Background Additional retrograde cardioplegia infusion in conventional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was introduced to address the concern of inappropriate cardioplegia delivery through the stenotic coronary artery. However, this method is complex and requires repeated infusions. Therefore, we investigated the surgical outcomes of only antegrade cardioplegia infusion in conventional CABG.
Methods We included 224 patients who underwent isolated CABG between 2017 and 2019. The patients were divided into two groups according to the cardioplegia infusion method: antegrade cardioplegia infusion with del Nido solution (n=111, group I) and antegrade+retrograde cardioplegia infusion with blood cardioplegia solution (n=113, group II).
Results The sinus recovery time after release of the aorta cross-clamp was shorter in group I (3.8±7.1 minutes, n=98) than in group II (5.8±4.1 minutes, n=73) (p=0.033). The total cardioplegia infusion volume was lower in group I (1,998.6±668.6 mL) than in group II (7,321.0±2,865.3 mL) (p<0.001). Creatine kinase-MB levels were significantly lower in group I than in group II (p=0.039). Newly developed regional wall motion abnormalities on follow-up echocardiography were detected in two patients (1.8%) in group I and five patients (4.4%) in group II (p=0.233). There was no significant difference in ejection fraction improvement between the two groups (3.3%±9.3% in group I and 3.3%±8.7% in group II, p=0.990).
Conclusion The only antegrade cardioplegia infusion strategy in conventional CABG is safe and has no harmful effects.
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Del Nido versus conventional blood cardioplegia in patients with combined aortic root surgery: A retrospective study Yingshan Huang, Xiangni Zhu, Jichang Kong, Ling Zhang, Wenting Gui, Jiao Wang, Yunling Yang, Yan Xie, Dongmei Wang, Xinyue Li, Long Zhou, Yi Song, Xiaoqi Wang Perfusion.2025; 40(5): 1258. CrossRef
Effect of del Nido Cardioplegia on Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Study-level Meta-analysis Yoshiyuki Yamashita, Massimo Baudo, Dimitrios E. Magouliotis, Serge Sicouri, Marry Ann C. Wertan, Danielle D. Spragan, Gianluca Torregrossa, Basel Ramlawi, Francis P. Sutter Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia.2025; 39(6): 1538. CrossRef
Left main coronary artery (LMCA) thrombosis is rare and the cause should be determined. A previously healthy young man presented with severe chest pain and dyspnea. The electrocardiogram showed typical ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with clinical instability. Emergency coronary angiography revealed complete LMCA occlusion by thrombosis. After reperfusion, the patient was admitted to the cardiac care unit. He was diagnosed with hemolytic anemia and tested positive for antinuclear antibodies. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and LMCA disease due to systemic thrombosis were diagnosed. Steroids were started and the patient was discharged without complications. We report this rare case of LMCA thrombosis as an initial presentation of SLE.
The radial artery is generally the preferred access route in coronary angiography and coronary intervention. However, small size, spasm, and anatomical variations concerning the radial artery are major limitations of transradial coronary intervention (TRI). We describe a successful case involving a patient with coronary artery disease who underwent TRI via a well-developed radial recurrent artery branch from the radioulnar alpha loop using a sheathless guiding catheter.
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Minimizing Guidewire Unwilling Passage and Related Perforation During Transradial Procedures: Prevention Is Better Than Cure Lili Xu, Jiatian Cao, Meng Zhang, Hongbo Yang, Zheyong Huang, Yanan Song, Chenguang Li, Yuxiang Dai, Kang Yao, Xiangfei Wang, Feng Zhang, Juying Qian, Junbo Ge Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Coronary spasm generally occurs in patients with minimal atherosclerotic plaque lesion, and it has a rather favorable prognosis. However, in some cases, coronary spasm may induce myocardial infarction and even sudden cardiac death (SCD). Here, we report a case in which multi-vessel intractable coronary vasospasm suddenly occurred in a diffuse atherosclerotic lesion after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a patient with aborted SCD. We identified the characteristics of the spasm portion in intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images and conducted percutaneous cardiopulmonary bypass support-PCI with stenting as treatment. Intima and media thickening and a large attenuated plaque burden with rupture were identified in IVUS images at the obstructive spasm portion.
