INTRODUCTION Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is an uncommon cause of acute coronary syndrome and sudden cardiac death. We report an unusual case of multi vessel spontaneous coronary artery dissection in an elderly woman with successful medical management. CASE PRESENTATION A 65 year-old woman with hypertension and Parkinson's disease presented with sudden onset severe chest pain. Elect...

BACKGROUND Pseudoaneurysm occurring after catheterization of the femoral artery is associated with significant morbidity. Percutaneous ultrasound-guided thrombin injection has recently emerged as a potential first-line therapy. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy of this treatment in eight patients with iatrogenic femoral artery pseudoaneurysm. METHODS After attempted treatment with externa...

Statin therapy should not be initiated in this patient, a young woman free of vascular risk factors and at low risk for atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease. Unfortunately, this patient has an iatrogenic stroke after a cardiac catheterization performed for symptoms described as “atypical.” There is no evidence that underlying atherosclerotic disease accounted for her cardiac symptoms or stro...

Coronary artery dissection is a rare but well-described cause for myocardial infarction during the post-partum period. Dissection of multiple coronary arteries is even less frequent. Here we present a case of recurrent post-partum coronary artery dissections. This unusual presentation poses unique problems for management. A 35 year-old female, gravida 3 para 2, presented with myocardial infarct...

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare condition that may produce severe myocardial ischemia. The growth of indications for cardiac catheterization have led to an increment in the number of cases identified in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Because the therapeutic approach and prognosis are uncertain, doubts often arise regarding the optimal management of these patients. We d...

Acute aortic dissection is a rare but devastating complication during cardiac catheterization. We present the case of an elderly female who incurred a Stanford Type A/DeBakey Type I acute aortic dissection extending into the arch vessels and descending aorta likely occurring during right coronary artery engagement for angioplasty. The patient was treated successfully by immediately sealing the ...

We report a rare case of a limited chronic dissection of the ascending aorta that was accidentally discovered at operation performed for severe aortic stenosis and moderate to severe dilatation of the ascending aorta. Preoperative investigations such as transoesophageal echocardiography and cardiac catheterization missed the diagnosis of dissection. Intraoperative findings included a 3.5 cm ecc...

BACKGROUND Iatrogenic illness, defined as a disease that results from a diagnostic procedure or from any form of therapy, is a well-recognized phenomenon in clinical practice. OBJECTIVES To study and evaluate major cardiac iatrogenic disease as the cause of admission to the intensive cardiac care unit in the modern era. METHODS We assessed 64 critically ill patients suffering from major car...

We reviewed our experience of intraoperative type A aortic dissection during cardiovascular surgery. From January 1998 to May 2009, intraoperative aortic dissection occurred in 10 of 3421 cardiac surgical patients (M:F=4:6, 62.4+/-8.0 years). Preoperative diagnoses were valvular heart disease (n=6), ischemic heart disease (n=2), combined disease (n=1) and aortic aneurysm (n=1). All underwent to...