Echocardiographic Assessment of Mantle Radiation Mitral Stenosis.

The long-term sequelae of mantle radiotherapy include lung disease and cardiac disorders. Dyspnea on exertion is a common complaint and can be due to one or more pathologies. We describe a case of mantle radiotherapy-induced mitral stenosis, characterized by aorto-mitral continuity calcification and absent commissural fusion which precludes balloon valvotomy. The latency period is long, and this patient presented 42 years after radiotherapy. Importantly, as previously described with radiation-induced valve disease, significant mitral stenosis developed 10 years after surgery for significant aortic stenosis. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography should be considered during assessment of symptomatic survivors of Hodgkin's disease where the index of suspicion for valvular stenosis increases over time. Given the natural history of mantle radiation valvular disease, a lower threshold for surgical intervention in radiation-induced mitral stenosis may need to be considered if cardiac surgery is planned for other reasons in order to avoid repeated sternotomy in patients with prior irradiation.

Diagnosis of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: T-wave inversion and relative but not absolute apical left ventricular hypertrophy.

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of apical HCM utilizes conventional wall thickness criteria. The normal left ventricular wall thins towards the apex such that normal values are lower in the apical versus the basal segments. The impact of this on the diagnosis of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has not been evaluated. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of 2662 consecutive CMR referrals, of which 75 patients were identified in whom there was abnormal T-wave inversion on ECG and a clinical suspicion of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. These were retrospectively analyzed for imaging features consistent with cardiomyopathy, specifically: relative apical hypertrophy, left atrial dilatation, scar, apical cavity obliteration or apical aneurysm. For comparison, the same evaluation was performed in 60 healthy volunteers and 50 hypertensive patients. RESULTS: Of the 75 patients, 48 met conventional HCM diagnostic criteria and went on to act as another comparator group. Twenty-seven did not meet criteria for HCM and of these 5 had no relative apical hypertrophy and were not analyzed further. The remaining 22 patients had relative apical thickening with an apical:basal wall thickness ratio >1 and a higher prevalence of features consistent with a cardiomyopathy than in the control groups with 54% having 2 or more of the 4 features. No individual in the healthy volunteer group had more than one feature and no hypertension patient had more than 2. CONCLUSION: A cohort of individuals exist with T wave inversion, relative apical hypertrophy and additional imaging features of HCM suggesting an apical HCM phenotype not captured by existing diagnostic criteria.

Primary cutaneous plasmacytoma occurring after pacemaker implantation and recurring in scar tissue.

Primary cutaneous plasmacytomas are rare and little is known about their treatment and progression. We describe for the first time the predilection of primary cutaneous plasmacytoma to occur in a scar or sites of trauma. We report an 89-year-old man who presented with a slowly expanding asymptomatic mass over his pacemaker implantation, 1 year after insertion. Further investigation ruled out multiple myeloma and histology confirmed it to be a cutaneous plasmacytoma. This was treated successfully by local radiotherapy after extraction of the pacemaker and implantation of a new pacemaker on the opposite side. The patient subsequently developed an additional cutaneous plasmacytoma over the new pacemaker site, followed by the development of progressive multiple myeloma. Primary cutaneous plasmacytoma can show predilection for sites of trauma or surgery. Surgical excision of the plasmocytoma and local radiotherapy may be a reasonable strategy in the first initially after pacemaker removal.

Premature ventricular contractions arising from the pulmonary artery: the use of multielectrode array mapping and cryoablation.

Premature ventricular contractions with a left bundle branch block-like morphology and inferior axis typically originate from the right ventricular outflow tract; however, they can also originate from the pulmonary artery. We report two patients with frequent premature ventricular contractions who underwent successful cryoablation of ectopics arising from the posterolateral region of the pulmonary artery. The safe and effective use of cryoablation within the pulmonary artery is discussed. We recommend the use of noncontact mapping with multielectrode array catheter in facilitating the technique and providing a more accurate localization of the ectopic focus within the pulmonary artery, compared with conventional pace mapping methods.