Common Clinical Cardiological Problems: The Absence of Arbitrary Answers

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 620-620
Author(s):  
Walter Silver ◽  
Howard A. Joos

Certain common clinical pediatric cardiologic problems are encountered daily by pediatricians, family physicians, and house staff who may, in the absence of specific guidance, unwittingly commit therapeutic and/or diagnostic misjudgements. Recommendations from the Academy would be most helpful if they can be developed. Such problems include (1) the use of oxygen in infants in congestive heart failure (CHF) secondary to left to right shunting, (2) treatment for "physiologic" anemia (2 to 6 months of age) in the presence of CHF, (3) the use of digoxin in the treatment of patients with cardiac enlargement associated with congential heart disease (CHD) but without overt evidence of CHF, and (4) electrocardiographic changes associated with acidosis and electrolyte imbalance.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-38
Author(s):  
Abdi Dzul Ikram Hasanuddin ◽  
Sandra Dunggio ◽  
Hannan Zubaidi

Thyroid disease is quite common. The cardiovascular clinical manifestations of hyperthyroidism are palpitation, systolic hypertension, fatigue, or with the basis of existing heart disease, angina or heart failure. In men, the disease is more frequently to develop into congestive heart failure than in women, thus more exploration is needed. This case report discussed a 42-year-old male patient who was admitted to the emergency department due to palpitations, shortness of breath aggravated with activity and lie down position, and alleviated with resting, cough with white sputum, epigastric pain, and constipation since the past 3 days. He was diagnosed with a history of hyperthyroidism and congestive heart disease 1 year ago and routinely consumed propylthiouracil (PTU). He had a history of herniotomy 10 days before admission. The patient did not have a history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or hypercholesterolemia. The patient has a smoking habit of up to 3 packs/day since a teenager. The patient was diagnosed with hyperthyroid heart disease (congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and coronary heart disease) with comorbid of electrolyte imbalance, hypoalbuminemia, and thrombocytopenia. The patient was treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and was given oxygen therapy, crystalloid infusion, antithyroid drug, beta-blocker, diuretics, digitalis, anti-angina, anti-thrombotic, and adjunct therapy. The patient was treated for 8 days in ICU, followed by 2 days in the ward with a good outcome. Early detection and intervention followed by close monitoring is key management for the patient with hyperthyroid heart disease, especially in a male patient, to achieve a better outcome.


2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Sheng Zhu ◽  
Pei Yan Yao ◽  
Jia Hao Zheng ◽  
A Thomas Pezzella

Infective endocarditis remains a serious and complex disease with significant morbidity and mortality. Sixty cases of infective endocarditis were retrospectively reviewed, consisting of 41 males and 19 females aged 7 to 50 years (mean, 30 years). Congenital heart disease was diagnosed in 19 of the patients and rheumatic heart disease in 41. Congestive heart failure occurred in 36 and systemic embolism in 8 cases. Blood cultures were positive in only 21.7% of the cases, while vegetations were detected by 2-dimensional echocardiography in 70%. Elective surgery was performed in 57 patients and emergent operation for systemic arterial embolization and/or intractable congestive heart failure in 3 patients. Two patients required reoperation for postoperative bleeding. All but 2 patients had been followed up for 6 to 160 months with no evidence of reinfection. Three patients with mechanical valve implantation later died of intracranial bleeding due to over-anticoagulation. The remaining 55 resumed normal activity. The encouraging outcomes were the result of an aggressive diagnostic approach and early surgical intervention.


2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Shiono ◽  
Hitoshi Horigome ◽  
Seiyo Yasui ◽  
Tomoyuki Miyamoto ◽  
Miho Takahashi-Igari ◽  
...  

Background:Cardiac rhabdomyomas associated with tuberous sclerosis induce various abnormalities in the electrocardiogram. Electrocardiographic evidence of ventricular hypertrophy may appear if the tumour is electrically active. To our knowledge, electrocardiographic evidence of ventricular hypertrophy has been reported only in association with congestive heart failure. Follow-up studies of changes in electrocardiographic findings are also lacking.Methods:We studied 21 consecutive patients with cardiac rhabdomyoma associated with tuberous sclerosis, 10 males and 11 females, aged from the date of birth to 9 years at diagnosis. The mean period of follow-up was 53 months. None of the patients developed congestive heart failure. We evaluated the electrocardiographic changes during the follow-up, and their association with echocardiographic findings.Results:Of the 21 patients, 12 showed one or more abnormalities on the electrocardiogram at presentation, with five demonstrating right or left ventricular hypertrophy. In all of these five cases, the tumours were mainly located in the respective ventricular cavity. In one patient with a giant tumour expanding exteriorly, there was marked left ventricular hypertrophy on the electrocardiogram. Followup studies showed spontaneous regression of the tumours in 12 of 19 patients, with abnormalities still present in only 7 patients. A gradual disappearance of left ventricular hypertrophy as seen on the electrocardiogram was noted in the patient with marked left ventricular hypertrophy at presentation in parallel with regression of the tumour.Conclusions:The presence of cardiac rhabdomyomas in patients with tuberous sclerosis might explain the ventricular hypertrophy seen on the electrocardiogram through its electrically active tissue without ventricular pressure overload or ventricular enlargement, although pre-excitation might affect the amplitude of the QRS complex. Even in cases with large tumours, nonetheless, the electric potential might not alter the surface electrocardiogram if the direction of growth of the tumour is towards the ventricular cavity. In many cases, electrocardiographic abnormalities tend to disappear, concomitant with regression of the tumours.


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