ECG changes in hypomagnesemia: Mechanism
Hypomagnesemia seldom occurs in an isolated situation so that it is difficult to document ECG changes in isolated hypomagnesemia. It is often associated with other electrolyte imbalances like hypokalemia and hypocalcemia which confound the ECG changes. Nevertheless, there have been case reports of isolated hypomagnesemia with ECG changes.
Tsai TF and colleagues in their report of isolated hypomagnesemia [Global T-wave inversions with isolated hypomagnesemia. J Emerg Med. 2013;45:e107-11] noted global T wave inversions and prolonged QTc (corrected QT interval). The person had history of heavy alcohol use and presented with...
Source: Cardiophile MD - December 3, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis, MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: ECG / Electrophysiology Source Type: blogs
Post operative cardiac arrhythmias
Post operative cardiac arrhythmias are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, more so following surgery for congenital heart disease. Tolerability of arrhythmia is less in the postoperative period than for similar arrhythmia in the preoperative period. Hemodynamic instability is more likely due to the possibility of myocardial dysfunction. Cardiopulmonary bypass, injury to the conduction system during surgery, metabolic and electrolyte abnormalities, especially hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia contribute to the increased incidence of postoperative arrhythmias. Stress of the surgery with enhanced sympathetic tone and use ...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 23, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis, MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiac Surgery ECG / Electrophysiology Source Type: blogs
Cardiology MCQ: Hypothermia for post op arrhythmia
Hypothermia for post op arrhythmia is used in case of:
a) Complete heart block
b) Atrial fibrillation
c) Junctional ectopic tachycardia
d) None of the above
Correct answer: c) Junctional ectopic tachycardia
Hypothermia for post op arrhythmia is used in case of junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET). JET is a unique postoperative arrhythmia, especially seen in children after surgery for congenital heart disease and it is often difficult to treat. It is likely to recur after cardioversion as it is due to enhanced automaticity. Sedation and cooling (hypothermia) are helpful.
Postoperative cardiac arrhythmias are a major cause o...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 23, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis, MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance ECG / Electrophysiology Source Type: blogs
Cardiology MCQ 373: Hypothermia for post op arrhythmia
Hypothermia is used for treatment of which post operative arrhythmia?
a) Complete heart block
b) Atrial fibrillation
c) Junctional ectopic tachycardia
d) None of the above
["Click here for the answer with explanation", "Correct Answer:"]
c) Junctional ectopic tachycardia
Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is a unique postoperative arrhythmia, especially in children after cardiac surgery. JET is often difficult to treat. It is likely to recur after cardioversion. Sedation and cooling (hypothermia) are helpful. Read more on post operative cardiac arrhythmias…
The post Cardiology MCQ 373: Hypothermia for post...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 2, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis, MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance ECG / Electrophysiology Source Type: blogs
Cardiology MCQ 372: Hypothermia for post op arrhythmia
Hypothermia is used for treatment of which post operative arrhythmia?
a) Complete heart block
b) Atrial fibrillation
c) Junctional ectopic tachycardia
d) None of the above
["Click here for the answer with explanation", "Correct Answer:"]
c) Junctional ectopic tachycardia
Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is a unique postoperative arrhythmia, especially in children after cardiac surgery. JET is often difficult to treat. It is likely to recur after cardioversion. Sedation and cooling (hypothermia) are helpful. Read more on post operative cardiac arrhythmias…
The post Cardiology MCQ 372: Hypothermia for post...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 2, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis, MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance ECG / Electrophysiology Source Type: blogs
AliveCor Receives FDA Clearance to Detect Atrial Fibrillation
I’ve been using AliveCor for over a year now and I think this is the best device for measuring 1-channel ECG. I’ve been saying that it should soon be available for use for patients as well. See their recent press release for the great news.
AliveCor, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company clearance for its algorithm to detect atrial fibrillation (AFib), the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia. AliveCor’s automated analysis process (algorithm) instantly detects if patients are experiencing AFib through real-time electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings taken ...
Source: ScienceRoll - August 26, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Bertalan Meskó (MD, PhD) Tags: Medicine Medicine 2.0 Technology alivecor device ecg medical device Source Type: blogs
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a potentially life threatening cardiac channelopathy (disease of cardiac ion channel) with propensity for polymorphic (typically bidirectional) ventricular tachycardia with exercise or emotional stress. Various genotypes of CPVT have been described, ranging from CPVT1 to CPVT5. The first one to be described was CPVT1 with mutation in cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2). A review on CPVT: Francis J, Sankar V, Nair VK, Priori SG. Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. Heart Rhythm. 2005;2:550-4.
CPVT1
The gene responsible for CPVT1 is located on c...
Source: Cardiophile MD - August 6, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Electrophysiology Source Type: blogs
Coronary CT (computerised tomography) angiography
Multi slice CT for coronary artery imaging
Multi slice CT (MSCT) scanners are becoming popular as a non-invasive imaging modality for screening coronary artery disease. The era of MSCT started with 4 slice scanners and progressed to the 64 slice MSCT which is commonly used now. 256 slice and 320 slice CT scanners are also being evaluated for clinical use. One of the difficulties with cardiac CT for imaging coronaries is the constant motion of the heart. This can be partly overcome by using ECG gating of the signals. Conventionally this has been done by retrospective ECG gating. This would mean that CT data is acquired thro...
