Henryk Kafka

• Queen's University

Congenital venous anomalies of the thorax may be encountered in patients with documented congenital heart disease, those patients with abnormal echocardiographic findings (e.g., dilated right ventricle or pulmonary hypertension), or, unexpectedly, in patients having CT scan or magnetic resonance examination of the thorax for other reasons. These an...

Data S1. End point event definitions.

Handheld ultrasound is emerging as an important tool for point-of-care cardiac assessment. Although cardiac ultrasound skills are traditionally introduced during postgraduate training, the optimal time and methodology to initiate training in focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU) are unknown. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a nove...

Congenital venous anomalies of the thorax may be encountered in patients with documented congenital heart disease, those patients with abnormal echocardiographic findings (dilated right ventricle or pulmonary hypertension, for example), or unexpectedly, in patients having CT scan or magnetic resonance examination of the thorax for other reasons. Th...

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ARCAPA) is a rare congenital anomaly. Although there have been several cases of ARCAPA reported in the literature, we present a case which highlights the challenges of diagnosing this rare condition and the incremental value of using multiple imaging modalities. A healthy 48 y...

We present the case of a 20-year old male that underwent a surgical ventricular septal myectomy at 8 months of age for symptomatic and drug-refractory obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Though he has remained asymptomatic since the operation, he now demonstrates findings of cardiac arrhythmia and left ventricular dysfunction. His case i...

Tricuspid valve endocarditis frequently occurs in the setting of intravenous drug use. A case of tricuspid valve endocarditis in a 37-year-old woman with a history of intravenous cocaine use is described. Transthoracic echocardiography showed extension of the tricuspid valve mass through a patent foramen ovale and into the left atrium. One week aft...

Patients may be referred for cardiology assessment because of an enlarged right ventricle (RV) with no cause apparent on echocardiography. Cardiac MRI can contribute to the management of these patients by detecting sinus venosus defect or partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC). We sought to show how often sinus venosus defect or PAPV...

Comprehensive assessment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) should identify structural causes and subsequent cardiopulmonary consequences of PAH. This currently requires the use of several imaging modalities. Computed tomography (CT) is routinely used for pulmonary angiography (CTPA). Our aim was to assess whether combined pulmonary and coron...

An 18-year-old woman had been complaining of palpitations and had suffered several episodes of syncope. When the patient was 6 years of age, echocardiography had revealed a localized area of septal hypertrophy without left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and she was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Because of her recent symptoms,...

Aortico-left ventricular tunnel (ALVT) is a rare congenital cardiac defect that is usually managed by surgical or catheter intervention. This case documents the 22 year follow up of a 44 year old man who has been managed medically through a programme of close clinical and echocardiographic monitoring. This report illustrates that conservative manag...

This is a case report on the use of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging to diagnose vascular ring due to double aortic arch in an adult presenting with an abnormal chest X-ray. The experience in this case and the literature review identify the benefits of using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging to clarify complex aortic arch anatomy.

The successful pediatric management of congenital heart disease has resulted in increasing numbers of these patients in the reproductive age group and increasing clinical challenges for their physicians. These challenges can be met successfully, with improved results for mother and child, through a concerted comprehensive team approach that relies...

Nearly every Canadian physician is called on from time to time to assess the fitness of a patient to either drive a motor vehicle or fly in an aircraft. Cardiac patients comprise a distinct group of patients who frequently require such an evaluation. In fact, many Canadian jurisdictions have legislated mandatory physician reporting requirements for...

To report 2324 coronary stenosis interventions (Vineberg procedures [VbP], coronary artery bypass graft operations [CABG] and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties [PTCA]), in 1711 patients of a Canadian military hospital between 1965 and 1995 and to report their evolution and interaction in a historical context. Retrospective examinatio...

We sought to examine, angiographically, the longterm fate of a large number of mainly venous coronary bypass grafts and to correlate graft patency and disease with patient survival and reoperation. Much is known about bypass graft patency and disease, but the precise relation between graft fate and patient outcome has not been substantiated and doc...

Our aim was to assess, in patients after coronary artery bypass surgery, how well exercise echocardiography predicts the presence of vascular compromise on angiography. Because late graft failure frequently occurs after bypass surgery, a reliable noninvasive technique is needed to identify those patients who would benefit from angiographic study. I...

To determine the frequency and clinical significance of aorto-coronary vein graft spasm during angiography. Retrospective review of angiograms and subsequent correlation with clinical outcome. A total of 1264 patients having bypass surgery between 1971 and 1986. Twenty-four men, aged 31 to 54 years, demonstrated spasm in 31 vein grafts at angiograp...

A 51-year-old man experienced a plaque rupture at the site of a shallow plaque in his anterior descending bypass graft and went on to suffer a myocardial infarct. Angiography, five months later, showed excellent recanalization; however, one month after that angiogram, the patient presented with unstable angina and evidence of plaque rupture at the...

In 222 patients, 741 venous coronary bypass grafts were studied angiographically early, at 1 year and at a late examination at greater than 6.5 years (mean 9.6) after operation; 565 of these grafts were also examined 5 years postoperatively. Grafts were graded for patency and disease considered to be atherosclerotic and for both extent and profile...

Aortico-left ventricular (LV) tunnel is a rare congenital cardiac malformation. Fewer than 50 cases have been described1–6 and only 3 in individuals over 20 years of age.1,4,5

One hundred thirty-eight men aged less than or equal to 39 years had coronary bypass grafting during a 13 year period. Angina was the presenting symptom in 77% and of these patients, one-third had unstable angina. More than half of the patients had experienced at least one myocardial infarct. There was a high incidence of coronary risk factors, esp...

Over a 13-month period, serum potassium and magnesium levels were measured in 590 patients admitted to a coronary care unit. Hypokalemia, often in the absence of diuretic use, occurred in 17% of the 211 patients with acute myocardial infarction. Patients with acute myocardial infarction and a potassium level of less than 4.0 mEq/L (4.0 mmol/L) had...

Follow-up angiography was performed at selected intervals on 340 men who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. There were 1160 grafts, but 112 were excluded from study because they occluded shortly after the operation. After 5 years 115 patients were smokers and 225 were nonsmokers. The mean number of grafts per patient was similar in the t...

A total of 1,179 vein grafts were studied angiographically in 353 (45%) unselected survivors (male, mean age 45.5 years) of 786 coronary bypass operations. Studies were conducted early (0.96 months), 1 year (12.8 months), and 5 years (59.7 months) postoperatively. A previously described technique was used to grade the patency of the grafts, and a n...

A 42 year old woman with symptomatic double chambered right ventricle had the additional features of an anomalous left anterior descending coronary artery and attachment of the tricuspid valve to the area of subinfundibular stenosis which precluded conventional repair. A non-valved Dacron conduit was used to bypass the obstruction. The patient is a...

This study tests the electrocardiographic diagnosis of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy in the presence of left bundle branch block (BBB). The LV mass of 125 patients with left BBB was estimated by echocardiography. M-mode echocardiography was technically adequate in 80% of patients. LV mass was calculated using previously validated M-mode formula...

Thrombosis of one leaflet of a St. Jude medical prosthetic mitral valve in a 49-year-old man resulted in prosthetic malfunction causing cardiac failure. Clinical and echocardiographic assessment did not adequately distinguish between abnormal valve function and left ventricular dysfunction as the responsible lesion. Hemodynamic study revealed a gra...