The case of a 81-year-old male with atrial fibrillation, associated with severe aortic stenosis (AS) is outlined. A peculiarity of the clinical portrait of AS is a long asymptomatic period with a significantly varying duration. After the appearance of the first clinical manifestations of the disease (shortness of breath on exercise, fainting) the risk of sudden death rises sharply, and the average life expectancy is 2-3 years. The development of atrial fibrillation (AF) leads to a serious impairment of the clinical condition due to loss of the contribution of atrial systole to the filling of the left ventricle (LV). Concentric hypertrophy of the LV, which at the first stage is an important adaptation mechanism compensatingfor a high intracavitary pressure, later leads to a relative reduction of the coronary blood flow and to limitation of the coronary vasodilatation reserve. So patient was referred for transcatheter aortic valve implantation. He had also a history of coronary artery disease with earlier percutaneous coronary intervention. Then, he was started on a triple antithrombotic therapy therapy. The triple antithrombotic therapy caused gastrointestinal bleeding (Mallory-Weiss syndrome). Considering the difficulties in the rational choice of anticoagulant therapy and high risks of adverse reactions, the patient underwent endovascular occlusion of the left atrial appendage.
Kyphoscoliosis is a combined spinal deformation, which leads to a decrease in the volume of ‘working’ lung tissue with the development of alveolar hypoventilation and hypoxic vasoconstriction of the pulmonary arteries. These changes in a small percentage of cases lead to increases in pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance. The pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension in kyphoscoliosis shows resemblance to pulmonary hypertension in the setting of obstructive sleep apnea or hypoventilation in the presence of obesity. Patients with already present pulmonary hypertension may theoretically be candidates for standard pathogenetic therapy, but there is currently no evidence of the effectiveness of this treatment.
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