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Intractable right coronary artery spasm in the early postoperative period after heart transplantation: a case report Jaewook Chung, Jeehoon Kang, Hae-Young Lee, Suk Ho Sohn, Ho Young Hwang, Hyun-Jai Cho Korean Journal of Transplantation.2022; 36(2): 154. CrossRef
BACKGROUND This study was conducted to provide a comparison between the clinical outcomes of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and that of fibrinolysis followed by routine invasive treatment in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: A total of 184 consecutive STEMI patients who underwent primary PCI or fibrinolysis followed by a routine invasive therapy were enrolled from 2004 to 2011, and their major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) were compared. RESULTS: Among the 184 patients, 146 patients received primary PCI and 38 patients received fibrinolysis. The baseline clinical characteristics were similar between both groups, except for triglyceride level (68.1±66.62 vs. 141.6±154.3 mg/dL, p=0.007) and high density lipoprotein level (44.6±10.3 vs. 39.5±8.1 mg/dL, p=0.005). The initial creatine kinase-MB level was higher in the primary PCI group (71.5±114.2 vs. 35.9±59.9 ng/mL, p=0.010). The proportion of pre-thrombolysis in MI 0 to 2 flow lesions (92.9% vs. 73.0%, p < 0.001) was higher and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors were administered more frequently in the primary PCI group. There was no difference in the 12-month clinical outcomes, including all-cause mortality (9.9% vs. 8.8%, p=0.896), cardiac death (7.8% vs. 5.9%, p=0.845), non-fatal MI (1.4% vs. 2.9%, p=0.539), target lesion revascularization (5.7% vs. 2.9%, p=0.517), and stroke (0% vs. 0%). The MACEs free survival rate was similar for both groups (odds ratio, 0.792; 95% confidence interval, 0.317–1.980; p=0.618). The clinical outcome of thrombolysis was not inferior, even when compared with primary PCI performed within 90 minutes. CONCLUSION: Early fibrinolysis with optimal antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapy followed by appropriate invasive procedure would be a comparable alternative to treatment of MI, especially in cases of shorter-symptom-to-door time.
Mid-ventricular obstruction (MVO) rarely occurs in patients without hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Increased cardiac contractility may play an important role in causing MVO. We experienced a case of severe chest pain and MVO in a 50-year-old female patient. She had hypertension, diabetes, stroke and peripheral artery disease. Her blood pressure was very high (222/122 mmHg) with severe fluctuation. The transthoracic echocardiography revealed MVO accompanied by hyper-dynamic left ventricular systolic function. We regarded her chest pain and MVO as secondary findings related to other diseases. Coronary angiography and several tests for uncontrolled hypertension were performed, and those evaluations revealed that she had coronary artery disease and hyperthyroidism. We considered that the increase in the myocardial oxygen demand in response to the increase in cardiac contractility and workload associated with hyperthyroidism aggravated her symptoms and MVO. She was treated with methimazole and beta blockers and her symptoms dramatically improved.
Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis of small and medium sized arteries. Even many years after onset, aneurysms and stenosis in coronary arteries may lead to an acute myocardial infarction, which is described as atypical or missed KD in childhood. KD is an underlying disease of young adults with acute myocardial infarction. We report on a rare case involving a total occlusion in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery combined with a giant left main aneurysm in a young adult patient with acute myocardial infarction ascribed to antecedent KD that is undefined but almost certain.
Coronary stent dislodgement during percutaneous coronary intervention, which occurs when the stent is passed through tortuous and calcified lesions, is not a rare complication. Without proper treatment, such as fixing with another stent in the coronary artery or removing the undeployed stent from the coronary artery or systemic artery system, this complication can cause serious problems. We experienced the unusual situation of a dismounted and dislodged coronary stent, in which retrograde retrieval to the radial artery was impossible during transradial coronary intervention. We report on use of a rendezvous and snare technique at the brachial artery level via femoral puncture, which resulted in resolution without surgery.
