Sinus venosus atrial septal defect is a rare congenital, interatrial communication defect at the junction of the right atrium and the vena cava. It accounts for 5–10% of cases of all atrial septal defects. Due to the rare prevalence and anatomical complexity, diagnosing sinus venous atrial septal defects poses clinical challenges which may delay diagnosis and treatment. Advanced cardiac imaging studies are useful tools to diagnose this clinical entity and to delineate the anatomy and any associated communications. Surgical correction of the anomaly is the primary treatment. We discuss a 43-year-old Hispanic female patient who presented with dyspnea and hypoxia following a laparoscopic myomectomy. She had been diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy nine years ago at another hospital. Transesophageal echocardiography and computed tomographic angiography of the chest confirmed a diagnosis of sinus venosus atrial septal defect. She was also found to have pulmonary arterial hypertension and Eisenmenger syndrome. During a hemodynamic study, she responded to vasodilator and she was treated with Ambrisentan and Tadalafil. After six months, her symptoms improved and her pulmonary arterial hypertension decreased. We also observed progressive reversal of the right-to-left shunt. This case illustrates the potential benefit of vasodilator therapy in reversing Eisenmenger physiology, which may lead to surgical repair of the atrial septal defect as the primary treatment.
This is a case of a 54-year-old female with a history of mechanical aortic valve replacement who presented in cardiogenic shock. Her primary care provider started her on rivaroxaban for anticoagulation therapy. An urgent transesophageal echocardiogram revealed a significant gradient and thrombosis on one leaflet of the valve that was immobile. Given that she was not a surgical candidate, she underwent thrombolysis. However, she later died due to complications from the thrombotic valve. The utility of target-specific oral anticoagulants has yet to be established in clinical practice.
STEMI or emergent cases and elderly patients favor upfront femoral access. As BMI increases and age decreases, radial access is progressively favored. In diagnostic cases, radial access appears to be superior to femoral access in efficacy, but the distinction is less obvious in PCI and STEMI or emergent cases.
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