Aims and Scope
Recent Articles
Myocarditis in a Young Patient with Celiac Disease; A Case Report and Literature Review
Gard M.S. Myrmel, Torbjørn Lunde, Vernesa Dizdar, Terje H. Larsen, Sahrai Saeed
Myocarditis has numerous aetiologies, and Celiac Disease (CD) has been described as a rare cause. CD has received little attention in current guidelines and may be underdiagnosed. We report a case involving a 28-year-old male with myocarditis causing severe left ventricular dysfunction and dilatation that was probably related to CD. This case highlights the importance of screening for CD in patients presenting with myocarditis and signs of malabsorption when other common causes are excluded. Besides optimal medical treatment and cardiac resynchronization therapy, a gluten-free diet and immunosuppression may also be effective measures in the management of CD-related myocarditis.
February 15, 2021
Articles
Editor's Choice
The Role of Echocardiography in the Optimization of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives
Michael Spartalis, Eleni Tzatzaki, Eleftherios Spartalis, Christos Damaskos, Antonios Athanasiou, Efthimios Livanis, Vassilis Voudris
Background:
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has become a mainstay in the management of heart failure. Up to one-third of patients who received resynchronization devices do not experience the full benefits of CRT. The clinical factors influencing the likelihood to respond to the therapy are wide QRS complex, left bundle branch block, female gender, non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy (highest responders), male gender, ischaemic cardiomyopathy (moderate responders) and narrow QRS complex, non-left bundle branch block (lowest, non-responders).
Objective:
This review provides a conceptual description of the role of echocardiography in the optimization of CRT.
Method:
A literature survey was performed using PubMed database search to gather information regarding CRT and echocardiography.
Results:
A total of 70 studies met selection criteria for inclusion in the review. Echocardiography helps in the initial selection of the patients with dyssynchrony, which will benefit the most from optimal biventricular pacing and provides a guide to left ventricular (LV) lead placement during implantation. Different echocardiographic parameters have shown promise and can offer the possibility of patient selection, response prediction, lead placement optimization strategies and optimization of device configurations.
Conclusion:
LV ejection fraction along with specific electrocardiographic criteria remains the cornerstone of CRT patient selection. Echocardiography is a non-invasive, cost-effective, highly reproducible method with certain limitations and accuracy that is affected by measurement errors. Echocardiography can assist with the identification of the appropriate electromechanical substrate of CRT response and LV lead placement. The targeted approach can improve the haemodynamic response, as also the patient-specific parameters estimation.
December 19, 2017
Other Post
- November 17, 2017
Barnidipine Real-Life Efficacy and Tolerability in Arterial Hypertension: Results from Younger and Older Patients in the BASIC-HT Study
November 16, 2017
Trends in Stroke-Related Mortality in the ABC Region, São Paulo, Brazil: An Ecological Study Between 1997 and 2012
September 30, 2017
Impact of Post-Exodontia Bleeding in Cardiovascular Patients: A New Classification Proposal
September 30, 2017
Validation of the EuroSCORE II in a Greek Cardiac Surgical Population: A Prospective Study
January 24, 2017
Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction in Humans: Tale or Myth
January 15, 2016
Testosterone and Cardiovascular Disease