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Coronary Stent Off-Wire Dislodgement: Case Report of a Rare Complication Meng-Ying Lu, Kuang-Te Wang Texas Heart Institute Journal.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Guide wire fracture during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is rare. It can cause fatal complications such as thrombus formation, embolization, and perforation. Guide wire fracture could occur during intervention for severely calcified stenotic lesions, and rarely from distal small branches of stenotic lesions. There are several methods for its management depending on the material character, position, length of the remnant, and the patient's condition. If percutaneous retrieval was not achieved, the surgical procedure should be considered for prevention of potential risks, although the remnant guide wire does not usually cause complications. We experienced a patient with a guide wire fracture during PCI, and managed to prevent its complications through surgical removal of the remnant wire. We report this case here.
A 52-year-old man was referred to our hospital due to fever and myalgia that occurred 2 weeks earlier. He showed a complete atrioventricular block on his electrocardiogram, and his vital signs were unstable. On his transthoracic echocardiograph, the 1.5 cm vegetation in the aortic valve with severe aortic regurgitation suggested infective endocarditis. His transesophageal enchocardiograph showed abscess in his mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa and vegetation was suspected on his anterior mitral valve leaflet. The patient underwent an emergent operation for valve replacement with temporary epicardial pacing. Intraoperatively, the septal leaflet of his tricuspid valve was injured during the debridement of the abscess pocket that was extended to the membranous septum. The aortic, mitral, and tricuspid mechanical valves were replaced with annular reconstruction without complications. After 14 days of intravenous antibiotics, we successfully changed the epicardial pacemaker into a transvenous DDD-type permanent pacemaker by placing a left ventricular lead via the coronary sinus and an atrial lead in the right atrium appendage. The patient was discharged in a tolerable state and was examined uneventfully in our hospital's outpatient clinic for 8 months.
Congenital abnormalities of the coronary arteries are found in 0.6% to 1.3% of patients in coronary angiography. Dual left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) is a rare coronary anomaly and is incidentally detected during coronary angiography. We report a case of a 65-year-old female with a rare coronary anomaly who was diagnosed with dual LAD via coronary computed tomography and coronary angiography. The imaging studies revealed dual LAD originating from the left main stem and right coronary sinus. These angiographic findings were considered to be consistent with the type IV variety of dual LAD by Spindola-Franco classification. Recognition of dual LAD is important to prevent errors of interpretation of the coronary angiogram and for optimal surgery.
The common causes of organic mitral regurgitation (MR) include mitral valve prolapse (MVP) syndrome, rheumatic heart disease, and endocarditis. MR also occurs secondary to dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease. In acute severe MR, the hemodynamic overload often cannot be tolerated, and mitral valve repair or replacement must be performed immediately. We report herein a case of severe MR due to coronary vasospasm that was confirmed via ergonovine echocardiography in a 70-year-old man. He was scheduled to undergo mitral valve surgery, but it did not push through and he was put on medical therapy.
A 70-year-old male came to the emergency room of the authors' hospital because of sudden cardiac arrest due to inferior wall ST elevation myocardial infarction. His coronary angiography revealed multiple severe coronary spasms in his very long left anterior descending artery. After an injection of intracoronary nitroglycerine, his stenosis improved. The cardiac arrest relapsed, however, accompanied by ST elevation of the inferior leads, while the patient was on diltiazem and nitrate medication to prevent coronary spasm. Recovery was not achieved even with cardiac massage, intravenous injection of epinephrine and atropine, and intravenous infusion of nitroglycerine. The patient eventually recovered through high-dose nicorandil intravenous infusion without ST elevation of his inferior leads. Therefore, intravenous infusion of a high dose of nicorandil must be considered a treatment option for cardiac arrest caused by refractory coronary vasospasm.
