Cardiogenic shock with complete atrio-ventricular block in an octogenarian woman: are we going too far?

We report a case of an octogenarian woman who suffered from cardiogenic shock following an inferolateral myocardial infarction extending to the right ventricle associated with complete atrioventricular heart block. Her initial status was critical with a poor prognosis. She requested an invasive full management to be able to continue to take care of her ill husband. She was managed with circulatory assistance, temporary pacing and percutaneous coronary intervention. The procedure was successfully performed and the patient showed a remarkable improvement in clinical condition. Cardiogenic shock complicating right heart ventricle in elderly requires careful patient selection for invasive strategies that can sometimes rely on the willingness of the patient, as the procedural outcome appears to be poor in this high-risk population

Arterio-venous fistulae: a possible complication of transradial approach with a possible non invasive management

Arteriovenous fistulae is rarely reported as a complication of percutaneous coronary interventions with trans-radial approach

We report herein a case of radial arteriovenous fistulae that was treated conservatively by applying manual compression and avoiding surgical intervention

Erratum: Iatrogenic Bidirectional Dissection of the Right Coronary Artery and the Ascending Aorta: The Worst Nightmare for an Interventional Cardiologist

We would like to correct sentences in the abstract and the case paragraph.

Iatrogenic Bidirectional Dissection of the Right Coronary Artery and the Ascending Aorta: The Worst Nightmare for an Interventional Cardiologist

Although rare, iatrogenic aortocoronary dissection is one of the complications most dreaded by the interventional cardiologist. If not managed promptly, it can have redoubted and serious consequences. Herein, we present the case of a 70 year-old woman who was treated by stenting of the second segment of the right coronary artery (RCA) for recurrent angina but, unfortunately, the procedure was complicated by anterograde dissection of the RCA with a simultaneous retrograde propagation to the proximal part of the ascending aorta. Successful stenting of the entry point was able to recuperate the RCA and to limit the retrograde propagation to the ascending aorta, but there was an extension of the dissection to the aortic valve leaflets resulting in a massive aortic insufficiency. Therefore, an isolated surgical aortic valve replacement was performed.

Coronary-Pulmonary Fistulas Involving All Three Major Coronary Arteries Co-Existing With Myocardial Infarction

We report the case of a man who presented with acute anterior myocardial infarction and in whom the coronary angiogram showed tight stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery and the right coronary artery associated with substantial coronary-pulmonary fistulas involving all three major coronary arteries. We discuss the possible links between coronary artery fistulas and myocardial infarction.

Procedural results and 30-day clinical events analysis following Edwards transcatheter aortic valve implantation in 48 consecutive patients: initial experience / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a rapidly evolving strategy for therapy of aortic stenosis. We presented the procedural results and analyzed the death causes of 30-day mortality and clinical events in patients who underwent TAVI with Edwards prosthetic valves in University Hospital of Caen, France.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The patients with severe aortic stenosis but at high surgical risk or inoperable were considered as candidates for TAVI. Forty-eight patients undergoing TAVI from July 2010 to September 2011 were enrolled in this registry. The Edwards prosthetic valves were solely used in this clinical trial.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Overall 48 patients underwent TAVI, 28 of which accepted TAVI by trans-femoral (TF) approaches, 20 by trans-apical approaches (TA). The aortic valve area (AVA) was (0.70 ± 0.23) cm(2), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was (57.4 ± 17.6)%, Log EuroSCORE was (19.2 ± 15.8)%, mean gradient was (47.0 ± 16.6) mmHg. There were no significant differences between TF and TA groups in all these baseline parameters. Device success rate was 95.8%, and procedural success rate was 93.7% in total. Procedural mortality was 6.7% (3/48): two deaths in TA group (10%), and one death in TF group (3.6%). Forty-six Edwards valves were implanted: 10 Edwards Sapien and 36 Edwards XT. Procedure-related complications included cardiac tamponade in 2 cases (4.2%), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 1 case (2.1%), permanent pacemaker implantation in 1 case (2.1%), life-threatening and major bleeding in 3 cases; access site related major complication in 1 case, AKI stage 3 in 3 cases (6.3%), minor stroke in 1 case (2.1%). Thirty-day survival rate was 89.6%. There were 5 deaths in total (10.4%): 4 in TA group (20%) and 1 in TF group (3.6%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The procedural success rate and 30-day mortality were acceptable in these high risk patients with Edwards prosthetic valves in the first 48 TAVI.</p>

Tako-Tsubo Cardiomyopathy Triggered by Misdirection

Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), also known as transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome or stress-induced cardiomyopathy, is a novel reversible cardiomyopathy mimicking acute myocardial infarction without epicardial coronary artery disease. The exact physiopathology of TTC remains unclear. It is usually precipitated by acute physical or emotional stress and it most commonly affects postmenopausal women. The growing number of clinical cases of TTC have demonstrated a wide field of possible etiologies beyond the emotional stress. We report a case of a 67-year-old postmenopausal woman who was being supplemented by enteral feeding via a nasogastric tube and who developed TTC due to misdirection, probably favored by the mechanical blockade by the nasogastric tube, while swallowing the drug pills.