Bulent Deveci

Porcelain heart: a case of massive myocardial calcification

Reports of massive myocardial calcification are limited mainly to case reports and this type intracardiac calcifications have been usually identified postmortem. We present a very interesting case of massive calcification of the left ventricular myocardium, interventricular and interatrial septae causing restrictive physiology and coronary artery obstruction in a 46-year-old Turkish woman. The diagnosis of myocardial calcification was suspected from chest X-ray and confirmed with computerized tomography and cardiac catheterization. The findings of the chest computed tomography were very similar to those previously reported cases of endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) with massive calcification of the left ventricle.

Association of ST elevation with apical aneurysm in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

OBJECTIVES Apical aneurysms in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) represent an underrecognized but clinically important subset of HCM patients. However it may be frequently missed by echocardiography because of poor image quality of left ventricular apex. We aimed to compare electrocardiographic STE in HCM patients with and without apical aneurysm. METHODS We developed this clinical review using an extensive MEDLINE review of the literature and data from our laboratories; and some electrocardiographic parameters including STE were analysed in HCM patients with and without apical aneurysm. RESULTS There were 29 HCM patients without apical aneurysm (Group 1; 52.6±17.7years, 69% male) and 28 HCM patients with apical aneurysm (Group 2; 59.6±13.2years, 57% male). The STE in V4-6 derivations were statistically more frequent in patients with apical aneurysm compared to those without aneurysm (93% vs 7%, p<0.001). There was a positive correlation between the presence of the STE in V4-6 derivations and the presence of the apical aneurysm (Spearmans ρ=0.895, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Clinicians and specifically echocardiographers must pay special attention on the electrocardiography to correctly detect the frequently overlooked apical aneurysm in HCM patients, and should be careful for apical aneurysm particularly in the presence of STE in V4-6 derivations.

QT Dispersion Significantly Increases after Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Shocks

Objective: To determine whether QT dispersion (QTd), a noninvasive electrocardiographic parameter of ventricular tachyarrhythmia risk assessment, is changed by implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD) shocks delivered during implantation process, to analyze the duration of these changes, and to further evaluate the effect of amiodarone on these parameters.

Single Coronary Artery Presenting with Cardiogenic Shock due to Acute Myocardial Infarction

Percutaneous coronary revascularization plays an important role in the management of acute coronary syndrome. Unpredictable angiographic findings of anomalous coronary arteries may, however, compromise the otherwise high and predictable success rates of this intervention. We report a case of failed coronary angioplasty of the left anterior descending artery through an anomalous left main coronary artery originating from the right coronary sinus in a 33-year-old man with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock. Subsequently the patient performed successful emergency coronary artery bypass graft.

Non‐compaction cardiomyopathy associated with myocardial bridging: A frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed cardiomyopathy

Isolated ventricular non‐compaction (IVNC) is an unclassified cardiomyopathy which occurs due to a morphogenetic abnormality involving an arrest of compaction of the loose myocardial meshwork during fetal ontogenesis. Despite recent advances in knowledge, diagnosis remains problematic because of its similarity to other diseases of the myocardium and endocardium. In this report, we describe a case of IVNC and myocardial bridging. The patient had been misdiagnosed with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy 2years earlier. The correct diagnosis was established by transthoracic echocardiography and confirmed by cardiac catheterization and angiocardiography.

Right ventricular outflow tract function in chronic heart failure

Background Heart failure (HF) is a common, progressive, complex clinical syndrome and a subset of HF patients has symptoms out of proportion to the resting hemodynamics and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Right ventricular (RV) function is a powerful prognostic factor in HF, but assessing it is a challenge because of the right ventricles complex geometry. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical application value of RV outflow tract (RVOT) function measured by transthoracic echocardiography in HF patients. Method We prospectively investigated 36 chronic HF patients with dilated heart and LV systolic dysfunction and 21 healthy control subjects (normal ventricular function and ECG, and no cardiac risk factors). In addition to clinical and conventional echocardiographic parameters, RVOT size and fractional shortening (RVOT-FS) parameters were analyzed. Results The RVOT-FS was less in HF patients than healthy controls (18.8 ± 15.7 vs 55.8 ± 6.7, p < 0.001) and correlated positively with TAPSE (r = 0.814, p < 0.001) and inversely with SPAP (r = −0.728, p < 0.001) and functional capacity (r = −0.842, p < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in RVOT-FS among the HF subgroups with regard to NYHA functional capacity (p < 0.001), although there was no statistically significant difference with regard to LVEF. Conclusion Although the apparent discordance between LVEF and the degree of functional impairment in HF is not well understood, it may be explained in part by alterations in RV function. We found that the RVOT-FS was a noninvasive and easily applicable measure of RV function and might be used for a comprehensive evaluation and follow-up of HF patients with a combined assessment of RV by other RV parameters.

Multichamber Intracardiac Thrombi Associated with Activated Protein C Resistance in a Patient with Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Combined activated protein C resistance and dilated cardiomyopathy result in a multiplicative effect on thrombosis risk. However, it is not known that whether there is an association with activated protein C resistance and dilated cardiomyopathy. We present a 18-year-old patient with dilated cardiomyopathy, who exhibited multichamber intracardiac thrombi on transthoracic echocardiography associated with activated protein C resistance. Our cases emphasizes that patients with cardiac thrombosis before adulthood should be screened for an underlying coagulation abnormality besides underlying cardiac disorders.

Atrial Dissection-Like Appearance Caused by Ileus Due to Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma

Atrial dissection is an uncommon entity, defined as a gap from the mitral or tricuspid annular area to the interatrial septum or atrial wall, creating a new chamber with or without communication into the true left or right atrium. We present the interesting images of an atrial dissection‐like appearance in the right atrium, which was actually caused by an ileus due to metastatic renal cell carcinoma in a 82‐year‐old man. The causes of true atrial dissection were also briefly discussed.

Successful Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Chronic Total Occlusion of Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery in a Patient with Dextrocardia

Dextrocardia is a rare cardiac anomaly in which the heart is located in the right chest along with the cardiac long axis directing to the right and inferiorly. Although, it is a rare clinical phenomenon, coronary artery disease with dextrocardia is presumed to be of similar frequency as in the general population. Percutaneous coronary intervention has some technical difficulties in these patients. We hereby report a male patient with dextrocardia who was previously treated with coronary artery bypass graft surgery.