The left aortic arch with an aberrant right subclavian artery, or arteria lusoria, is the most common aortic arch anomaly, occurring in 0.5-2.5% of individuals. In such cases, the angular course of the arteria lusoria to the ascending aorta imposes difficulty in passing a guide wire to the ascending aorta during right transradial catheterization. Here, the case of a 53-year-old woman with intermittent chest tightness and coughing is reported. Aberrant right subclavian artery (arteria lusoria) was diagnosed via aortogram during right transradial coronary angiography. Compression of the esophagus and trachea by the aberrant right subclavian artery was demonstrated by chest computed tomography (CT).
BACKGROUND Antiplatelet agent administration is critical in managing coronary-artery disease, but there is a concern regarding operation-related bleeding and an increase in blood transfusion in such, especially when delivering combined antiplatelet agents. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the administration of antiplatelet agents on off-pump coronary-artery bypass surgery (OPCAB). METHODS: From March 2003 to December 2009, 49 patients who had undergone OPCAB were collected retrospectively. The patients were divided into three groups according to the administration of antiplatelet agents before the OPCAB operation: 21 patients were given an aspirin agent (group 1), 19 patients were given combined agents (aspirin+clopidogrel) (group 2), and nine patients were not given any antiplatelet agent (group 3). The three groups' perioperative hematologic and coagulation profiles, including their platelet counts, hemoglobin levels, hematocrit, prothrombin times, and aPTTs (activated partial thromboplastin times), and their postoperative bleeding, related complications, transfusion requirements, and operation times, were compared. RESULTS: The operation time in group 2 was 4.3 hours, longer than those in the two other groups, and urgent operation was significantly most frequent in group 2 (63%). The amount of blood loss and the number of patients who received blood transfusion were not different in the three groups. The perioperative hemoglobin level, hematocrit, platelet count, prothrombin time, and aPTT were also not significantly different among the three groups. CONCLUSION: The continuous administration of antiplatelet agents to the patients in this study did not increase their postoperative bleeding or operation-related complications. Therefore, OPCAB may well be considered even if combined antiplatelet agents are being administered.
Constant technological developments in coronary artery disease have contributed to the assessment of both the presence of coronary stenosis and its hemodynamic consequences. Hence, noninvasive imaging helps guide therapeutic decisions by providing complementary information on coronary morphology and on myocardial perfusion and metabolism. This can be done using single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT) or positron emission tomography(PET) and multidetector CT(MDCT). Advances in image-processing software and the advent of SPECT/CT and PET/CT have paved the way for the combination of image datasets from different modalities, giving rise to hybrid imaging. Three dimensional cardiac hybrid imaging helped to confirm hemodynamic significance in many lesions, add new lesions such as left main coronay artery disease, exclude equivocal defects, correct the corresponding arteries to their allocated defects and identify culprit segment. Cardiac hybrid imaging avoids the mental integration of functional and morphologic images and facilitates a comprehensive interpretation of coronary lesions and their pathophysiologic adequacy by three dimensional display of fused images, and allows the best evaluation of myocardial territories and the coronary-artery branches that serve each territory. This integration of functional and morphological information were feasible to intuitively convincing and might facilitate developmnt of a comprehensive non-invasive assessment of coronary artery disease.
Anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy became a cornerstone of the primary treatment strategy in the case of acute coronary syndrome patients which planned to receive medical treatment or percutaneous coronary intervention. The anticoagulation regimen is unfractionated heparins and low molecular weight heparins enoxaparin. Despite of some debates, enoxaparin has replaced unfractionated heparins recently due to its demonstrated advantages. When we encountered acute coronary syndrome patients without contraindication for enoxaparin, it tends to be administered with no hesitation. However, a few patients treated with enoxaparin could be suffered from bleeding complication. Also, in case of bleeding into the retroperitoneal space, the result can be fatal. We report a patient who developed a fatal retroperitoneal hematoma during enoxaparin treatment for acute coronary syndrome.
