Perforated aneurysm of the anterior mitral valve
A 42-year-old man with a 2-month history of low-grade fever treated with antibiotics, fatigue and asthenia was admitted to our hospital because of left heart failure and a pan-systolic murmur…
Multimodality cardiac magnetic resonance imaging of cardiac mass
Abbreviations AVR aortic valve replacement CABG coronary artery bypass graft CT computed tomography TTE transthoracic echocardiography An 84-year-old man presented with a 1-month history of dyspnoea and constrictive chest pain…
Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or left ventricular non-compaction?
A 76-year-old man was admitted to hospital for a transient ischaemic attack. The electrocardiogram showed atrial fibrillation and biphasic T-waves in the precordial leads. Echocardiography disclosed severe asymmetrical apical hypertrophy…
Transient left ventricular non-apical ballooning syndrome: Diagnosis with multiple imaging modalities
A 57-year-old man was referred to our department with substernal chest pain. He was a smoker whose symptoms had started the day before, during an anxiety-associated conversation. At admission, the…
Exercise echocardiography in severe asymptomatic aortic stenosis
Summary The management of asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis is challenging. Unfortunately, evaluation of symptoms such as dyspnoea remains subjective. The use of exercise echocardiography may help to predict…
High risk of clinical cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis: Levels of associations of myocardial infarction and stroke through a systematic review and meta-analysis
Summary Background While there are convergent data suggesting that overall cardiovascular mortality is increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the relative contributions of myocardial infarction and stroke remain unclear. Aims…
Association between resting heart rate and arterial stiffness in Korean adults
Summary Background Higher resting heart rate, a simple and useful indicator of autonomic balance and metabolic rate, has emerged as an independent predictor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Aim To determine…
Immediate and mid-term results of transfemoral aortic valve implantation using either the Edwards Sapien™ transcatheter heart valve or the Medtronic CoreValve ®System in high-risk patients with aortic stenosis
Summary Objective We sought to describe the results of transfemoral aortic valve implantation using either the Sapien™ prosthesis or the CoreValve ® System. Background Results of transfemoral aortic valve implantation…
Impact of valvuloarterial impedance on left ventricular longitudinal deformation in patients with aortic valve stenosis and preserved ejection fraction
Summary Background Left ventricular (LV) longitudinal deformation is a good marker of intrinsic myocardial dysfunction in pressure overload cardiomyopathies. Aim To assess the effect of valvuloarterial haemodynamic load on LV…
High-resolution coronary imaging by optical coherence tomography: Feasibility, pitfalls and artefact analysis
Summary Background Optical coherence tomography is an imaging method that enables cardiologists to study atheromatous plaques, and to check the implantation and evolution of coronary stents. It is an invasive…
