Showing papers by "Omar Wever-Pinzon published in 2009"

Sudden cardiac death in young competitive athletes due to genetic cardiac abnormalities.

Abstract: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young athletes is generally caused by inherited cardiac disorders. While these events are relatively few compared to other cardiac deaths, they are tragic in that death occurs in a young, otherwise healthy person. The genetic abnormalities most associated with SCD are hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. As a result of growing awareness that these deaths can be prevented, guidelines have been issued in both Europe and the United States to help screen and determine qualification for young persons who want to participate in competitive athletics. There remains debate on the how extensive screening should be, in particular over the use of the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), with European guidelines mandating ECG and United States guidelines not recommending routine use of the ECG.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy following a blood transfusion.

Abstract: T akotsubo cardiomyopathy, initially thought to have a predilection for Japanese patients, has been increasingly reported in Europe and the United States. The syndrome is characterized by the abrupt onset of acute chest symptoms, usually affecting postmenopausal women and precipitated by a physical or psychological stress, electrocardiographic (ECG) changes mimicking acute myocardial infarction, angiographic absence of occlusive coronary artery disease, transient left ventricular (LV) wall motion abnormalities involving the apex to mid-ventricle with compensatory hyperkinesis of the basal segments, and minimal release of myocardial enzymes incongruent with the degree of LV dysfunction. The pathogenesis of this cardiomyopathy has not been completely elucidated. Postulated mechanisms for the stunning of the myocardium include diffuse epicardial vasospasm, catecholamineinduced microvascular vasospasm and cardiotoxicity, metabolic abnormalities, and estrogen reduction. We describe the case of an elderly woman with severe aortic stenosis (AS) in whom this syndrome developed following a blood transfusion. The association between blood transfusions and a form of acute reversible myocardial injury has been reported previously, but without documentation of the imaging hallmark for the diagnosis of this syndrome. In view of this unusual presentation, which may involve a different pathophysiologic process or compliment than the mechanisms postulated in the literature, it was felt that this case report would be of considerable interest.