The American Heart Hospital Journal

Publications in this journal

• Article: The future was here and now, and has passed you by.

  Thomas J Fogarty
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E7.
• Article: Cell therapy-a 21st century hope for treating cardiovascular disease-a five-year retrospective and predictive view.

  Doris A Taylor
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E24-7.
• Article: A five-year retrospective on futures in cardiology-part one.

  Sylvan Lee Weinberg
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E6.
• Article: Future directions in cardiac surgery-part II.

  Lawrence H Cohn, James Hubbard
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E15-8.
• Article: Spontaneous calcific coronary embolus from a degenerative calcific aortic valve-a rare cause of acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.

  Adam P Vasconcellos, Kenneth S Korr
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  ABSTRACT: This case report describes pathology-proven spontaneous coronary embolization from a calcific aortic valve resulting in an acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. It serves as an important reminder that, especially for elderly patients with coexisting aortic valvular disease, initial treatment for abrupt coronary artery occlusion with aspiration thrombectomy catheterization is standard of care.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E55-9.
• Article: Mycotic aneurysm of the ulnar artery.

  Hamid Shamsolkottabi, Mahmoud Saeidi, Abolghasem Zarezadeh, Sayed Mohammad Hashemi Jazi, Mahfar Arasteh
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  ABSTRACT: Mycotic aneurysm of the ulnar artery is extremely rare. We report a case of mycotic aneurysm of the ulnar artery due to subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE) presenting with a painful pulsatile mass in hypotenar region. In a 39-year-old man, treated as a case of SBE, a painful progressive pulsatile mass appeared in the left hypotenar region. Ultrasonography and angiography showed an aneurysm of ulnar artery in this region. The aneurysm was resected by surgery. Since the diagnosis may be difficult at the early phase and in some cases limb loss may occur, there should be high clinical suspicion to make a prompt diagnosis.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E60-2.
• Article: High prevalence of obesity in young patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction.

  Abhijeet Basoor, John F Cotant, Gagan Randhawa, Muhammad Janjua, Aaref Badshah, Michele DeGregorio, Abdul R Halabi, Benjamin Diaczok, Kiritkumar C Patel, Paul Stein
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  ABSTRACT: There is growing concern about increasing rates of obesity in young people, and increasing ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) at a younger age. There are only a few studies performed to study the risk factors in STEMI among young populations. Retrospective chart reviews on all first event STEMI patients between December 2005 and July 2007 were performed. A young population was defined as: men <45 years of age and women <55 years of age. Among 206 patients with STEMI, 36 were young. In young patients with STEMI, 78 % were obese compared with 35 % obese, non-young (p<0.001). Also, among young patients with STEMI, family history of coronary heart disease (CHD) was positive in 39 %, compared with 19 % in non-young patients (p=0.009). This significance for obesity and family history persisted after adjusting for other risk factors using logistic regression (OR 2.96 to 17.75, 95 % CI, p<0.0001 and OR 1.36 to 7.47, 95 % CI, p=0.008, respectively). Obesity and family history of CHD were major risk factors with a higher prevalence in young patients with STEMI than non-young patients.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E37-40.
• Article: Saphenous vein graft aneurysm-an unusual cause of mediastinal mass.

  Daniel D Correa de Sa, Thais Coutinho, Paul Sorajja
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  ABSTRACT: We report the case of a 78-year-old man who was incidentally found to have a large, ovoid mass on a chest X-ray. Nineteen years before, he had undergone a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). A chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a 6.8 x 6.7 cm aneurysm of the saphenous vein bypass graft anastomosed to the distal right coronary artery with contrast filling only the proximal end of the graft. The inferior wall of the left ventricle was akinetic on echocardiography, suggesting prior myocardial infarction of this vascular bed. Because of the patient's comorbidities, occlusion of the graft, and prior inferior infarction, clinical observation was elected.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E52-4.
• Article: Cardiovascular imaging-reflecting on 2006 predictions and new predictions for 2016.

  Jesus Bianco, Samuel Wann
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  ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular imaging has advanced at breakneck speed over the past five years. With the steadily improving capability to image the cardiovascular system has come the appreciation that imaging is not an end in itself, but must lead to more effective and appropriate therapy in order to be clinically justified. Current economic challenges are particularly relevant to healthcare and will have major influence on further technical development and clinical application of advanced cardiovascular imaging modalities.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E8-10.
• Article: A genomic revolution for cardiovascular disease-a progress report at five years.

  Alexandre F R Stewart, Robert Roberts
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E19-23.
• Article: Cardiac resynchronization therapy for non-ischemic cardiomyopathy-immediate changes in QRS duration, with left bundle branch block pattern on electrocardiogram.

  Saurav Chatterjee, Gunjan Guha, Joydeep Ghosh
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  ABSTRACT: We evaluated mean QRS duration improvement immediately after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM), with a left bundle branch block (LBBB) pattern on electrocardiogram (ECG), owing to obligatory right ventricular pacing or as a new finding; and to what extent. We tabulated ECGs of 18 subjects, 24 hours before and after receiving CRT, for both groups. The percentage decreases of QRS duration in all groups were statistically similar (p<0.05). There was a significant negative correlation (p<0.05) between age and the percentage of the QRS decrease. The study showed a greater reduction in QRS duration with CRT for younger subjects.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E41-3.
• Article: Angiographic success and successful stent delivery for complex lesions using the GuideLiner™ five-in-six system- a case report.

