Background Left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is a rare complication after myocardial infarction and usually occurs 1 to 4 days after the infarct. Over the past decade, the overall incidence of LVFWR has decreased given the advancements in reperfusion therapies. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant delay in hospital presentation of patients suffering myocardial infarctions, leading to a higher incidence of mechanical complications from myocardial infarctions such as LVFWR. Case presentation We present a case in which a patient suffered a LVFWR as a mechanical complication from myocardial infarction due to delay in seeking care over fear of contracting COVID-19 from the medical setting. The patient had been having chest pain for a few days but refused to seek medical care due to fear of contracting COVID-19 from within the medical setting. He eventually suffered a cardiac arrest at home from a massive inferior myocardial infarction and found to be in cardiac tamponade from a left ventricular perforation. He was emergently taken to the operating room to attempt to repair the rupture but he ultimately expired on the operating table. Conclusions The occurrence of LVFWR has been on a more significant rise over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic as patients delay seeking care over fear of contracting COVID-19 from within the medical setting. Clinicians should consider mechanical complications of MI when patients present as an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, as delay in seeking care is often the exacerbating factor.
Objectives:Treatment enactment, a final stage of treatment implementation, refers to patients’ application of skills and concepts from treatment sessions into everyday life situations. We examined treatment enactment in a two-arm, multicenter trial comparing two psychoeducational treatments for persons with chronic moderate to severe traumatic brain injury and problematic anger.Methods:Seventy-one of 90 participants from the parent trial underwent a telephone enactment interview at least 2 months (median 97 days, range 64–586 days) after cessation of treatment. Enactment, quantified as average frequency of use across seven core treatment components, was compared across treatment arms: anger self-management training (ASMT) and personal readjustment and education (PRE), a structurally equivalent control. Components were also rated for helpfulness when used. Predictors of, and barriers to, enactment were explored.Results:More than 80% of participants reported remembering all seven treatment components when queried using a recognition format. Enactment was equivalent across treatments. Most used/most helpful components concerned normalizing anger and general anger management strategies (ASMT), and normalizing traumatic brain injury-related changes while providing hope for improvement (PRE). Higher baseline executive function and IQ were predictive of better enactment, as well as better episodic memory (trend). Poor memory was cited by many participants as a barrier to enactment, as was the reaction of other people to attempted use of strategies.Conclusions:Treatment enactment is a neglected component of implementation in neuropsychological clinical trials, but is important both to measure and to help participants achieve sustained carryover of core treatment ingredients and learned material to everyday life.
Primary cardiac tumors are usually found incidentally on imaging and are much less common than tumors that metastasize to the heart. Cardiac lipomas are benign cardiac tumors that are usually found in the right atrium or left ventricle. Primary intravascular venous lipomas of the great cardiac vessels are extremely rare and there are few reported cases of a lipoma originating from the superior vena cava causing direct compressive intracardiac effects. Here we describe a case of a symptomatic right atrial lipoma originating from the superior vena cava.
Background Atrial myxomas account for approximately 50% of all primary cardiac tumors. The size, location, risk of embolic event, and involvement of other cardiac structures, are all factors that contribute to the wide range of presentation for cardiac myxomas. Patients with myxomas may remain asymptomatic, while others may report symptoms such as fatigue and fever, dyspnea, and syncope. It is important to recognize arrhythmias as an uncommon symptom of myxomas. Case presentation We report a rare case of a 67-year-old man who presented with pre-syncopal episodes, symptomatic bradycardia, and night sweats found to have a 5.5 × 5.1 × 3 cm myxoma in the left atrium. During diastole the mass caused dynamic flow obstruction across the mitral valve. The patient underwent surgical resection of the mass given his symptomatology and risk of embolic events. Removal of the myxoma resulted in resolution of both pre-syncopal episodes and the patient’s sinus bradycardia. Conclusion Atrial myxomas are a rare cause of pre-syncope and symptomatic bradycardia. It is important to have a clinical suspicion for atrial myxomas given early diagnosis and surgical intervention are key in improving the prognosis of these patients. This case also highlights the importance of taking into account the source of the myxoma’s blood supply in relationship to other cardiac structures, and further correlating these findings with clinical symptoms.
We present a case of a 29-year-old man presenting with new onset shortness of breath found to have severely dilated cardiomyopathy, reduced systolic function, and an unusual finding of biventricular thrombi. Upon further workup, this occurred in the setting of a massive multivessel infarct. The biventricular thrombi were confirmed on cardiac MRI. Biventricular thrombi are a particularly rare finding in cardiomyopathies in patients without an underlying hypercoagulable disorder.
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