CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS aortic anomalies aortic aneurism aortic arch, anomalies aortic valvular, anomalies cardiac congenital defects cardiomegaly cardiopathy, congenital heart conduction defects, cardiac arrhythmia, including tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, ventricular fibrillation heart conduction defects, cardiac arrhythmia, including: bradycardia, cardiac dysrhythmias mitral valve, defec...

BACKGROUND Traumatic pericardial rupture is a rare presentation. Pericardial rupture itself is asymptomatic unless complicated by either hemorrhage or herniation of the heart through the defect. Following diagnosis surgical repair of the pericardium is indicated because cardiac herniation may result in vascular collapse and sudden death. OBJECTIVES Here we present a case of traumatic, non-her...

Rupture of the spleen can be classified as spontaneous, traumatic, or pathologic. Pathologic rupture has been reported in infectious diseases such as infectious mononucleosis, and hematologic malignancies such as acute and chronic leukemias. Splenomegaly is considered the most relevant factor that predisposes to splenic rupture. A 66-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia evolved from an uncl...

hydatid disease, caused by echinococcus granulosus, is a common infectious disease in endemic areas such as southern europe and the middle east. the incidence of this disease, however, is on the increase in northern europe due to the migration of labor and also tourism. we report a case of the hydatid cyst of the mediastinum, the diagnosis of which was established by the hemagglutinin test and ...

Rupture of the false sac in dissecting aortic aneurysm commonly occurs into the pericardial sac with an immediately fatal outcome (Hirst, Johns, and Kime, 1958). It is well known that should re-entry be established the immediate prognosis is not so grave as used to be thought, though death occurs later from heart failure due to aortic incompetence or hypertensive heart disease (Shennan, 1934). ...

Sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SVA) is defined as a weakness in the aortic valve wall, immediately above the attachments of each of the aortic cusps. This weakness can rupture and create an aortocardiac fistula. There are many congenital heart defects associated with chromosome 22q11 deletion, especially involving the aortic arch and its branches. SVA is not an anomaly usually associated with chro...

From the Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Mason is now in El Macero, California. Dr. Roberts is now with the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. Corresponding author: Dean T. Mason, MD, 44725 Country Club Drive, El Macero, California 95618. Nonpenetrating trauma to the chest often results in injury to ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of plaque erosion as a substrate for coronary thrombosis. DESIGN Pathological study in patients with acute myocardial infarction not treated with thrombolysis or coronary interventional procedures. PATIENTS 298 consecutive patients (189 men, mean (SD) age 66 (11) years; 109 women, 74 (8) years) dying in hospital between 1984 and 1996 from acute myocardia...

BACKGROUND Dendritic cells (DC) play pivotal roles in regulating the immune system and inflammatory response. We previously reported DC infiltration in the infarcted heart and its immunoprotective roles in the post-infarction healing process after experimental myocardial infarction (MI). However, its clinical significance has not been determined. METHODS AND RESULTS The degree of DC infiltrat...