Coronary embolization is a potentially fatal sequela of endocarditis. We report a case of Candida endocarditis with septic embolism to the left anterior descending coronary artery. This embolism was successfully treated with aspiration thrombectomy followed by balloon angioplasty. The treatment of acute coronary syndrome in the presence of septic embolism is controversial. Aspiration thrombectomy has been performed in this situation before, and it appears to be safer and more feasible than is thrombolysis or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.
Fibroelastoma is a rare, benign cardiac tumor. It is the second most common primary cardiac tumor and the most common primary cardiac valvular tumor. Nonvalvular endocardial location is rare and may be difficult to differentiate from thrombus and myxoma. Fibroelastoma consists of a small, highly papillary, pedunculated, and avascular tumor which is covered by a single layer of endothelium. It contains fine elastic fibrils arranged in whorls in a hyaline stroma. Fibroelastoma is mostly found incidentally at the time of echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, surgery, or autopsy. Symptomatic patients present with various clinical presentations, mainly cardiovascular in nature.
Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the association between the L-selectin Phe206Leu polymorphism and coronary artery disease. Methods: A total of 322 patients (221 men and 101 women) with coronary artery disease in one or more vessels documented by angiography were studied; 157 subjects (85 men and 72 women) without atherosclerosis were included as controls. All subjects were genotyped for the L-selectin Phe206Leu gene polymorphism using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP). To assess disease severity, all patients were classified by numbers of coronary arteries with 50% stenosis. Results: A significantly increased frequency of the 206Leu mutant allele was observed in patients with coronary artery disease compared to the controls. The 206Leu allele frequency occurred in 42% of the patients with coronary artery disease compared to 30% of the controls (p < 0.009). No association was found between the severity of coronary artery disease and the L-selectin Phe206Leu polymorphism. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that carriage of L-selectin 206Leu mutant allele could contribute to susceptibility of Iranian individuals to contracting coronary artery disease.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.