Delayed diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis in a West African octogenarian.

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a common finding on cardiac imaging. Although there are multiple aetiologies for LVH, hypertension is frequently a presumed cause due to its high prevalence in the African region. Establishing a specific cause of LVH however requires thorough clinical evaluation with multimodality cardiac imaging playing a key role in the diagnostic pathway. We report on a case of a West African octogenarian who was treated presumptively for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction from hypertensive heart disease, based on his initial clinical presentation and echocardiographic findings three years earlier. By adopting a stepwise approach to his evaluation, including revisiting the history, and the application of multimodality cardiac imaging, the patient was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis.

Quality of acute coronary syndrome care and in hospital outcome in a resource-poor setting in Northern Ghana

Introduction: African countries are facing an epidemic of cardiovascular diseases. Information on the quality of acute coronary syndrome care offered in underserved communities in Ghana is limited. Using objective criteria, we examined the quality of acute coronary syndrome care offered to patients presenting to a tertiary referral center in Northern Ghana. Methods: we conducted a retrospective review of patients ≥ 18 years old with acute coronary syndrome managed in Tamale Teaching Hospital. We assessed in-hospital outcomes and the extent of compliance to key performance and quality indicators as contained in the 2017 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guideline for adults with myocardial infarction. Results: sixty-two (62) patients with a mean age of 56.0 ± 16.1 years were recruited. The median delay to presentation was 24 hours (IQR 15-96 hours). 33.9% had ST-elevation myocardial infarction, of which only 14.3% received reperfusion therapy. About three-quarters of patients received dual antiplatelet therapy at discharge, with fewer patients receiving recommended high-intensity statin therapy (65.5%) or beta-blockers (69.1%). Only 38.2% of patients had their left ventricular ejection fraction documented. No cardiac rehabilitation program existed. Risk stratification of patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction or stress testing for conservatively managed patients was not part of routine practice. Conclusion: acute coronary syndrome management remains a challenging issue in Northern Ghana. Several gaps exist in the care quality, timeliness of interventions and rehabilitation of affected patients. There is an urgent need for measures to improve the delivery of acute coronary syndrome care alongside primary prevention strategies.

Determinants of right ventricular systolic dysfunction among patients with left heart failure in a Ghanaian hospital.

BACKGROUND: The presence of right ventricular dysfunction affects outcomes in patients with left heart failure. We assessed the determinants of right ventricular systolic dysfunction (RVSD) among patients with left heart failure presenting to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital of Ghana. METHODS: Consecutive patients with left heart failure who were 18 years and above were prospectively enrolled and assessed for evidence of RVSD by measuring the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, the peak velocity of the tricuspid annulus in systole (RV S'), the two-dimensional right ventricular fractional area change (RV FAC) and the right ventricular myocardial performance index (RV MPI). RESULTS: Two hundred and seventy participants were enrolled, of whom 75.2% had at least one abnormal index of right ventricular systolic function. The prevalence of RVSD was significantly higher among those with non-hypertensive heart failure (85.3 vs 66.0%, p < 0.001). The left ventricular outflow tract velocity-time integral (LVOT VTI) was strongly correlated with the RV FAC and an LVOT VTI < 9.8 cm predicted the presence of an RV FAC < 35% with a sensitivity of 81.5% and specificity of 81.9% [area under the curve 0.882; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.838-0.926, p < 0.001]. Independent predictors of the presence of RVSD included a transmitral E/A > 2 [odds ratio (OR) = 4.684, 95% CI: 1.521-14.428, p = 0.007), left ventricular ejection fraction < 40% (OR = 4.205, 95% CI: 1.643-10.760, p = 0.003), pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) ≥ 35 mmHg (OR = 2.434, 95% CI: 1.012-5.852, p = 0.047) and systemic systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 140 mmHg (OR = 2.631, 95% CI: 1.152-6.011, p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: RVSD was common in these Ghanaian patients with left heart failure. Left ventricular function, SBP and PASP were independent predictors of the presence of RVSD. Pending further validation, the LVOT VTI may serve as a useful surrogate or screening tool for RVSD in these patients.

Electrical storm in a middle-aged man.

Electrical storm (ES) refers to a life-threatening condition characterised by three or more episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (VF), or appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks in 24 hours. We report a case of a 58-year-old man who suffered recurrent episodes of sustained VT despite appropriate defibrillation and antiarrhythmic drug therapy. On stepwise evaluation, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) was considered the most likely substrate for his dysrhythmia. He was managed conservatively on antiarrhythmic drugs with no further clinical episodes of VT, and ICD implantation for secondary prophylaxis was recommended. Funding: None declared.

Safety and Feasibility of Rotational Atherectomy for Retrograde Recanalization of Chronically Occluded Coronary Arteries.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of rotational atherectomy (RA) in retrograde chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention (CTO-PCI) by analyzing immediate and long-term outcomes. Background: Recent evidence supports the safety and feasibility of RA in CTO-PCI. However, few studies have focused on the use of RA in a retrograde approach to percutaneous revascularization of chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions and information on long-term outcomes is lacking. Methods: A total of 329 patients who underwent retrograde CTO-PCI, out of 1496 consecutive CTO-PCI patients from April 2017 to July 2020, were retrospectively recruited from the 2nd Cardiology Department of the Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital. 16 patients underwent RA (RA group) whilst 313 did not (non-RA group). Results: Technical (87.5% vs. 87.5) and procedural (85.9% vs. 87.5) success rates were similar between both groups. There was no difference concerning major procedural complications between groups (12.5% vs. 19.2%; p > 0.75). No in-hospital MACCEs was recorded in the RA group while there were eight MACCEs in the non-RA group (p > 0.99). In the RA group, 2 cases recorded perforation (1 target vessel perforation case and 1 branch vessel perforation), and 55 cases of vessel perforations/dissections were recorded in non-RA group including 18 target vessel perforations, 2 branch vessel perforations, 35 collateral vessel perforations (one patient died from cardiac tamponade). No difference was found in terms of the perforation rate between the two groups (p > 0.99). Over a mean follow-up period of 26.47 ± 14.46 months, use of RA in retrograde CTO-PCI did not result in an increased mortality rate [hazard ratio (HR) 1.58, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.31-8.21, p = 0.65], major adverse cardiac and cerebral events (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.35-2.79, p = 0.99) or overall rehospitalization rate (HR 1.27, 95% CI 0.44-3.67, p = 0.67). Adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves according to Cox regression model suggested several predictors influencing the all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, MACCEs, stroke rate, non-fatal myocardial infarction, target vessel recanalization rate and rehospitalization rate in the comparison. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that the in-hospital outcomes and long-term follow up events were the same between RA and non-RA retrograde CTO-PCI patients. RA offered an option for skillful operators in difficult cases when the lesion was severely calcified in retrograde CTO-PCI.

Rotational Atherectomy-Assisted Crossing of a Complex Right Coronary Artery Lesion Using the Retrograde Approach.

Chronic total occlusion lesions present a major challenge for the interventional cardiologist. In this case, we report the successful use of rotational atherectomy to facilitate retrograde percutaneous coronary intervention of a complex totally occluded right coronary artery after modification of the proximal cap of the lesion to enable placement of the RotaWire in the vessel architecture.