A late presentation of an anomalous left coronary artery originating from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA): A case study and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA), also known as Bland-White-Garland syndrome, is a rare congenital condition which can manifest as various cardiac symptoms. CASE REPORT: A 66-year-old woman who presented for pre-operative surgical risk assessment for hip surgery underwent a nuclear stress test which revealed a large reversible anterior defect. At coronary angiography she was found to have ALCAPA. CONCLUSIONS: This is a rare case of ALCAPA due to the patient's age. Survival to adulthood is possible and patients may remain relatively asymptomatic for years..

Influence of image quality on the accuracy of real time three-dimensional echocardiography to measure left ventricular volumes in unselected patients: a comparison with gated-SPECT imaging.

BACKGROUND: Patient selection, often restricted to those with ideal image quality, and timing of studies in relation to reference methods may limit clinical applicability of cardiac volumes derived from 3D echocardiography. METHODS: To test the influence of image quality on LV volumes by real time 3DE (RT3DE), we compared results obtained by RT3DE to those from gated-SPECT imaging in 64 consecutive patients referred for clinically indicated nuclear perfusion imaging. To minimize hemodynamic effects, RT3DE was performed immediately following G-SPECT. LV volumes by RT3DE were calculated using at least three orthogonal plane pairs. Image quality was rated as good if 75-100% of the endocardial border was visualized, fair if 60-74% was visualized, and poor if 50-60% was visualized. RESULTS: Image quality was good in 25 (39%), fair in 20 (31%), and poor in 13 (20%) patients. Six patients (9%) were excluded for uninterpretable echo images. For the entire cohort, EDV and ESV agreed closely (all P = NS). When stratified by image quality, the EDV and ESV of those with good and fair image quality agreed closely with minimal bias (average 1 +/- 9 mL and 2 +/- 7 mL, respectively). Poor image was associated with less strong agreement and much greater bias for EDV and ESV (7 +/- 25 mL and 7 +/- 20 mL, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: When applied to patients studied in routine clinical practice, LV volumes by RT3DE compare favorably to G-SPECT. RT3DE results are more reliable when >60% of endocardium is visualized.

An unusual cause of pulmonary vein stenosis: a case report and review of the literature.

We describe the case of a patient with the Carney syndrome and several resections for recurrent left atrial myxomas who underwent autotransplantation of the heart with resection of the left and right atria and reconstruction of both atria with bovine pericardium. She subsequently presented with severe shortness of breath, ascites, and peripheral edema. She was found to have stenosis of all four pulmonary veins and severe pulmonary hypertension. We describe the echocardiographic findings and review the literature on assessment of acquired pulmonary vein stenosis.