The elusive cause of syncope: Left atrial myxoma with mitral valve obstruction.

Key Clinical Message: Syncopal patients should be evaluated for cardiac causes, including myxoma, as highlighted in this case. Transthoracic echocardiography and coronary angiography are valuable diagnostic tools. Interventional cardiology plays a crucial role in the successful treatment of myxoma. Abstract: This case video describes the presentation and successful treatment of a 58-year-old woman who experienced recurrent episodes of syncope. After ruling out other health concerns, a pulmonary embolism was suspected and further investigations revealed a mass in the left atrium causing significant obstruction of the mitral valve. The mass, identified as a neovascularized myxoma, was successfully resected, emphasizing the significance of considering myxoma as a potential cause of syncope and highlighting the role of interventional cardiology in its management.

Peripheral Arterial Diseases and Diabetes Mellitus: Associations With Quality of Health Measures in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Vascular Interventions.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is more prevalent and severe in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) compared with those without DM. Peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) is often used in patients failing conservative management. The association of PVI with health status in diabetic patients has yet to be determined. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical response to PVI in DM (n = 203, 52 %) compared with non-DM patients (n = 183, 48 %), using the Peripheral Arterial Questionnaire (PAQ) for patients during baseline and a maximum 6 months after PVI. We used the PAQ summary score, which summarized the patients' level of physical and social function, patient symptoms, and overall quality of life. This represented the PAD-related Quality of Health (QOH). Our score range is between 0 (lowest health quality) and 100 (highest health quality). RESULTS: Compared with non-DM patients, those with DM were more likely to have a history of prior PVI, an increased prevalence of PAD risk factors, and significantly lower QOH scores at baseline (32.7 ± 20 vs 37.5 ± 20.6, p = 0.02). After adjustment for baseline confounding, neither the baseline, the change, nor the final summary scores were significantly different between groups, suggesting similar symptomatic and functional improvement in non-DM and DM patients post-PVI. CONCLUSIONS: Following PVI, PAD-specific health status showed a similar improvement in patients with and without DM, illustrating that use of this strategy among patients with multiple comorbidities or diffuse PAD as useful.