Texas Heart Institute Journal Volume 45: Issue 1

“. . . for the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient.”
— FWP

When an honorable and accomplished man dies, it is appropriate to memorialize his attributes and contributions, particularly when that man is a close friend and colleague and a real mensch (a Yiddish word meaning a person of integrity and honor).

This particular mensch was a legendary figure in the United States Air Force (USAF) Air Rescue Service. After completing Officer Training School, jump school, and water survival school, the young doctor, who had graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College, became

A major diagnostic challenge for cardiologists is to distinguish cardiac syndrome X (CSX) from obstructive coronary artery disease in women with typical angina and a positive exercise tolerance test (ETT). We performed this study to develop a scoring system that more accurately predicts CSX in this patient population.

Data on 976 women with typical angina and a positive ETT who underwent coronary angiography at our center were randomly divided into derivation and validation datasets. We developed a backward stepwise logistic regression model that predicted the presence of CSX, and a scoring system was derived from it.

The derivation dataset (809 patients) was calibrated by uing a Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test (8 degrees of freedom; χ²=12.9; P=0.115), and the area under the curve was 0.758. The validation dataset (167 patients) was calibrated in the same way (8 degrees of freedom; χ²=9.0; P=0.339), and the area under the curve was 0.782. Independent predictors of CSX were age <55 years; negative histories of smoking, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, or familial premature coronary artery disease; and highly positive ETTs. A total score >9.5 was the optimal cutoff point for differentiating CSX from obstructive coronary artery disease.

Our proposed scoring system is a simple, objective, and accurate system for distinguishing CSX from obstructive coronary artery disease in women with typical angina and positive ETTs. It may help determine which of these patients need invasive coronary angiograms or noninvasive tests like computed tomographic coronary angiography.

In elderly, high-risk surgical patients, sutureless aortic valve replacement (AVR) can often be an alternative to conventional AVR; shorter aortic cross-clamp and cardiopulmonary bypass times are the chief advantages. We compared the outcomes of sutureless AVR with those of conventional AVR in 70 elderly patients who underwent concomitant cardiac surgical procedures.

We retrospectively analyzed the cases of 42 men and 28 women (mean age, 70.4 ± 10.3 yr; range, 34–93 yr) who underwent cardiac operations plus AVR with either a sutureless valve (group 1, n=38) or a conventional bioprosthetic or mechanical valve (group 2, n=32). Baseline patient characteristics were similar except for worse New York Heart Association functional status and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in group 1.

In group 1, the operative, cross-clamp, and cardiopulmonary bypass times were shorter (all P=0.001), postoperative drainage amounts were lower (P=0.009), hospital stays were shorter (P=0.004), and less red blood cell transfusion was needed (P=0.037). Echocardiograms before patients' discharge from the hospital showed lower peak and mean aortic gradients in group 1 (mean transvalvular gradient, 8.4 ± 2.8 vs 12.2 ± 5.2 mmHg; P=0.012).

We found that elderly, high-risk patients who underwent multiple cardiac surgical procedures and sutureless AVR had better hemodynamic outcomes and shorter ischemic times than did patients who underwent conventional AVR.

Using older donor hearts in cardiac transplantation may lead to inferior outcomes: older donors have more comorbidities that reduce graft quality, including coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. Shorter cold ischemic times might overcome the detrimental effect of older donor age. We examined the relationship between donor allograft age and cold ischemic time on the long-term outcomes of heart transplant recipients.

rom 1994 through 2010, surgeons at our hospital performed 745 heart transplantations. We retrospectively classified these cases by donor ages of <50 years (younger) and ≥50 years (older), then by cold ischemic times of <120 min (short), 120 to 240 min (intermediate), and >240 min (long). Endpoints included recipient and graft survival, and freedom from cardiac allograft vasculopathy, nonfatal major adverse cardiac events, and rejection.

For intermediate ischemic times, the 5-year recipient survival rate was lower when donors were older (70% vs 82.6%; P=0.02). This was also true for long ischemic times (69.8% vs 87.6%; P=0.09). For short ischemic times, we found no difference in 5-year recipient or graft survival rates (80% older vs 85.6% younger; P=0.79), in freedom from nonfatal major adverse cardiac events (83.3% vs 91.5%; P=0.46), or in freedom from cardiac allograft vasculopathy (50% vs 70.6%; P=0.66). Rejection rates were mostly similar.

Long-term graft survival in heart transplantation patients with older donor allografts may improve when cold ischemic times are shorter.

A previously healthy 36-year-old woman presented at the emergency department with gradual-onset confusion, ataxia, and aphasia. Her vital signs were normal. On physical examination, she reacted to painful stimuli but was nonverbal and unable to follow commands. Initial laboratory results revealed no abnormalities. Computed tomograms of the head and results of a lumbar puncture were nondiagnostic. During hospitalization, the patient decompensated and needed emergency intubation and vasopressor support. An electrocardiogram (ECG) was obtained (Fig. 1). An echocardiogram revealed an acute reduction of left ventricular ejection fraction (range, 0.35–0.40) and anterior wall-motion abnormalities. Notable laboratory results included troponin I,

A Great Speech from a Great Man

The Man

Death of a Mensch

Novel Scoring System for Prediction of Cardiac Syndrome X in Women with Typical Angina and a Positive Exercise Tolerance Test

Sutureless versus Conventional Aortic Valve Replacement: Outcomes in 70 High-Risk Patients Undergoing Concomitant Cardiac Procedures

Effects of Older Donor Age and Cold Ischemic Time on Long-Term Outcomes of Heart Transplantation

Jan Evangelista Purkinje: A Passion for Discovery

Cardiac Rehabilitation Improves Cardiometabolic Health in Young Patients with Nonischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Mechanical Mitral Valve Replacement during the 2nd Trimester of Pregnancy

Symptomatic Celiomesenteric Trunk: Variable Presentations and Outcomes in 2 Patients

Iatrogenic Ventricular Fibrillation after Direct-Current Cardioversion of Preexcited Atrial Fibrillation Caused by Inadvertent T-Wave Synchronization

Atrial Septal Defect as Unexpected Cause of Pulmonary Artery Hypertension

Longitudinal Deformation of Distal Edge in a New-Generation Stent Caused by Guidewire Entrapment

Confusion, Ataxia, and Wide-Complex Tachycardia: What Caused This Arrhythmia?

Malposition of Ventricular Pacing Lead via a Venoarterial Course

Aberrant Course of Pacemaker Leads: When Left is Left

Remembering Enzo Boncompagni, a Friend and Fan of THI

Remembering Enzo Boncompagni, a Friend and Fan of THI

George J. Reul, MD: A Tribute

Accidental Left Ventricular Placement of a Leadless Micra Pacemaker Through a Patent Foramen Ovale

Impact of a Cardiology-Based Shock Team on Institutional Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Use for Cardiogenic Shock

Double Atrial Septum With Interatrial Space in Patients Experiencing Ischemic Attack

Rhabdomyosarcoma Involving the Left Atrium and the Mitral Valve