between baseline SBP, delta SBP, maximal SBP and left atrial volume index (LAVI) was done. Supine SBP, delta SBP, maximal SBP was not associated with LAVI (p > 0.5). But increased LAVI was significantly associated with delta SBP1 in woman (R2 = 0.192, p = 0.002). PWV was significantly associated with base line (R2 = 0.311, p < 0.01) and maximal SBP (R2 = 0.051, p < 0.01). However, PWV was not associated with delta SBP. CONCLUSIONS: LAVI and PWV were not associated with early SBP response to exercise. But in women, elevation of early SBP during exercise is associated with LAVI.

Complete Recovery after Prolonged Resuscitation Using Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for In-hospital Arrest Due to Refractory Ventricular Fibrillation

Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) has been used as an adjunctive therapy to conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest. However, whether to apply ECLS after prolonged CPR (>30 minutes) is a difficult decision. We present the case of a 49-year-old woman with in-hospital cardiac arrest caused by refractory ventricular fibrillation and rescued by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during prolonged CPR. The ECMO was implemented 90 minutes after the initiation of CPR and the total duration of CPR was about 5 hours. The patient fully recovered and was discharged without neurological complications.

Flail Subaortic Membrane Mimicking Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

A subaortic membrane is an uncommon cause for left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction would mask the presence of the subaortic membrane on transthoracic echocardiography and cause a false diagnosis. We report a patient with subaortic stenosis due to flail subaortic membrane misdiagnosed as obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy on transthoracic echocardiography, identified on transesophageal echocardiography and cardiac catheterization.

Severe Calcification of the Left Atrial Wall with Left Atrial Thrombi and an Axillary Hematoma / 대한내과학회지

Left atrial wall calcification is frequently observed in patients with rheumatic valvular heart disease. However, massive left atrial wall calcification, so called porcelain or coconut atrium, with left atrium thrombi is very rare. Here, we describe the case of a 67-year-old male patient with porcelain atrium, recurrent left atrial thrombi, and a spontaneous axillary hematoma after mitral valve replacement and surgical thrombectomy due to rheumatic valvular heart disease. The patient underwent two valvular surgeries 20 years prior; therefore, we determined not to perform additional surgeries because of a high risk of morbidity, mortality, and the recurrence of atrial thrombi. The patient has been maintained on daily warfarin as an anti-thrombic therapy for more than 5 years without major embolic complications.

Cardiac Mitochondrial Integrity Is Regulated by CR6-interacting Factor 1 in the Heart

BACKGROUND: The major cause of metabolic syndrome and diabetes is reduced cellular performances in fuel metabolism, but the underlying pathways and mechanisms are not completely understood. Dysregulation of energy homeostasis can lead to metabolic disturbances and it predisposes diabetes, cardiovascular disease, aging, and cancer. CR6-interacting factor 1 (CRIF1) contacts coiled-coil domain that is required for both genomic stability and mitochondrial integrity. We performed this study to determine the role of CRIF1 on the mice hearts. METHODS: CRIF1-deficient mouse was embryonic lethal and we made heart specific CRIF1-deficient mouse using Cre-loxP system. We made thoracotomy and directly injected adeno-Cre virus into the heart of CRIF1-loxP mice. Beta-gal virus was used as a control. RESULTS: Serial echocardiography showed decreased left ventricular ejection fraction and fractional shortening in the CRIF1-deficient mice at four and seven weeks later compared to wild type mice (p < 0.05). H&E showed increased myocardial inflammation in the CRIF1-deficient mice. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick end labeling staining and LC3 staining showed increased apoptosis and autophage in CRIF1-deficient mice compared with wild type (p < 0.01). Electron microscopy revealed that the mitochondria in CRIF1-deficient cardiomyocytes showed abnormal morphogenesis. For example, the cells showed excessively fragmented mitochondria, intracristal swelling, and thinning of myocardial fiber. The stability of mitochondrial complexes in CRIF1-deficient cells showed marked derangements. CONCLUSIONS: CRIF1 is required for maintenance of normal mitochondrial function and modulate apoptosis and autophagy in the heart.

Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Sirolimus- and Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction: Four-Year Observational Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The comparison of long-term clinical effects between Sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) and Paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) for treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains unclear. Seeking to clarify this issue, we performed a retrospective analysis to evaluate four-year clinical outcomes of SES compared to PES treated AMI patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: From January 2004 to August 2006, all patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and acute non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) by implantation of either SES or PES were enrolled. The occurrences of cardiac and non-cardiac deaths, recurrent infarction, target vessel revascularization (TVR) and stent thrombosis were analyzed. The composite end points of these major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were also analyzed. RESULTS: During the study period, a total of 668 AMI patients had visited, of which 522 patients (299 with SES and 223 with PES) were enrolled. During the four-year clinical follow-up, both groups showed similar occurrences of non-cardiac death (14.6+/-2.2% vs. 18.3+/-3.0%, p=0.26); cardiac death (6.8+/-1.52% vs. 11.2+/-2.6%, p=0.39); re-infarction (3.3+/-1.1% vs. 6.4+/-1.8%, p=0.31); and stent thrombosis (3.2+/-1.1% vs. 5.4+/-1.7%, p=0.53). However, occurrences of TVR {4.0+/-1.2% vs. 10.0+/-3.0%, hazard ratio (HR)=0.498, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.257-0.967, p=0.039} and MACE (19.4+/-2.5% vs. 29.4+/-3.5%, HR=0.645, 95% CI=0.443-0.940, p=0.021) were significantly lower in the SES population. CONCLUSION: In AMI patients treated with either SES or PES implantation, the former had a significantly lower risk of TVR and MACE during four-year clinical follow-up. Rates of death, cardiac death or recurrent infarction, and stent thrombosis were similar.

Successful Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in an Anomalous Origin of the Right Coronary Artery From the Ascending Aorta Above the Left Sinus of the Valsalva

The anomalous origin of the right coronary artery (RCA) is a rare condition. Most RCA anomalies are usually found incidentally, but these findings have clinical significance because many patients, particularly young ones, present with sudden death, myocardial ischemia and syncope without other symptoms. We describe a case of a 39-year-old male patient that presented with effort chest pain and was diagnosed with anomalous RCA that originated from the ascending aorta with prior history of repairing ruptured sinus valsalva and ventricular septal defect. The anomalous origin of RCA was identified by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). Successful percutaneous coronary intervention was performed guided by MDCT coronary images and intravascular ultrasound.

Severe Calcification of the Left Atrial Wall with Left Atrial Thrombi and an Axillary Hematoma / 대한내과학회지

Left atrial wall calcification is frequently observed in patients with rheumatic valvular heart disease. However, massive left atrial wall calcification, so called porcelain or coconut atrium, with left atrium thrombi is very rare. Here, we describe the case of a 67-year-old male patient with porcelain atrium, recurrent left atrial thrombi, and a spontaneous axillary hematoma after mitral valve replacement and surgical thrombectomy due to rheumatic valvular heart disease. The patient underwent two valvular surgeries 20 years prior; therefore, we determined not to perform additional surgeries because of a high risk of morbidity, mortality, and the recurrence of atrial thrombi. The patient has been maintained on daily warfarin as an anti-thrombic therapy for more than 5 years without major embolic complications.

Endothelial progenitor cell transplantation decreases lymphangiogenesis and adverse myocardial remodeling in a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction

Cardiac lymphatic system in the remodeling after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been overlooked. We wanted to investigate the role of bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and their contribution to lymphatic distribution in myocardial remodeling after AMI. Mouse (C57bl/6J) MI models were created by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery and were treated with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or EPCs. Real-time RT-PCR with 2- to 4-week myocardial tissue samples revealed that lymphangiogenetic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C (8.5 fold, P < 0.05), VEGF-D (6.1 fold, P < 0.05), Lyve-1 (15 fold, P < 0.05), and Prox-1 (11 fold, P < 0.05) were expressed at significantly higher levels in the PBS group than the EPC group. The PBS group also showed a significantly higher density of lymphatic vessels in the peri-infarction area. Echocardiography showed that from 2 weeks after the treatment, left ventricle (LV) dimensions at both systole and diastole were significantly smaller in the EPC group than in the PBS group (P < 0.01) and LV fractional shortening was higher in the EPC group accordingly (P < 0.01). Lymphangiogenic markers increased in a mouse MI model. EPC transplantation decreased lymphangiogenesis and adverse ventricular remodeling after AMI. These novel findings suggest that new lymphatic vessels may be formed in severely damaged myocardium, and may be involved in adverse myocardial remodeling after AMI.

