Introduction: Congenital hypothyroidism is the most common causes of preventable mental retardation. It is associated with other births defects like cardiac malformations. Descriptions in Sub Saharan Africa are rare, justifying the present report. Case Report: We reported the cases of 3 female patients, diagnosed with hypothyroidism, presenting in addition pulmonary stenosis. The diagnosis was late in all the patients and we noticed clinical improvement under levothyroxine. Conclusion: Association congenital hypothyroidism and cardiac defect is not rare. Our patients are female with no history of consanguinity, presenting congenital hypothyroidism with a gland in situ associated with pulmonary stenosis. Systematic screening of other births defects is thus recommended in affected patients.
In this editorial we comment on the article by Huffaker et al,published in the current issue of the World Journal of Clinical Cases.Cardiac masses encompass a broad range of lesions,potentially involving any cardiac structure,and they can be either neoplastic or non-neoplastic.Primitive cardiac tumors are rare,while metastases and pseudotumors are relatively common.Cardiac masses frequently pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.Multimodality imaging is fundamental for differential diagnosis,treatment,and surgical planning.In particular cardiac magnetic resonance(CMR)is currently the gold standard for noninvasive tissue characterization.CMR allows evaluation of the relationship between the tumor and adjacent structures,detection of the degree of infiltration or expansion of the mass,and prediction of the possible malignancy of a mass with a high accuracy.Different flow charts of diagnostic work-up have been proposed,based on clinical,laboratory and imaging findings,with the aim of helping physicians approach the problem in a pragmatic way(“thinking inside the box”).However,the clinical complexity of cancer patients,in particular those with rare syndromes,requires a multidisciplinary approach and an open mind to go beyond flow charts and diagnostic algorithms,in other words the ability to“think outside the box”.
Background:Chylous ascites(CA),an emulsion rich in triglycerides,is a rare type of ascites,especially after cardiac surgery.Also,there are few reports of the occurrence of CA after mitral valve replacement,aortic valve replacement,tricuspid valvuloplasty,and coronary artery bypass grafting.Case presentation:We report the case of a 53-year-old man who underwent surgery for a diagnosis of mitral incompetence,aortic incompetence,tricuspid incompetence,and coronary atherosclerotic heart disease.Fifteen days after surgery,3000 mL of milky-yellow ascites appeared in the abdominal cavity,diagnosed as CA by laboratory examination.The ascites gradually disappeared after being drained,and the patients improved.The curative was objective,but the exact cause is not clear.Conclusion:Although CA is rare,it may occur during the surgical intervention in cardiac surgery.
Cardiac tumors are neoplasms involving heart structures at any level,meaning the myocardium,valves,and cardiac chambers.When considering cardiac masses,it is not uncommon for surgeons to be surprised when they diagnose one.The real incidence of this complex group of diseases has been explored only after cardiac diagnostic tools became more appropriate.Despite differential diagnosis being relevant,surgical indication is usually requested for all malignant cardiac tumors and also for many types of benign tumors.The development of cardiac imaging techniques,therefore,has been the key point for a better understanding of the history of cardiac tumors and especially of the relevance of surgical indication in such conditions.Systematic and combined applications of echocardiography,cardiac computed tomography and magnetic resonance allow in the majority of case a clear definition of the nature of a newly discovered cardiac mass.The presence of a Li-Fraumeni syndrome seems to be the trigger aspect in accelerating the propensity of developing a cardiac tumor.Despite the revolutionary usefulness of the cardiac imaging techniques available,it is still considered a hazard to diagnose a malignant cardiac mass just with radiological imaging;the mainstay of the final diagnosis stands in surgical excision of the mass and histopathological report.
