Cardiac Case Studies

Cardiac Case Study Archives 

August 2008	Management of Cardiac Disease in Pregnancy By David Scott Vadnais, MD, Cardiology Fellow, Emory University School of Medicine A 24-year-old Hispanic female 23-weeks pregnant presented to the emergency department of a local hospital with syncope and left-sided, pressure-like chest pain radiating to the back. These symptoms were accompanied by shortness of breath and palpitations roughly 30 minutes in duration. On arrival, the patient experienced a near syncopal event with visual loss compared to a “black curtain.” Her hearing and sensation were intact, but some slurred speech was present...
July 2008	Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy: Fixing a Broken Heart By Dale Yoo, MD, Cardiology Fellow, Emory University School of Medicine A 46-year-old female presented to the emergency department (ED) with sudden onset retrosternal chest pain with radiation to her jaw and left arm. The initial episode lasted 10 to 20 minutes and was relieved with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), but intermittent pain persisted until arrival at the ED. The patient reported a family history of hypertension but no significant social history, no current medications and no known drug allergies. Her past medical history revealed only mild mitral valve prolapse (MVP)...
May/June 2008	Emory Pioneers New Technology: Performs First Robotic Ablation in the Southeast By David B. DeLurgio, MD, FACC, Director of Electrophysiology at Emory Crawford Long Hospital More than 2.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with a complex cardiac arrhythmia, resulting in more than 850,000 hospitalizations each year. This can present a serious challenge to patients and hospitals, and more people will be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation as the population ages. The morbidity associated with atrial fibrillation and its deleterious effect on mortality continue to gain recognition. At Emory, electrophysiologists use the most advanced technology to detect, diagnose and treat arrhythmias...
April 2008	LVAD Therapy Offers a Successful Alternative for End-Stage Heart Failure By S. Raja Laskar, MD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Center for Heart Failure Therapy and Transplantation, Emory University School of Medicine Heart failure is increasing in incidence and prevalence in America. It is estimated 5 million people in the United States have congestive heart failure. Of that 5 million, almost 100,000 patients have advanced, end-stage heart failure or stage D heart failure...
February 2008	Right Heart Failure in Carcinoid Syndrome By Michael McDaniel, MD, Cardiology Fellow, Emory University School of Medicine A 49-year-old man with a history carcinoid syndrome recently presented with 8 weeks of progressive dyspnea, leg swelling, 50-pound weight gain and fatigue.He had been diagnosed with carcinoid syndrome 10 years earlier when he was admitted to the local Veterans Administration hospital for alcohol detoxification. At that time, he also had complained of abdominal pain and diarrhea, and a computed tomography (CT) scan was ordered for presumed chronic pancreatitis. The CT scan revealed hypervascular hepatic lesions and a 4 cm by 5 cm small-bowel mass...

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