ABSTRACT
Assessment of myocardial viability is a field of growing interest. This article summarizes the pathophysiology of myocardial stunning and hibernation; both phenomena are associated with the presence of dysfunctional, viable myocardium. The techniques that are currently available for the assessment of viability, and the clinical situations in which these assessments may be more useful are discussed.
Subject(s)
Coronary Disease/diagnosis , Ventricular Dysfunction/diagnosis , Animals , Echocardiography , Electrocardiography , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Myocardial Infarction/diagnosis , Myocardial Stunning/diagnosis , Tomography, Emission-ComputedABSTRACT
A 66-year-old woman with a previous history of chronic lung disease, without evidence of heart disease and without signs of left ventricular hypertrophy developed a dynamic intraventricular obstruction documented by a Doppler-derived gradient of 25 mmHg and by physical signs consisting of a brisk carotid pulse and a harsh systolic murmur while she was on treatment with theophylline and hexoprenaline. Both physical signs and Doppler-derived gradient disappeared after withdrawal of bronchodilator drugs.
Subject(s)
Bronchodilator Agents/adverse effects , Aged , Female , Humans , Ventricular Outflow Obstruction/chemically inducedABSTRACT
Cholesterol embolism is a rare but serious complication of heart catheterization. We report a patient in whom cholesterol embolization syndrome developed after coronary angioplasty complicated by an acute myocardial infarction which was treated with streptokinase and heparin. The clinical outcome was satisfactory. Cholesterol embolism occurrence might have been precipitated in this patient by thrombolytic and anticoagulant therapy.
