We present a rare complication of cardiac arrest from asystole in the setting of prolonged endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP) procedure. Cardiopulmonary complications of ERCP are rare but can be fatal. Therefore it is essential to closely monitor the patient during ERCP. Immediate access to resuscitation equipment facilitating prompt intervention in the unlikely event of fatal...

Background/Introduction Postoperative coronary artery spasm (CAS) is an infrequent life-threatening event after cardiac surgery. We have suggested to cross clamp aorta for short time and to inject nitrates into the aortic root in case of suspicion of CAS. It enable us to deliver nitrates especially into coronary arteries during operation (patent RU 2552890). Another method is conventional coron...

Aortic dissection is a rare and life-threatening event. While pain is the most common symptom of aortic dissection, it may be absent in ten percent of patients and present with a myriad of symptoms suggestive of a diverse range of other conditions. A high index of clinical suspicion is mandatory for the accurate and rapid diagnosis of aortic dissection. We report a 25-year-old woman with aortic...

Spontaneous aortic rupture, without any history of previous thoracic trauma, infection or acute thoracic pain is an extremely rare and potentially life-threatening event. Its diagnosis, in the absence of acute symptoms, is usually delayed and relies on secondary signs. While the etiology is atherosclerotic in most cases, the exact mechanisms of rupture have only recently been uncovered. Treatme...

Thrombus formation on a disrupted atherosclerotic plaque is a threatening event that leads to vessel occlusion and acute ischemia. In this current perspective, we present evidence for apoptosis as a major determinant of the thrombogenicity of the plaque lipid core and a potential contributor to plaque erosion and associated thrombosis. Moreover, apoptosis may directly affect blood thrombogenici...

1 The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) concept of trauma provides a comprehensive definition: Individual trauma results from an event, series of events or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, ...

Left atrial invasion by lung cancer via haematogenous pathways is a relatively uncommon but potentially life-threatening event. While several cardiac complications of cardiac involvement have been previously described, the evolution towards cerebral stroke has been rarely reported. In this case report, we describe an atypical case of haematogenous metastatic invasion of the left atrium from pul...

Although pericardial cysts are generally benign structures and detected incidentally, they may be associated with life-threatening complications. We present the case of a 24 year-old man with a giant hemorrhagic pericardial cyst diagnosed after evaluation for recurrent syncope which caused compression of the right ventricle. Spontaneous hemorrhage into a pericardial cyst is an extremely rare ev...

BACKGROUND Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis often depends on a retrospective, self-report of exposure to a life-threatening event. AIMS To examine the stability of recalled perceived life threat in a community sample exposed to a distinct stressful event. METHOD Five hundred and thirty-two Norwegian citizens who experienced the 2004 South-East Asia tsunami completed a self-re...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to describe the natural history of asymptomatic ventricular pre-excitation in children and to determine predictors of potentially life-threatening arrhythmic events. BACKGROUND Sudden death can be the first clinical manifestation in asymptomatic children with ventricular pre-excitation, but reduction of its incidence by prophylactic ablation requires the i...