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Enoxaparin-induced spontaneous massive retroperitoneal hematoma with fatal outcome Nikolaos S. Salemis, Ioannis Oikonomakis, Emanuel Lagoudianakis, Georgios Boubousis, Christos Tsakalakis, Sotirios Sourlas, Stavros Gourgiotis The American Journal of Emergency Medicine.2014; 32(12): 1559.e1. CrossRef
Hybrid coronary revascularization combines left internal mammary artery (LIMA) to left anterior descending artery (LAD) grafting integrated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on stenoses in the non-LAD territories. Hybrid coronary revascularization offers multivessel revascularization with minimal morbidity in high risk patients. Usually hybrid coronary revascularization performs minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCAB) without cardiopulmonary bypass. The concept is now 10 year old. This procedure has been developed from MIDCAB plus percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) to totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (TECAB) procedures plus PTCA and drug-eluting stenting (DES). The hybrid coronary revascularization procedure may be especially useful in complex LAD lesions, restenotic lesions in LAD, acute myocardial infarction in “non-LAD” territory, high-risk elderly patients with multiple comorbidities and patients with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction who are not ideal candidates for conventional bypass surgery. Hybrid coronary revascularization results according to the literature are very attractive. LIMA patency rates were found to be in the 98% range and restenosis rates in the PCI part of the procedure are in a 12% range.16) The wider introduction of hybrid revascularization is limited chiefly by the high number of repeat interventions compared with off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting, which occurs because of the target vessel failure rate of percutaneous coronary intervention. Drug-eluting stents substantially decrease the reintervention rate. However, the future role of hybrid coronary revascularization is unclear in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease involving the LAD if comparable results may be attained with multivessel PCI.
A coronary artery perforation is a rare but often fatal complication of angioplasty. We experienced a coronary artery perforation and cardiac tamponade during balloon angioplasty. A polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) -covered stent was used to successfully close the perforation.
The enzyme activities of creatine kinase(CK), its isoenzyme MB(CK-MB) and of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme 1(LD-1) have been used for years in diagnosing patients with chest pain in order to differentiate patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI) from non-AMI patients. These methods are easy to perform as automated analyses, but they are not specific for cardiac muscle damage. During the early 90's the situation changed. First, creatine kinase MB mass(CK-MB mass) replaced the measurement of CK-MB activity. Subsequently cardiac-specific proteins, troponin T(cTnT) and troponin I(cTnI) appeared and displacing LS-1 analysis. However troponin concentration in blood increase only from four to six hours after onset of chest pain. Therefore a rapid marker such as myoglobin, fatty acid binding protein or glycogen phosphorylase BB could be used in early diagnosis of AMI. On the other hand, CK-MB isoforms alone may also be useful in rapid diagnosis of cardiac muscle damage. Myoglobin, CK-MB mass, cTnT and cTnI are nowadays wisely used in diagnosing patients with acute chest pain. Myoglobin is not cardiac-specific and therefore requires supplementation with some other analysis such as troponins to support the myoglobin value. Troponins are very highly cardiac-specific. Only the sera of some patients with severe renal failure, which requires hemodialysis, have elevated cTnT and/or cTnI without there being any evidence of cardiac damage. The latest studies have shown that elevated troponin levels in sera of hemodialysis patients point to an increased risk of future cardiac events in a similar manner to the elevated troponin values in sera of patiets with unstable angina pectoris. In addition, the bedside tests for cTnT and cTnI alone or together with myoglobin and CK-MB mass can be used instead of quantitative analyses in the diagnosis of patients with chest pain. These rapid tests are easy to perform and they do not require expensive instrumentation. For the diagnosis patients with chest pain, routinely myoglobin and CK-MB mass measurements should be performed whenever they are requested (24 h/day) and cTnT and cTnI on admission to the hospital and then 4-6 and 12 hours later and maintained less than 10% imprecision.
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The Usefulness of Rapid Triple Test for Cardiac Marker in Forensic Paragnosis of Sudden Cardiac Death Chae-Won Lim, Jin-Gak Kim The Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science.2017; 49(2): 108. CrossRef