Source: Cardiophile MD - July 25, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiac CT scan 64-Slice computed tomography angiography Cardiac CT images of coronary arteries Coronary CT angiography LAD LCX left anterior descending coronary artery left circumflex coronary artery left main coronary artery LMCA RCA Source Type: blogs
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) : CPVT1, CPVT2, CPVT3, CPVT4 and CPVT5
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a potentially life threatening cardiac channelopathy (disease of cardiac ion channel) with propensity for polymorphic (typically bidirectional) ventricular tachycardia with exercise or emotional stress.
CPVT1
The gene responsible for CPVT1 is located on chromosome 1 (1q43). It is a mutation in the cardiac ryanodine receptor gene (RYR2). The inheritance pattern of CPVT1 is autosomal dominant [Laitinen PJ et al. Mutations of the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) gene in familial polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. Circulation 103: 485-490, 2001].
CPVT2
CPVT2 is...
Source: Cardiophile MD - July 23, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Electrophysiology calmodulin calsequestrin cardiac channelopathy CASQ2 Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia CPVT CPVT1 CPVT2 CPVT3 CPVT4 CPVT5 disease of cardiac ion channel TRDN triadin Source Type: blogs
Rare Diseases Account for Subsets of Common Diseases
In June, 2014, my book, entitled Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs: Keys to Understanding and Treating the Common Diseases was published by Elsevier. The book builds the argument that our best chance of curing the common diseases will come from studying and curing the rare diseases. One of the key messages of the book is that common diseases are complex, with multiple causes, lots of associated gene variations, many different aberrant pathways, and affecting heterogeneous populations (e.g., subsets of people who seem to have clinically distinctive forms of the same disease, or subsets of people who respond quite different...
Source: Specified Life - June 22, 2014 Category: Pathologists Tags: cellular pathways common genetic disease complex diseases disease pathways heterogeneous subsets of disease orphan diseases orphan drugs rare diseases Source Type: blogs
Sleep Apnea in Heart Failure
One of the most common symptoms experienced by people who have heart failure is poor sleep. And, while there are several causes of sleep disorders in heart failure, the most common is sleep apnea - prolonged pauses in breathing during sleep. Sleep apnea causes several problems, including lots of disturbing symptoms related to sleep deprivation, hypertension, and cardiac arrhythmias....Read Full Post (Source: About.com Heart Disease)
Source: About.com Heart Disease - May 9, 2014 Category: Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Most dangerous arrhythmia associated with WPW syndrome
Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome (WPW) is characterized by short PR interval and delta waves on electrocardiogram (ECG) in association with cardiac arrhythmias. The most dreaded arrhythmia in association with WPW syndrome is:
1. Orthodromic atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardia (Orthodromic AVRT)
2. Antidromic atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardia (Antidromic AVRT)
3. Atrial fibrillation
4. Atrial flutter
Correct answer: 3. Atrial fibrillation
Orthodromic AVRT is the commonest arrhythmia in WPW syndrome, while atrial flutter is not an arrhythmia usually associated with WPW syndrome. In orthodromic AVRT, the signal p...
Source: Cardiophile MD - April 17, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance Source Type: blogs
Premature Ventricular Complexes (PVCs)
PVCs are a common form of cardiac arrhythmia, and their significance can be confusing to both patients and their doctors. Read about PVCs, how to tell if they're medically significant, and how they are treated, here. (Source: About.com Heart Disease)
Source: About.com Heart Disease - April 13, 2014 Category: Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, March 12, 2014
From MedPage Today:
Docs Unprepared for Payment Reform. A pair of recent reports call into question the ability of physician practices to embrace health reform efforts.
Even a Few Drinks Tied to Poor Birth Outcomes. Women who consumed low levels of alcohol before conception and during pregnancy were more likely to have adverse birth outcomes such as low birth centile, low birth weight, and premature birth than nondrinkers.
Can Antibiotics Trigger Arrhythmias?. Azithromycin and levofloxacin were both associated with elevated risks of death and serious cardiac arrhythmias during standard lengths of prescription.
HIV: More ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 12, 2014 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Heart Infectious disease OB/GYN Source Type: blogs
Biosense Webster’s THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH Ablation Catheter With Force Sensing Technology FDA Approved
Catheter ablation procedures to treat cardiac arrhythmias are delicate procedures requiring the surgeon to ablate just enough, but not too much of offending tissue. This is typically done by measuring the changing ECG and impedance, indicators that don’t provide a direct indication of how the catheter is affecting cardiac tissue.
Biosense Webster just received FDA approval to offer physicians in the U.S. the only ablation catheter that provides real-time contact force information where the tip meets cardiac tissue. The THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH catheter is paired with the company’s CARTO 3 System that delivers th...
Source: Medgadget - February 27, 2014 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: Cardiology Source Type: blogs