Endothelial Dysfunction in the Smokers Can Be Improved with Oral Cilostazol Treatment

BACKGROUND: Smoking is one of well known environmental factors causing endothelial dysfunction and plays important role in the atherosclerosis. We investigated the effect of cilostazol could improve the endothelial dysfunction in smokers with the measurement of flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). METHODS: We enrolled 10 normal healthy male persons and 20 male smokers without any known cardiovascular diseases. After measurement of baseline FMD, the participants were medicated with oral cilostazol 100 mg bid for two weeks. We checked the follow up FMD after two weeks and compared these values between two groups. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference of baseline characteristics including age, body mass index, serum cholesterol profiles, serum glucose and high sensitive C-reactive protein between two groups. However, the control group showed significantly higher baseline endothelium-dependent dilatation (EDD) after reactive hyperemia (12.0 +/- 4.5% in the control group vs. 8.0 +/- 2.1% in the smoker group, p = 0.001). However, endothelium-independent dilatation (EID) after sublingual administration of nitroglycerin was similar between the two groups (13.6 +/- 4.5% in the control group vs. 11.9 +/- 4.9% in the smoker group, p = 0.681). Two of the smoker group were dropped out due to severe headache. After two weeks of cilostazol therapy, follow-up EDD were significantly increased in two groups (12.0 +/- 4.5% to 16.1 +/- 3.7%, p = 0.034 in the control group and 8.0 +/- 2.1% to 12.2 +/- 5.1%, p = 0.003 in the smoker group, respectively). However, follow up EID value was not significantly increased compared with baseline value in both groups (13.6 +/- 4.5% to 16.1 +/- 3.7%, p = 0.182 in the control group and 11.9 +/- 4.9% to 13.7 +/- 4.3%, p = 0.430 in the smoker group, respectively). CONCLUSION: Oral cilostazol treatment significantly increased the vasodilatory response to reactive hyperemia in two groups. It can be used to improve endothelial function in the patients with endothelial dysfunction caused by cigarette smoking.

Iatrogenic Left Internal Mammary Artery to Great Cardiac Vein Anastomosis Treated With Coil Embolization

Inadvertent left internal mammary artery (LIMA)-great cardiac vein (GCV) anastomosis is a rare complication of coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Patients with iatrogenic aortocoronary fistula (ACF) were usually treated surgical repair, percutaneous embolic occlusion with coil or balloon. We report a case of iatrogenic LIMA to GCV anastomosis successfully treated with coil embolization and protected left main coronary intervention through the percutaneous transfemoral approach.

Iatrogenic Left Internal Mammary Artery to Great Cardiac Vein Anastomosis Treated With Coil Embolization

Inadvertent left internal mammary artery (LIMA)-great cardiac vein (GCV) anastomosis is a rare complication of coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Patients with iatrogenic aortocoronary fistula (ACF) were usually treated surgical repair, percutaneous embolic occlusion with coil or balloon. We report a case of iatrogenic LIMA to GCV anastomosis successfully treated with coil embolization and protected left main coronary intervention through the percutaneous transfemoral approach.

A Case with Upper Extremity Deep Vein Thrombosis after in vitro Fertilization

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a predisposing condition of pulmonary embolism which can be fatal. Usually, DVT is found in the lower extremities. However, DVT can be occurred in the upper extremities. The usual predisposing conditions of the upper extremity DVT include insertion of central venous catheters and pacemaker wires. Here, we report a case of upper extremity DVT after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. The patient was successfully controlled with subcutaneous administration of low molecular weight heparin.