Septic Pulmonary Embolism Causing Recurrent Pneumothorax in an Intravenous Drug User without Right-Sided Valvular Vegetation in Infective Endocarditis

The following report illustrates a case of a 36-year-old Caucasian male with intravenous drug use (IVDU) induced septic thrombophlebitis presenting with recurrent unilateral pneumothoraces from septic pulmonary embolism (SPE) without the presence of obvious right-sided valvular vegetation in infective endocarditis (IE), defined as tricuspid or pulmonary valve lesions. Pneumothorax (PTX) has been observed as a rare complication of SPE and is commonly associated with infective right-sided IE, IVDU, and intravascular indwelling catheters. However, this case is novel as it is the very rare documented case of recurrent, unilateral, spontaneous right PTX refractory to multiple chest tube placements in such a setting. Therefore, the absence of detectable right-sided valvular vegetation in IE does not obviate the risk of SPE-induced PTX in IVDU and further expands the realm of infectious and pulmonary consequences of SPE and IVDU.

Vena cava superior syndrome. Analisis of interventional and medical treatment options

We present a clinical case of a 72-year-old man with a history of hypertension and SARS-CoV-2 infection, urgently hospitalized in the intensive care unit due to dyspnea at rest, blushes and swelling of the neck and face, headache, and syncope. Echocardiography was performed and revealed preserved ejection fraction of left and right ventricle (EF – 57%, TAPSE – 21 mm), without hemodynamically significant valve lesions and normal ECG. On the next day of hospitalization, we performed a computer tomography (CT) scan of the lungs and it showed a tumor in right lung, compressing vena cava superior. Venography was performed and revealed subtotal thrombosis of vena cava superior and stenting with Wallstent 16/60 mm was performed. Six hours after the intervention a clinical improvement was achieved – reducing of the swelling and relieving of the symptoms.

Neovascular Glaucoma as a Presenting Sign of Catastrophic Antiphospholipid Syndrome with a “Catastrophic” Heart Valve Finding

We aimed to describe a case of neovascular glaucoma (NVG) as a first presenting sign of catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS) with heart valve aseptic vegetations known as Libman-Sacks endocarditis. A 39-year-old man was referred for left eye decreased visual acuity and pain, upon examination left eye high intraocular pressure; rubeosis iridis of both eyes (BE); and prominent retinal ischemia. Clinical and fluorescein angiography findings established the diagnosis of left eye NVG with vaso-occlusive disease in BE. Magnetic resonance imaging of the head showed widespread ischemic lesions and hemorrhagic foci. The transesophageal echocardiogram showed 2 big mitral valve lesions consistent with the diagnosis of Libman-Sacks endocarditis. Laboratory and clinical diagnosis of CAPS and suspected SLE was confirmed, and treatment with anticoagulants and IV steroids was initiated. This case demonstrates that severe vaso-occlusive retinopathy with severe brain ischemia should raise the suspicion of systemic autoimmune pro-coagulative diseases with heart valve aseptic vegetations.

For the Evaluation of Pacific Island Athletes, an ECG and Echocardiography Are Highly Recommended

Physical exercise increases the relative risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes when compared to a non-sporting population. Pre-participation evaluation (PPE) of athletes is thus of major importance. For Pacific Island athletes, medical guidelines recommend an echocardiography to complement a PPE including personal and family history, a physical examination and a resting twelve-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). Indeed, silent rheumatoid heart diseases found in up to 7.6% of adolescents give rise to severe valve lesions, which are the main causes of SCD in Pacific Island athletes. This short review examines the incidence rate of SCD in Pacific Island athletes and indicates how a questionnaire, physical examination, ECG and echocardiography can prevent it.

Multiple and mixed valvular heart disease

Multiple and mixed valvular heart disease are highly prevalent. Multiple valvular heart disease is the combination of stenotic and/or regurgitant lesions occurring on two or more cardiac valves. Mixed valvular heart disease is the combination of stenotic and regurgitant lesions on the same valve. Several haemodynamic interactions may impact their clinical expression and may result in diagnostic pitfalls. Accurate quantification of the valve lesions requires the use of methods that are less dependent on loading conditions, such as planimetry for stenotic lesions, and assessment of the effective regurgitant orifice area and vena contracta for regurgitant lesions. The assessment should address the diagnosis and severity of each single valve lesion as well as the overall consequences resulting from the combination of all lesions. Clinical decision-making should be based on an integrative approach including echocardiography and other imaging modalities.

Acute rheumatic fever in south-east of Turkey: clinical features and epidemiological evaluation of the patients over the last 25 years

This study evaluates clinical and epidemiological features of acute rheumatic fever using the data of last 25 years in our hospital in south-east of Turkey. The medical records of 377 patients with acute rheumatic fever admitted to Pediatric Cardiology Department of Çukurova University during 1993–2017 were retrospectively analysed. Two hundred and six patients were admitted between 1993 and 2000, 91 between 2001 and 2008, and 80 between 2009 and 2017. The largest age group (52%) were between 9 to 12 years of age and approximately two-thirds of the patients presented in the spring and winter seasons (62.8%). Among the major findings, the most common included carditis 83.6% (n = 315), arthritis at 74% (n = 279), Sydenham’s chorea at 13.5% (n = 51), and only two patients (0.5%) had erythema marginatum and two patients (0.5%) had subcutaneous nodule. Carditis was the most common manifestation observed in 315 patients (83.6%). The most commonly affected valve was the mitral valve alone (54.9%), followed by a combined mitral and aortic valves (34%) and aortic valve alone (5.7%). Of the patients with carditis, 48.6% (n = 153) had mild carditis, of which 45 had a subclinical. Sixty-two patients (19.7%) had moderate and 100 patients (31.7%) had severe carditis. At the follow-up, 2 patients died and 16 patients underwent valve surgery. Twenty-eight (7.4%) patients’ valve lesions were completely resolved. Conclusion: Although the incidence of acute rheumatic fever decreased, it still is an important disease that can cause serious increases in morbidity and mortality rates in our country.

Contemporary trends in mitral valve surgery in East China: a 10-year experience

Background Contemporary nationwide data from mainland China on trends in mitral valve surgery are scarce. The purpose of the present study was to review a single-center experience with mitral valve surgery over a 10-year period in East China. Methods Between July 2009 and June 2019, 3238 consecutive patients who underwent mitral valve surgery in our center were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were evenly divided into three periods: July 2009 to October 2012 (period I), November 2012 to February 2016 (period II), March 2016 to June 2019 (period III). Results The 3238 patients included 536 (16.6%) who had mitral valve repair and 2702 (83.4%) who had mitral valve replacement. Early mortalities for mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement were 0.2% and 0.9%, respectively. There were trends towards a higher proportion of degenerative valve lesions (24.6%, 35.8%, 54.7% in periods I, II, and III, respectively) and a lower proportion of rheumatic valve lesions (71.0%, 62.6%, 38.0%) in more recent years. The proportions of minimally invasive surgery (0.7%, 2.1%, 30.2%), mitral valve repair (8.3%, 15.4%, 27.5%), use of a bioprosthesis (10.1%, 17.0%, 23.1%), and concomitant tricuspid valve procedures (13.2%, 28.5%, 46.0%) increased dramatically, while early mortality remained constant during the 10-year period (1.0%, 0.3%, 0.9%). Conclusions In the past 10 years, the spectrum of mitral valve disease experienced a trend towards more degenerative valve lesions and less rheumatic valve lesions in East China. Mitral valve repair, bioprostheses, tricuspid valve repair, and minimally invasive surgery have been more often applied in recent years.

P1580 Global regurgitant volume - approaching the critical mass in valvular-driven heart failure

Aims Recent progress in the diagnosis of functional valve regurgitation forms a coherent perception of severity thresholds by quantitative assessment. However, thresholds focused on either valve in isolation -not accounting for the global hemodynamic burden arising from concomitant functional regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves. We sought to determine whether the global regurgitant volume is associated with adverse cardiac remodeling and mortality. Methods and results This long-term observational study included 414 patients on guideline-directed medical therapy. Baseline global regurgitant load defined as the sum of mitral and tricuspid regurgitant volume was assessed by the proximal flow convergence method. All-cause mortality during five years follow-up served as the primary endpoint. The median global regurgitant load was 30ml (IQR 15-49) with 67% accounting for mitral and 33% accounting for tricuspid regurgitant volume. The global regurgitant load had significant impact on outcome with a crude HR of 1.46 (1.28-1.66; P < 0.001) for a 1-SD increase in global regurgitant volume, results that remained virtually unchanged after bootstrap or clinical confounder-based adjustment (P < 0.001 for adjusted models). Spline curve analysis showed a linearly increasing risk with a threshold of 50ml and sustained increasing risk thereafter. Conclusions The present study demonstrates the detrimental effect of the global regurgitant load in patients with HFrEF. The threshold where heart failure is driven by the valve lesions is a global regurgitant volume of 50ml with continuously increasing risk beyond that threshold. Future studies need to address whether an attempt to reduce the global regurgitant volume can improve outcome. Abstract P1580 Figure 1 - Global RegVol