Among elderly patients hospitalized with clinical heart failure, the absence of emotional support, measured before admission, is a strong, independent predictor of the occurrence of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events in the year after admission. In this cohort, the association is restricted to women.

Serratia marcescens bacteremia is common in patient populations with a history of intravenous drug use (IVDU), but it rarely causes infective endocarditis. We are reporting a 27-year-old female with a medical history significant for IVDU and hepatitis C virus infection who presented to the emergency department complaining of fever and shortness of breath. Computed tomography of the chest with intravenous (IV) contrast revealed extensive bilateral pulmonary infiltrates with multiple cavitary lesions. The patient was treated with IV vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam. Blood culture grows methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and S. marcescens , both sensitive to cefepime/meropenem. Transesophageal echocardiogram revealed 3.4 x 2 cm tricuspid valve vegetation. Cardiothoracic surgery was consulted, who recommended transcatheter aspiration with the AngioVac® system (AngioDynamics Inc., Latham, NY). Post-procedure transesophageal echocardiogram revealed a significant reduction of vegetation size. Vegetation tissue culture grew MSSA and S. marcescens . The repeated blood culture revealed no growth, and the patient significantly improved clinically. She completed a six-week course of IV meropenem as an inpatient until she was discharged home.

Yamaguchi syndrome or apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a unique variant of HCM. It is characterized by localized hypertrophy involving the left ventricular apex rather than the left ventricular septum. This syndrome has been traditionally seen in the Asian population, particularly those of Japanese descent. We present an interesting case of Yamaguchi syndrome seen in a Hispanic male.A 48-year-old Hispanic male presented with epigastric tenderness and was admitted to the hospital for a non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. His diagnostic catheterization revealed no significant coronary artery disease. However, his echocardiogram revealed apical hypertrophy and narrowing of the left ventricular cavity at the apex, consistent with Yamaguchi syndrome. Case reports such as ours serve to help clinicians broaden their differential diagnoses when approaching patients with acute coronary syndromelike symptoms to include diagnoses such as Yamaguchi syndrome.

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