  Anouska Moynagh, Philippe Garot, Thierry Lefévre, Yves Louvard
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  ABSTRACT: In this report, we describe two cases of transradial intervention of chronic total occlusions assisted by the GuideLiner catheter when the guide catheter support was suboptimal. This novel coaxial system can provide additional support for more complex lesions and, in our cases, allowed the procedure to be completed via the transradial approach rather than having to change to transfemoral access.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E44-7.
• Article: Biomarkers associated with cardiometabolic risk in obesity.

  Sidra Younus, George Rodgers
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  ABSTRACT: The US is facing an obesity epidemic. Recognizing the biomarkers associated with adipose tissue may impact physicians' management of cardiometabolic disease greatly. EVIDENCE OF ACQUISITION: We searched PubMed for keywords 'obesity', 'leptin', and 'adiponectin', reviewed national surveys, and searched reference articles used in review articles retrieved via the PubMed search. We included articles with multiple relevant citations. Observational data acquired from two sources, not previously published, were also used to support our conclusion. Literature review and analysis of observational data showed that the level of leptin increases with the increase in weight gain, while adiponectin decreases. The roles of these adipokines in the body have been defined. With the increase in leptin levels, the incidence and prevalence of the components of the metabolic syndrome were seen to be higher, resulting in higher cardiovascular disease, while adiponectin was seen to play a more protective role in the body against developing such disease. Measuring circulating levels of leptin and adiponectin as a screening tool may help recognize those individuals who do not only have obesity as a major risk factor toward developing cardiometabolic disease but also may have an unfavorable 'biomarker profile', putting them at highest risk. This may encourage the mobilization of resources to help these individuals lose weight rapidly with possibly aggressive measures such as bariatric surgery.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E28-32.
• Article: Interventional cardiology in 2011- a look back.

  Richard A Schatz, Rachel L Israel
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E11-4.
• Article: A peculiar case of very late restenosis in a drug-eluting stent.

  Scott W Murray, Mohammed Andron, Raphael A Perry, Nick D Palmer
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2011; 9(1):E63-4.
• Article: Repetitive monomorphic ventricular tachycardia as a manifestation of suboptimally treated thyrotoxicosis.

  Preeti A Chandra, Ajay Vallakati, Abhinav B Chandra, Manali Pednekar, Joydeep Ghosh
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  ABSTRACT: Monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a unique manifestation of hyperthyroidism. We present the case of a 41-year-old male with a history of hyperthyroidism presenting with palpitations secondary to non-sustained episodes of monomorphic VT. Cardiac arrhythmias due to thyrotoxicosis are perpetually supraventricular in origin. Monomorphic VT in the setting of thyrotoxicosis in the absence of structural heart disease is exceedingly rare. After starting propranolol and increasing the dose of methimazole, the patient had no further episodes of VT. It is important to recognize repetitive monomorphic VT as an understated but important manifestation of thyrotoxicosis. Propranolol is associated with an excellent response in these patients and anti-thyroid medications such as methimazole effectively reverse thyrotoxicity.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2010; 8(2):E113-4.
• Article: Case illustrations of long QT syndrome.

  Omar Abdul Razakjr, Yeo Wee Tiong, Seow Swee Chong, Singh Devinder
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  ABSTRACT: Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a rare potentially life-threatening condition. Physicians must remain vigilant and consider LQTS as a possible etiology in patients with a history of syncope. Prolongation of the QT interval on electrocardiogram (ECG) is an essential component for the diagnosis of LQTS, despite the limitations of this technique. Experience of analyzing the ECG and calculating corrected QTc still remain relevant and are the mainstay diagnostic tools. Often, the first sign of the problem is observed after careful evaluation of the resting ECG for the hallmark of the disorder. Unfortunately, more than 60% of physicians-even cardiologists-have been known to misinterpret the QT interval on ECG. The cases discussed in this article highlight the variable clinical presentation of prolonged QT interval and the need to be highly vigilant in clinical evaluation.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2010; 8(1):58-62.
• Article: Rotational atherectomy to facilitate stent expansion after deployment in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction.

  Rasoul Mokabberi, James C Blankenship
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  ABSTRACT: We describe successful rotational atherectomy performed in the setting of two relative contraindications to the procedure. A 77- year-old female presented with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction due to 100% right coronary artery thrombosis. With high pressure dilatation (22 atmospheres) and cutting balloon angioplasty, the lesion dissected but did not fully dilate. After stenting and high-pressure post-dilatation at 25 atmospheres the dissection resolved, but a 70% waist remained. Rotational atherectomy allowed full dilatation of the lesion at 22 atmospheres. In this case, after stenting removed angiographically evident thrombus and dissection, rotational atherectomy effectively and safely treated residual stenosis at an undilatable lesion.
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2010; 8(1):66-9.
• Article: Left Bundle Branch Block-Significance of the Spatial QRS Axis (Vector).

  David H Spodick
  The American Heart Hospital Journal 01/2010; 8(2):E50-1.