Safety and Feasibility of the Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System via the Transradial Approach.

Technological innovations have enabled higher success rates with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of complex coronary lesions via the transradial approach. The orbital atherectomy system (OAS; Cardiovascular Systems, Inc) is the most recent innovation that abrades plaque using a rotation device for the facilitation of stent placement in heavily calcified lesions. Fifty patients with classic anginal symptoms and an abnormal stress test demonstrating ischemia underwent PCI using the coronary OAS. In all, 46 out of 50 patients received stents in the target lesion after orbital atherectomy. At follow-up, there were no major adverse cardiovascular events, including cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and need for target-vessel revascularization. Radial artery occlusion rate was 6% at 30 days. The use of the OAS via the radial approach may be a safe and feasible option to assist in the treatment of heavily calcified coronary lesions.

Inflammatory bowel disease as a risk factor for premature coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are both systemic chronic diseases that alter bowel physiology. The central process in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the associated manifestations are the result of B-cell production of IgG autoantibodies directed against self-antigens in various organ systems including coronary endothelium. Previous studies have demonstrated significant micro-vascular endothelial dysfunction in patients with IBD compared to patients not affected by the disease. We sought to analyze the relation, if any, between IBD and the development of premature coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: We queried our hospital database to find IBD patients admitted to the hospital from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2008. Patients with traditional cardiovascular (CV) disease risk factors including hypertension, congestive heart failure (CHF), diabetes, age ≥ 65, hyperlipidemia, family history, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and greater than five pack-year smoking history were excluded from the study cohort. The charts of the remaining 300 patients with diagnosed IBD were then analyzed for the incidence of CV disease events including acute myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina, positive stress testing, and any cardiac intervention including coronary angioplasty and/or intracoronary stent implantation. RESULTS: Of the 300 patients included, only one patient had a CV disease event. This patient had a positive exercise stress thallium test. Otherwise, the remaining 299 patients (99.7%) did not have any reported CV disease events over the 2-year follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Most of the clinical sequelae of CV disease events are the result of inflammatory changes at the vascular level. While IBD is associated with a chronic inflammatory state as reflected by high sedimentation rates, C-reactive protein (CRP), homocysteine levels, etc., our data seem to indicate that chronic inflammation in the absence of traditional risk factors is not associated with an increased risk of premature CV disease events. More wide-scale prospective studies should be performed to elucidate the relationship, if any, between chronic inflammation and CV disease risk.

A series of unfortunate events: prinzmetal angina culminating in transmural infarction in the setting of acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage.

Prinzmetal angina or vasospastic angina is a clinical phenomenon that is often transient and self-resolving. Clinically it is associated with ST elevations on the electrocardiogram, and initially it may be difficult to differentiate from an acute myocardial infarction. The vasospasm induced in this setting occurs in normal or mildly to moderately diseased vessels and can be triggered by a number of etiologies including smoking, changes in autonomic activity, or drug ingestion. While the ischemia induced is usually transient, myocardial infarction and life-threatening arrhythmias can occur in 25% of cases. We present the case of a 65-year-old female where repetitive intermittent coronary vasospasm culminated in transmural infarction in the setting of gastrointestinal bleeding. This case highlights the mortality associated with prinzmetal angina and the importance of recognizing the underlying etiology.

Predictors of Recurrent Atrial Fibrillation Using Mode Switch Quantification.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of mode switching to predict atrial fibrillation has been established in the literature. There have been few studies investigating the incidence and clinical implication of mode switch episodes quantified from implantable cardioverter defibrillator and pacemaker interrogation. We sought to investigate the incidence of mode switch recurrence in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators and permanent pacemakers. METHODS: Mode switch was defined as any occurrence documented during device interrogation after the date of implantation. Clinical predictors (age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, syncope, atrial fibrillation (AF)), and medications were analyzed to determine association with single and recurrent mode switch occurrences. RESULTS: There were 21 patients experiencing a mode switch event, identified from a group of 54 patients (42 males; mean age 70 ± 12 years; mean follow-up 29.1 ± 22 months (3.4 - 81.4 months)). All but two patients were receiving medical therapy including beta blockers, statins, ace-inhibitors, and anti-arrhythmics. There were 21 subjects who experienced at least one mode switch during their follow-up and 33 subjects who never experienced a mode switch during their follow-up time. The median time to first mode switch from device implantation was 39.3 months. Risk factors individually associated with any mode switch episode included: diabetes (DM) (P < 0.04) and use of digitalis (P = 0.02). Subjects who had a history of DM were 5 times more likely to have at least one mode switch occurrence. There was a significantly higher rate of mode switch among patients who were diabetic than patients who were not (3.7 per follow-up month ± 5.3 vs. 0.98 per follow-up month ± 2.02; P = 0.02). There was a significantly higher rate of mode switch among patients who were on digitalis than those who were not (3.1 per follow-up month ± 4.3 vs. 0.73 per follow-up month ± 1.9; P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The main factors associated with any mode switch are having a history of diabetes and digitalis use. Those patients who are diabetics and those on digitalis may warrant closer observation and management for the development of atrial fibrillation.

Carboxyhemoglobin formation secondary to nitric oxide therapy in the setting of interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension.

Carbon monoxide (CO) has been widely recognized as an exogenous poison, although endogenous mechanisms for its formation involve heme-oxygenase (HO) isoforms, more specifically HO-1, in the setting of oxidative stress such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, trauma, and nitric oxide use have been studied. In patients with refractory hypoxemia, inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) therapy is used to selectively vasodilate the pulmonary vasculature and improve ventilation-perfusion match. Inhaled nitric oxide is rapidly inactivated on binding to hemoglobin in the formation of nitrosyl- and methemoglobin in the pulmonary vasculature. Hence, inhaled nitric oxide has minimal systemic dissemination. Several experimental design studies involving lab rats have demonstrated increased levels of carboxyhemoglobin and exhaled CO as a result of nitric oxide HO-1 induction.

Sudden cardiac death in a 20-year-old male swimmer.

In young adults, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is an acknowledged risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in an otherwise healthy and active patient. While the incidence of SCD in young people is not high enough for extensive, wide-scale examinations, the potential for prevention of some deaths via pre-exercise imaging may be beneficial in certain patient populations, such as those with a family history of SCD or professional athletes. We present the case of a healthy 20-year-old man with no past medical history who died while swimming in a river, likely secondary to cardiac arrest in the setting of HOCM.

Cardiac manifestations of Wegener's granulomatosis: Case report and review of the literature.

Wegener's granulomatosis, first characterized as a clinical syndrome in 1936, is a rare form of vasculitis of the small- and medium-sized blood vessels affecting mainly the upper and lower respiratory tracts as well as the kidneys. This review article describes the case of a 45-year-old man who developed aortic regurgitation and third degree heart block secondary to Wegener's granulomatosis. He subsequently presented to our institution 3 years later with pulmonary hemorrhage. The ensuing literature review reveals that historically clinical cardiac involvement in Wegener's has been rare, particularly with valvular lesions. However, recent literature has shown an increase in reported cases of cardiac valvular lesions in Wegener's. The presented case report along with recently reported case reports highlight the morbidity and mortality associated with such cardiac lesions. We believe routine cardiovascular supervision including echocardiography and electrocardiograms are important for the screening and monitoring of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis.