We report a case of hypermagnesemia associated with the use of milk of magnesia in a male patient with end-stage renal disease. After experiencing nausea and vomiting, he developed severe bradycardia and then asystole. Resuscitation efforts were successful; however, he developed atrial fibrillation with severe widening of the QRS and diffuse ST elevation, hypothermia, hypotension and apnoea req...

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy has become a more recognized and reported entity. It can be caused by emotional or physical stress, which causes excessive catecholamine release. Typically, the clinical course is benign with conservative treatment being effective. However, stress-induced cardiomyopathy can be fatal. A 41-year-old female presented with cardiogenic shock followed by sudden back pain...

Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) is widely used in patients with cardiogenic shock. Insufficient decompression of the left ventricle (LV) is considered a major factor preventing adequate LV recovery. A 40-year-old male was diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction, and revascularization was performed using percutaneous stenting. However, cardiogenic shock occurred, an...

Acute right ventricular failure can lead to severe cardiogenic shock and death. Recovery may be achieved with early supportive measures. In many patients, intravenous fluid and inotropic resuscitation is inadequate to improve cardiac output. In these cases, percutaneous mechanical assist may provide a non-surgical bridge to recovery. Herein, we describe a case series of patients with severe, re...

Low-output syndrome is one of the leading causes of death following open-heart surgery or high-risk angioplasty. Ventricular assist devices have been used to treat patients who suffer from postoperative cardiogenic shock despite use of an intraaortic balloon pump and maximum inotropic support. The Impella pump (Impella Cardiosystems AG, Aachen, Germany) is a newly introduced left ventricular as...

We report the clinical case of a 77-years-old woman with cardiogenic shock caused by dynamic left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction that appeared after anterior acute myocardial infarction. Dynamic LVOT obstruction has been reported in various circumstances aside from hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, such as acute myocardial infarction. In a patient with cardiogenic shock and...

Coronary artery disease in the donor heart is an established cause of early graft failure. However, identification of this before implantation is difficult. Cardiogenic shock associated with significant myocardial infarction during the early postoperative period is rare. Here, we report a case of a 42-year-old man who presented acutely with cardiogenic shock; he was supported by short-term extr...

Aluminium phosphide (AlP) is used to kill rodents in grain storage. It produces phosphine gas which is toxic for mitochondria. The exact mechanism of action is unclear, but phosphine is thought to produce toxicity by blocking cytochrome-c oxidase, which inhibits oxidative phosphorylation and result in cell death. This poisoning has a high mortality, and survival is unlikely if more than 1.5 g i...

Aortic valve replacement in the setting of critical aortic valve stenosis with cardiogenic shock is associated with high mortality, yet surgery is the only definitive treatment. We present the case of a patient with critical aortic valve stenosis and cardiogenic shock who received a short period of percutaneous mechanical support and balloon aortic valvuloplasty that resulted in rapid clinical ...