Salmonella gastroenteritis is a common, self-limiting, foodborne disease and a rare cause of life-threatening complications especially in immunocompetent individuals. Moreover, bacterial infections of the GI tract have been rarely reported as a cause of serious complications like acute myocarditis and rhabdomyolysis. While viral infections are commonly associated with myocarditis, bacterial infections are infrequently seen with these conditions. Similarly, bacterial infections may lead to only 5% of adult rhabdomyolysis events whereas viral-induced myositis appears to be the commonest. A 28-year-old young male with no past medical problems presented with acute salmonella gastroenteritis that was complicated by myocardial injury (most likely myocarditis), rhabdomyolysis, acute renal failure, and shock. He made an uneventful complete recovery of all complications by early recognition of these rare complications and prompt institution of appropriate therapy.
Hyper-homocysteinemia is a risk factor for coronary artery disease in young patients. A 32 years old female without any conventional risk factors except obesity presented with acute anterior wall myocardial infarction (MI). Her echocardiography showed anterior wall hypokinesia with moderate left ventricular dysfunction. Angiography showed tight stenosis of the proximal left anterior descending (LAD) and borderline lesion in left circumflex coronary artery (LCX). She underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to LAD with good result. Her blood tests showed low vitamin B12, folate and serum iron levels and elevated serum homocysteine level. She was given folic acid and vitamin B12 and her homocysteine levels normalized. This case demonstrates that hyperhomocysteinemia caused by nutritional deficiency of vitamin co factors may lead to MI. Hyperhomocysteinemia should be considered in the evalauation of young people with MI, especially those without conventional risk factors.
Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva and coursing between the aorta and pulmonary artery is a rare congenital abnormality representing less than 3% of the congenital coronary anomalies. Patients can present with myocardial ischemia, arrhythmias, or sudden cardiac death (SCD). This diagnosis should be suspected in young patients without risk factors for coronary artery disease and the diagnosis can be confirmed easily by 64-slice MDCT angiography. Surgery is generally recommended in symptomatic patients whereas conservative management in asymptomatic patients. Incidence of SCD is rare after the age of 35 years and hence conservative treatment may be advised in asymptomatic patients over the age of 35 years.
Cardiac sarcoidosis is a major cause of death in patients with systemic sarcoidosis. Cardiac manifestations are seen in 2.3% of the patients. Atrioventricular (AV) block is one of the common manifestations of cardiac sarcoidosis. Other presentations of cardiac involvement include congestive heart failure, ventricular arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. The presence of AV block in young patients should raise the suspicion of sarcoidosis. AV block may be the only manifestation and patients may not have clinical evidence of pulmonary involvement. Here we describe a young male presented with exercise induced AV block rapidly progressing to complete heart block with recurrent syncope needing urgent pacemaker implantation. Factors that suggested an infiltrative process included his young age, rapidly progressive conduction abnormalities in the ECG in the absence of coronary disease, and previous history of cutaneous sarcoidosis.
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.