The post-resuscitation period is recognized as the main predictor of cardiopul-monary resuscitation(CPR)outcomes.The first description of post-resuscitation syndrome and stony heart was published over 50 years ago.Major manifestations may include but are not limited to,persistent precipitating pathology,systemic ischemia/reperfusion response,post-cardiac arrest brain injury,and finally,post-cardiac arrest myocardial dysfunction(PAMD)after successful resuscitation.Why do some patients initially survive successful resuscitation,and others do not?Also,why does the myocardium response vary after resuscitation?These ques-tions have kept scientists busy for several decades since the first successful resuscitation was described.By modifying the conventional modalities of resu-scitation together with new promising agents,rescuers will be able to salvage the jeopardized post-resuscitation myocardium and prevent its progression to a dismal,stony heart.Community awareness and staff education are crucial for shortening the resuscitation time and improving short-and long-term outcomes.Awareness of these components before and early after the restoration of circulation will enhance the resuscitation outcomes.This review extensively addresses the underlying pathophysiology,management,and outcomes of post-resuscitation syndrome.The pattern,management,and outcome of PAMD and post-cardiac arrest shock are different based on many factors,including in-hospital cardiac arrest vs out-of-hospital cardiac arrest(OHCA),witnessed vs unwitnessed cardiac arrest,the underlying cause of arrest,the duration,and protocol used for CPR.Although restoring spontaneous circulation is a vital sign,it should not be the end of the game or lone primary outcome;it calls for better understanding and aggressive multi-disciplinary interventions and care.The development of stony heart post-CPR and OHCA remain the main challenges in emergency and critical care medicine.
With the widespread application of artificial permanent pacemakers in clinical practice,there have been new changes in the indications for pacemaker implantation.The current clinical indications include high atrioventricular block,sick sinus syndrome,cardiac resynchronization therapy for heart failure,and implantation of cardioverter defibrillators for ventricular arrhythmias.The implantation of a pacemaker can improve the quality of life and prognosis of patients with arrhythmia.In the past,permanent pacemaker implantation was performed in clinical practice,and the right ventricular pacing electrode was often fixed at the apex of the right ventricle,which belongs to non physiological pacing.Through long-term clinical follow-up,it was found that apex pacing can easily cause abnormal depolarization of the left ventricle,asynchronous contraction of the myocardium,and ultimately lead to myocardial fibrosis,which has adverse effects on the patient's cardiac function and psychological state.In recent years,Scholars have found that pacing in the right ventricular outflow tract septum is closer to the atrioventricular node and closer to the His bundle Purkinje fibers.The pacing impulse almost simultaneously expands towards both ventricles,closer to the physiological pacing state,thereby reducing the occurrence of cardiovascular events in patients.This article explores the impact of pacing in different parts of the heart on the cardiac function and psychological state of patients based on clinical data from the past three years.
This study investigated the effects of yerba mate consumption, a South American beverage, on cardiac remodeling in rats. For this purpose, 24 male Wistar rats were divided into Control Group (CG) which received filtered water and a standard diet, and Yerba Mate Group (YM), 6 g of Ilex paraguariensis in 100 ml water and the same diet, for 30 days. The YM group showed a reduction in final body weight and food consumption without altering weight gain. Regarding cardiac remodeling, the YM group exhibited a decrease in the right ventricle weight/final body weight ratio, suggesting cardiac atrophy, without affecting the atria and left ventricle. There was no change in cardiomyocyte area or nuclear fractal dimension in both groups. However, animals that consumed yerba mate showed increased collagen deposition and a smaller fractal dimension in the left ventricle. The consumption of yerba mate at room temperature for 30 days induced changes in cardiac remodeling, as evidenced by increased collagen deposition and alterations in fractal dimension in the left ventricle.
Carlos Eduardo Brochini de PaivaThaíssa Baptista Brochini de PaivaIsabelle Tiburcio Pecin FerreiraSandra Cristina GenaroDanilo Silva Martins SantosThaoan Bruno MarianoRobson Chacon CastoldiRafael Stuani FlorianoJulia Amanda Rodrigues FracassoLucas Pires GuarnierMarina Politi OkoshiFrancis Lopes Pacagnelli
We report on an unusual case presenting with a cardiac pseudo-tumour on echocardiogram, which corresponded to a large soft tissue mural thickening around the mid-right coronary artery. There were similar but not as thick mural lesions around other parts of the coronary arteries. The so-called “pigs-in-a-blanket” sign on computed tomography (CT) scan was pathognomonic of IgG4 coronary arteritis. The IgG4 level was grossly elevated at more than 10 times the upper limit of normal. Positron emission tomography (PET)-CT scans with 18F-fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG) and 68Ga-Fibroblast Activation Protein Inhibitor (FAPI) were performed to assess the extent of organ involvement of the IgG4-related disease. The patient was treated with 8 injections of rituximab with good serological response. However, the coronary arteritis findings on CT scan remained unchanged.
