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A 49-year-old woman with a congenital quadricuspid aortic valve presented in cardiogenic shock due to severe aortic regurgitation. She underwent transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement with a 29 mm self-expanding prosthesis. The procedure was technically successful with minimal paravalvular leak and significant symptomatic improvement. However, her long-term course was complicated by medication nonadherence, valve thrombosis, thromboembolic coronary events, and progressive heart failure. This case highlights the anatomical and technical challenges of transcatheter valve therapy in non-tricuspid anatomy, including annular sizing and valve anchoring without calcification, and underscores the critical importance of post-procedural anticoagulation adherence and meticulous follow-up to prevent thrombotic complications.

An 80-year-old man presented with progressive dyspnea and severe hypoxemia refractory to high-flow oxygen therapy and was found to have a large persistent patent foramen ovale (PFO)-mediated right-to-left shunt (RTLS). The patient underwent successful percutaneous PFO closure via a 35 mm Amplatzer septal occluder guided by intracardiac echocardiography (ICE), resulting in complete resolution of his hypoxia within 24 h. This case report highlights the workup of systemic refractory hypoxemia, the importance of cardiac shunt physiology in considering an RTLS, and the utility of PFO closure under ICE guidance. For patients with a PFO-mediated RTLS, percutaneous closure is an effective therapeutic option.

The axillary approach for intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) placement offers an alternative to traditional transfemoral insertion, with the potential advantage of preserving mobility during temporary mechanical circulatory support. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of four retrospective studies evaluating outcomes in patients who received axillary IABP support. Most patients supported with an axillary IABP were able to ambulate, with a pooled probability of 0.928 (95% CI: 0.811-0.999). The incidences of vascular complications (0.059; 95% CI: 0.001-0.137), stroke (0.022; 95% CI: 0.001-0.044), infection (0.037; 95% CI: 0.001-0.106), and bleeding (0.028; 95% CI: 0.005-0.052) were low. The most frequent adverse event was device failure (including kinking, rupture, migration, or malposition), with a pooled incidence of 0.314 (95% CI: 0.224-0.404). Axillary IABP support is a feasible bridge to advanced heart failure therapies, enabling ambulation in most patients and facilitating transition to definitive treatment. While the overall safety profile is favorable, the relatively high rate of device failure represents a key limitation of this approach.

We present a 23-year-old female patient with a chief complaint of progressively worsening dyspnoea of 2 days duration. Her medical history was significant for end stage renal disease secondary to membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. A peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter was placed 8 weeks prior to admission. She did not miss any of the PD sessions prior to this admission. Vital signs were significant for hypoxemia. Physical examination was remarkable for right-sided basilar crackles with no other signs of fluid overload. A chest X-ray demonstrated the presence of a large right-sided pleural effusion. Right-sided thoracentesis was performed, with subsequent pleural fluid analysis concerning for a pleuroperitoneal leak. CT peritoneography performed confirming the diagnosis as contrast material leaked through the inferior vena cava (IVC) diaphragmatic foramen into the right pleural space. Surgical intervention was deferred in light of the close proximity of the defect to the IVC. The patient was transitioned to haemodialysis for temporary cessation of PD.

Biomarker measures of infarct size and myocardial salvage index (MSI) are important surrogate measures of clinical outcomes after a myocardial infarction. However, there is variability in infarct size unaccounted for by conventional adjustment factors. This post hoc analysis of Evaluation of Myocardial Effects of Bendavia for Reducing Reperfusion Injury in Patients With Acute Coronary Events (EMBRACE) ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) trial evaluates the association between left ventricular (LV) mass and infarct size as assessed by areas under the curve for creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and troponin I release over the first 72 hours (CK-MB area under the curve [AUC] and troponin I [TnI] AUC) and the MSI. Patients with first anterior STEMI, occluded left anterior descending artery, and available LV mass measurement in EMBRACE STEMI trial were included (n = 100) (ClinicalTrials.govNCT01572909). MSI, end-diastolic LV mass on day 4 cardiac magnetic resonance, and CK-MB and troponin I concentrations were evaluated by a core laboratory. After saturated multivariate analysis, dominance analysis was performed to estimate the contribution of each independent variable to the predicted variance of each outcome. In multivariate models that included age, gender, body surface area, lesion location, smoking, and ischemia time, LV mass remained independently associated with biomarker measures of infarct size (CK-MB AUC p = 0.02, TnI AUC p = 0.03) and MSI (p = 0.003). Dominance analysis demonstrated that LV mass accounted for 58%, 47%, and 60% of the predicted variances for CK-MB AUC, TnI AUC, and MSI, respectively. In conclusion, LV mass accounts for approximately half of the predicted variance in biomarker measures of infarct size. It should be considered as an adjustment variable in studies evaluating infarct size.

