Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by gross cardiac and myocyte hypertrophy, myocyte disarray, and interstitial fibrosis. This condition is relatively common, with a prevalence of about 1:500 in the general population. Most patients with HCM are either asymptomatic or have only minimal symptoms. In general, HCM is a relatively benign disease with an annual mortality rate of slig...

Introduction Cardiac sympathetic activity contributes to ventricular electrical instability and makes the heart vulnerable to malignant ventricular tachycardia / ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF), while stellate ganglionectomy can prolong the ventricular refractory period, increase the VF threshold, and decrease VT/VF inducibility. Cardiac sympathetic denervation is an effective adjunct procedur...

Fatty acid oxidation (FAO) defects often present with multi-system involvement, including several life-threatening cardiac manifestations, such as cardiomyopathy, pericardial effusion and arrhythmias. We report herein a fatal case of cardiac dysfunction and rapid-onset tamponade following an acute illness in a neonate with molecularly proven very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) defici...

INTRODUCTION The cardiac manifestations of influenza A are broad, ranging from self-limited pericarditis to fatal cardiomyopathy. The 2009 H1N1 influenza A (H1N1) strain is a rare cause of pericarditis, and its role in developing a pericardial effusion leading to tamponade has infrequently been reported. CASE PRESENTATION We describe a case of a young female with no prior cardiovascular histo...

Primary (AL) amyloidosis is the most common form of systemic amyloidosis seen in current clinical practice. The symptoms of the disease are usually vague, special features are seen in fewer than one fifth of patients, and the combination of organs and systems involved provides a clue for the diagnosis. We describe a patient in whom asymptomatic hepatomegaly, cardiomegaly, hyperlipidaemia and el...

The prognosis of stress induced cardiomyopathy (SCMP) is generally known to be excellent, however, several fatal complications such as cardiac rupture and left ventricular (LV) thrombosis with subsequent embolic complications have been described. We report a rare case of SCMP complicated by LV thrombosis and multiple cerebral infarctions in a patient with essential thrombocythemia. After intrav...

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare complication that occurs between the late stage of pregnancy and six months after delivery. PPCM presents as symptoms of left ventricular dysfunction and it can be fatal unless treated promptly. Furthermore, anesthesia and surgery in such patients is a large challenge to anesthesiologists. First and foremost, the maintenance of stable hemodynamics is a...

OBJECTIVE The independent prognostic significance of abnormally low systolic blood pressure (SBP) during exercise stress testing (LowExBP) across different clinical and exercise conditions is unknown. We sought by systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the association between cardiovascular/all-cause outcomes and LowExBP across different patient clinical presentations, exercise modes,...

Editorial Genetic investigation and counselling of families with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy In 1958 Teare described the gross appearances of the heart in eight young people dying suddenly of what became known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.' The familial nature of the disease became clear when Teare found himself carrying out a necropsy on a brother of a case in the series. By coincidence on t...