Spinal Cord Electrical Stimulation for Refractory Angina Treatment

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of death worldwide, including in Brazil. Angina pectoris is a challenging disease because its clinical manifestation is not always related to the degree of obstruction. Visceral pain fromany source can be totally disabling. It influences all aspects of the life of a patient and it can be one of the main causes of absence from work and of family disruption. Spinal cord electrical stimulation (SCES) has been traditionally applied for the treatment of neuropathic pain, with good to excellent results. Visceral pain syndrome can be as debilitating and disabling as somatic or neuropathic pain; however, there seems to be a lack of consensus on the appropriate treatment and strategies for these disorders. Themajor difference of SCES for visceral pain, compared to postlaminectomy syndrome or to regional complex syndrome, is the number of stimulated dermatomes. In most viscera, the somatotopic arrangement has two to four medullar levels, sometimes requiring laterality. After reviewing the literature, we have concluded that SCES is now a viable, low-risk option with satisfactory results for the treatment of neuropathic and visceral pain; therefore, it can be used in refractory angina after the failure of standard therapy. However, further studies are required to increase the application and efficacy of this procedure in the clinical practice.

Lateral costal artery: clinical importance of an accessory thoracic artery

Abstract The lateral costal artery has sometimes been identified as the culprit for the "steal phenomenon" after coronary artery bypass grafting, besides being occasionally used for myocardial revascularization. Its branches make anastomoses with the internal thoracic artery through lateral intercostal arteries. We aim to report, on three cases, the clinical significance of a well-developed lateral costal artery after coronary artery bypass grafting. Two out of three patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery in our center between June 2010 and August 2017, applied to us with stable angina pectoris, while the third one was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome after applying to the emergency department. In coronary cineangiography, in all three cases, a well-developed accessory vessel arising from the proximal 2.5 cm segment of the left internal thoracic artery coursed as far as the 6th rib was detected, and it was confirmed to be the lateral costal artery. A stable angina pectoris in two of the patients was thought to be the result of steal phenomenon caused by the well-developed lateral costal artery. In the two cases with stable angina pectoris the lateral costal artery was obliterated via coil embolization. In the other case with the proximal left anterior descending artery stenosis, before percutaneous coronary intervention, the lateral costal artery was obliterated via coil embolization and the occluded subclavian artery was stented. Routine visualization in cineangiography and satisfactory surgical exploration of the left internal thoracic artery could be very helpful to identify any possible accessory branch of the left internal thoracic artery like the lateral costal artery.

Síndrome de ALCAPA en adulto: caso clínico / Anomalous left coronary artery origin from the pulmonary artery causing angina: report of one case

Anomalies of the origin of coronary arteries are detected in 0.5-1.5% of all angiographies. Anomalous origin of the left main trunk is the most uncommon and its origin from pulmonary artery in adults is exceptional, usually because it is associated with a short survival. We report a 49-year-old female, presenting with a two months history of angina. The exercise electrocardiogram suggested ischemia. A coronary angiography was performed, showing the absence of the left main trunk in the left coronary sinus, a dilated right coronary artery, with no lesions and extensive collateral circulation to the anterior descending and circumflex arteries, with inverted flow and the left main trunk draining to the pulmonary artery. The left ventricle was mildly dilated with middle and apical anterior hypokinesia. Global systolic function was conserved. A surgical correction was decided, occluding the left main anomalous origin and performing a coronary artery bypass grafting from the left internal thoracic artery. The patient was discharged with no complications. At two years of follow-up she is symptom free and has a normal physical capacity.

Coronary Vasospastic Angina: Assessment by Multidetector CT Coronary Angiography

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe the imaging findings of multidetector CT coronary angiography (MDCTA) in cases of vasospastic angina (VA) and to determine the accuracy of MDCTA in the identification of VA as compared with invasive coronary angiography with an ergonovine provocation test (CAG with an EG test). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-three patients with clinically suspected VA were enrolled in this study. Two radiologists analyzed the stenosis degree, presence or absence of plaque, plaque composition, and a remodeling index of the related-segment in CAG with an EG test, which were used as a gold standard. We evaluated the diagnostic performances of MDCTA by comparing the MDCTA findings with those of CAG with an EG test. RESULTS: Among the 25 patients with positive CAG with an EG test, all 12 patients with significant stenosis showed no definite plaque with the negative arterial remodeling. Of the six patients with insignificant stenosis, three (50%) had non-calcified plaque (NCP), two (33%) had mixed plaque, and one (17%) had calcified plaque. When the criteria for significant stenosis with negative remodeling but no definite evidence of plaque as a characteristic finding of MDCTA were used, results showed sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values (PPV), and negative predictive values (NPV) of 48%, 100%, 100%, and 68%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Significant stenosis with negative remodeling, but no definite evidence of plaque, is the characteristic finding on MDCTA of VA. Cardiac MDCTA shows good diagnostic performance with high specificity and PPV as compared with CAG with an EG test.

"Concertina" effect during angioplasty of tortuous right and left coronary arteries and importance of using over-the-wire system: a case report.

A case wherein "Concertina" effect appeared during angioplasty of both right and left coronary arteries is described. Also, the advantages of using an over-the-wire system in such cases are stressed especially when extreme tortuosity and total occlusion are present together.