Giant negative T-waves have been linked to several cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. However, the presence of giant negative T-waves with QT prolongation in the setting of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema is a rarely reported, female predominant, and poorly understood electrocardiographic phenomenon. We report a case of a 28-year-old white female who presented with acute diarrhea and was admitted due to acute kidney injury caused by a hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). She was managed with multiple blood product transfusions, plasma exchange, and hemodialysis. Subsequently, she developed acute pulmonary edema requiring intubation and urgent hemodialysis. During this acute event, a unique electrocardiographic finding of anterolateral giant negative T-wave and QT prolongation progressively developed and began resolving with the resolution of the pulmonary edema. In addition to our case, 12 cases were reported upon review of the literature with similar electrocardiography (ECG) findings in the setting of non-cardiogenic, non-ischemic pulmonary edema. Giant negative T-waves can be associated with non-cardiac pulmonary edema. Recognition of this rare Wellen's-like electrocardiographic pattern in a patient without cardiac ischemia is crucial, especially in young females. Basic science and clinicopathological correlation studies are needed to understand the pathophysiology and prognosis behind these ECG findings.

IntroductionOesophageal varices (EV) are one of the complications of liver cirrhosis that carries a risk of rupture and bleeding. The safety of performing transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in patients with pre-existing EV is not well described in literature. Therefore, this retrospective study has been conducted to evaluate the safety of preforming TEE in this group of patients.MethodsThe study population was extracted from the 2016 Nationwide Readmissions Data using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification/Procedure Coding System for EV, TEE and in-hospital outcomes. Study endpoints included in-hospital all-cause mortality, hospital length of stay, postprocedural gastrointestinal bleeding and oesophageal perforation.ResultsA total of 81 328 discharges with a diagnosis of EV were identified, among which 242 had a TEE performed during the index hospitalisation. Mean age was 58.3 years, 36.6% female. In comparison to the no-TEE group, the TEE group was associated with comparable in-hospital all-cause mortality (7.0% vs 6.7%, p=0.86) and bleeding (0.9% vs 1.1%, p=0.75); however, TEE group was associated with longer hospital stay (14.9 days vs 6.9 days, p<0.01). There were no reported oesophageal perforations.ConclusionsTEE is not a common procedure performed in patients with pre-existing EV. TEE seems to be a safe diagnostic tool for evaluation of heart diseases in this group of patients.

BackgroundMorphine is widely used for pain control in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Several studies have questioned the safety of morphine in this setting with a concern of interaction with and reduced efficacy of antiplatelet agents.ObjectiveThis study aims to systematically review the safety of morphine use in ACS.MethodsMEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were queried from inception through April 2018. Studies comparing morphine to nonmorphine use in ACS were included. Study endpoints included: in-hospital myocardial infarction (MI), all-cause mortality, stroke, major bleeding, minor bleeding and dyspnoea.ResultsA total of 64 323 patients with ACS were included from eight studies, seven of which were observational studies and one was a randomised controlled trial. The use of morphine was associated with increased risk of in-hospital recurrent MI (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.43, p < 0.00001). There was, however, no significant difference in terms of all-cause mortality (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.22, p = 0.44), stroke (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.66, p = 0.57), major bleeding (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.00, p = 0.05), minor bleeding (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.41 to 2.34, p = 0.97), or dyspnoea (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.16 to 1.83, p = 0.33).ConclusionThe use of morphine for pain control in ACS was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital recurrent MI. Randomised clinical trials are needed to further investigate the safety of morphine in ACS.