Takayasu arteritis masquerading as stable angina in a 29-year-old man.

Takayasu arteritis is a form of vasculitis that involves the aorta, its major branches, and the pulmonary arteries. Coronary artery involvement is not uncommon, and most frequently includes the ostia and proximal segments. Early diagnosis of Takayasu arteritis is difficult since it is a rare disease and is accompanied by various nonspecific clinical symptoms. However, recent advances in imaging modalities-including magnetic resonance angiography, computed tomography (CT), sonography, and fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/CT Isobe (2013) [2]-have facilitated earlier and more accurate diagnoses of this condition. Here we report a case in which imaging revealed stenosis in the ostia of the coronary artery.

Axillo-femoral bypass steal due to subclavian artery stenosis.

Subclavian artery stenosis can cause a flow reversal-so-called steal-not only in the ipsilateral vertebral artery, but also in the internal mammary artery in patients with a history of coronary-artery bypass grafting. Subclavian artery stenosis is also associated with peripheral artery disease elsewhere. We report a novel finding of axillo-femoral bypass steal due to subclavian artery stenosis identified by vascular ultrasonography.

A five years old girl child with Takayasu arteritis.

Takayasu arteritis is a systemic vasulitis of large vessels that mainly involves the aorta and its branches. It normally presents in third decade of life and has rarely been reported in children under 10 years of age. We report here a case of Takayasu arteritis in a 5 years old girl who presented with headache, generalized body swelling, severe hypertension, proteinuria and minimal functioning kidneys. Conventional angiography demonstrated narrowing of descending aorta, right subclavian artery and right common iliac artery. She responded steroids, diuretics, antiplatelets and digoxin and discharged home on maintenance therapy.

Unexpected preserved brain perfusion imaging despite severe and diffuse atherosclerosis of supra-aortic trunks.

We report an unusual case of a patient whose whole cerebral circulation was supported by poor vicariate collaterals and a severely atherosclerotic right vertebral artery, with no brain perfusion abnormalities. Our belief is that despite the brain imaging and the absence of symptoms, because of his critical vascular disease and the paucity of data from large randomised clinical trials on vertebra-basilar revascularisation, the case required an extremely cautious approach regarding any kind of revascularisation. An accurate imaging analysis together with clinical features allowed us to decide on a strategy based on optimal medical therapy and careful clinical monitoring.

Trombólisis intravenosa con activador tisular de plasminógeno en el síndrome de alarma basilar / Intravenous thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator in basilar warning syndrome

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Preoperative thrombolysis and venoplasty affords no benefit in patency following first rib resection and scalenectomy for subacute and chronic subclavian vein thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: Axillosubclavian vein thrombosis, also known as Paget-Schroetter syndrome, is a rare presentation of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) representing approximately 5% of all cases. Conventional management consists of routine anticoagulation, operative decompression via first rib resection and scalenectomy (FRRS), and, recently, thrombolysis. The purpose of our study was to retrospectively review our experience with this condition and compare the effectiveness of preoperative endovascular intervention with thrombolysis and venoplasty to anticoagulation alone in those undergoing FRRS to preserve subclavian vein patency. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted for all venous TOS patients from July 2003 to May 2009 from a prospectively maintained database. Preoperative clinic notes were reviewed to allow stratification into two groups. One group consisted of patients undergoing preoperative endovascular intervention with thrombolysis and venoplasty, while the other group consisted of patients managed medically with anticoagulation alone prior to FRSS. Operative notes, postoperative venograms, and postoperative duplex imaging results were reviewed for presence of recanalization, chronic nonocclusive thrombus, or continued occlusion. RESULTS: One hundred three patients had 110 FRRS for subclavian vein thrombosis (53 men, 50 women), seven of which had contralateral FRRS for thrombosis. The cohort averaged 31 years of age (range, 16-54 years) with an overall, mean follow-up time of 16 months (range, 1-52 months). Of the 110 veins evaluated, 45 underwent endovascular intervention (thombolysis, with or without venoplasty) prior to FRRS, and at 1 year, 41 (91%) were patent with improvement of symptoms. In the 65 veins on anticoagulation alone, 59 (91%) ultimately were patent, with symptomatic improvement in all. Overall, 91% (100/110) of subclavian veins were patent in patients completing follow-up, were asymptomatic, and back to their previous active lifestyle. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative endovascular intervention offered no benefit over simple anticoagulation prior to FRRS, since the use of thrombolysis prior to FRRS, regardless of need for postoperative venoplasty, had little impact on overall rates of patency. The optimal treatment algorithm may merely be routine anticoagulation for all effort thrombosis patients prior to FRRS followed by venography with venoplasty if needed. The role of thrombolysis for Paget-Schroetter syndrome should be further investigated in randomized trials.

Subclavian steal syndrome secondary to Takayasu arteritis in a young female Caucasian patient.

Subclavian steal syndrome (SSS) is most frequently described in Caucasians aged over 50 years because of increased incidence of atherosclerosis in this population. Non-atherosclerotic etiologies of SSS are rare in Caucasians. We present a case of Subclavian Steal Syndrome secondary to Takayasu Arteritis (TA) in a 26 year-old female Caucasian patient. The present case underscores that despite the very low incidence of TA in Caucasians (0.8/1,000,000), this large-vessel vasculitis of unknown etiology should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of subclavian steal syndrome in Caucasian women aged less than 40 years.

Vascular recanalizing techniques in interventional neuroradiology.

Vascular recanalizing techniques only recently became methods of some clinical importance. Angioplasty of the subclavian artery in cases with subclavian steal syndrome has now been performed in so many instances that it can be judged safe. Angioplasty at the origin of the vertebral artery has not yet been performed in as many cases. However, even there this method is obviously less hazardous than surgery. Local intraarterial fibrinolytic therapy is the only therapy providing some success in progressive stroke from vertebrobasilar thrombosis. In contrast to the vertebrobasilar territory local fibrinolytic therapy within the carotid territory has to be strictly limited to some special indications.