Browsing by Author "Ivanović, Branislava (24169010000)"

Cardiac device–related endocarditis as a device-therapy complication is a growing problem due to higher life expectancy and the increasing number of abandoned leads and subclinical symptoms. We reported a case of a 47-year-old woman with an implanted pacemaker who was admitted to the clinic for cardiology due to the right-sided device-related infective endocarditis of the pacemaker leads with vegetations, predominantly in the right atrium and right ventricle and complicated by pulmonary embolism. Several years after pacemaker implantation, she was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus and started immunosuppressive therapy. The patient was treated with prolonged intravenous antibiotic therapy. The atrial and ventricular lead was extirpated, and the posterior leaflet of the tricuspid valve was shaved. 2023 Šačić, Petrović, Zamaklar-Trifunović and Ivanović.

The aim of the paper was to examine the correlation between the total risk of cardiovascular events, determined by the SCORE (Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation) system, and bone density in postmenopausal women. Examinees and method: The research involved 300 postmenopausal women. On the basis of bone density measurements, the participants were divided into three groups: group I - 84 examinees had osteoporosis, group II - 115 examinees had osteopenia, and group III - 101 examinees had normal bone mineral density (BMD). Results: Participants with high SCORE risk were statistically significantly older compared to low-risk women (60±3 vs. 55±5; p<0.001). They had significantly lower BMD and T scores (-1.09±0.94 vs. -2.86±0.63; p<0.001). Elevation of the SCORE risk by 1% caused a BMD decrease of 0.033 g/cm2(0.029 to 0.036 gr/cm2). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the following factors caused a significant increase in the risk of decreasing BMD: every year of life by 20%, menopause duration by 26%, increase in systolic blood pressure (BP) by 1 mm Hg by 7%, increase in SCORE risk by 1% by 5.31 times, physical inactivity by 5.96 times, and osteoporosis in the family history by 3.91 times. Conclusion: Postmenopausal women who are at high risk for cardiovascular diseases have a lower BMD than those who are not at high risk for cardiovascular diseases. © 2011 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Introduction. Coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) are rare disorders, especially the left main CAA. In the literature, there are several reported cases with CAAs, various localization, size, clinical presentation, and way of treatment. There is no unique consensus about the most adequate treatment for these patients; however, surgery is still preferable, although there are some new experiences of percutaneous treatment. The decision is made for each patient individually. We report a case of giant left main CAA, with acute coronary syndrome and heart failure presentation, surgically treated. Case report. A 66-year-old female patient was admitted to the emergency department of our clinic due to chest pain and dyspnea. Acute non-ST-elevation segment myocardial infarction (STEMI) of anterolateral localization was diagnosed (creatine kinase max 1,111 U/L, troponin T 3.754 ng/mL), complicated with acute heart failure. Heart catheterization and coronary angiography revealed a giant saccular, 3.5 × 3.5 mm left main CAA full with thrombi, compressing the proximal segments of the left anterior descending and circumflex artery. Conclusion. Giant left main CAAs are rare pathologic findings, and there are no established principles for treatment. Although the percutaneous way of treatment is now available in selected cases, the surgical approach is still preferred for these patients. © 2023 Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.

Introduction Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare disease which manifests in different ways. Case Outline We are presenting a female patient who was suspected of IE based on the presence of fever, accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, increased levels of C-reactive protein and echocardiographic findings of filamentous structures on the aortic valve which were assumed to be vegetation. Because of the well-known fact that in the pre-antibiotic era IE was almost always a fatal disease, empirical antibiotic therapy was conducted despite the absence of clear criteria for IE and it resulted in a satisfactory outcome. The course of the disease and the persistence of echocardiographic findings with a completely competent aortic valve, suggested us to consider the diagnosis of Lambl's excrescences. There was no indication for surgical treatment in our patient; so that in the absence of pathological confirmation our diagnostic dilemma was left unresolved. Conclusion In patients with typical clinical features of IE and filamentous structures on the cardiac valves that are completely competent, Lambl's excrescences should be kept in mind as a possible differential diagnosis.

Arterial hypertension is not an independent risk factor in cardiovascular complications in noncardiac surgery. Nevertheless, preoperative evaluation is necessary and includes estimation of arterial hypertension grade and possible damage of target organs. In patients with first and second grade of arterial hypertension postponement of elective intervention is not necessary, only optimization of therapy. On the other hand, patients with third level arterial hypertension have benefit if intervention is postponed till the reduction of arterial pressure. There is no indication that any of the antihypertensive drug groups has advantage in the preoperative treatment of hypertension. Unlike arterial hypertension pulmonary hypertension increases the risk of cardiac morbidity and mortality in the perioperative period. In patients with pulmonary hypertension, anesthesia and surgery may be complicated with heart failure, hypoxia and arrhythmias. Preoperative and postoperative treatments include calcium channel blockers, prostanoids, endothelin receptor antagonists and inhibitors of phosphodiesterase type 5.

Intraoperative bradycardia (IOB) is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias observed in clinical anaesthetic practice. Controlled hypotension, as a strategy of lowering patient’s blood pressure during anesthesia has been practiced for decades in head and neck surgery. The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and the risk factors for intraoperative bradycardia in maxillofacial, ear, nose and throat surgery, as well as to determine whether controlled hypotension affects the occurrence of IOB. The retrospective study included 2304 patients who underwent maxillofacial, ear, nose or throat surgery. We studied the influence of: sex, age, comorbidity, type of surgery, duration of anesthesia and controlled hypotension on the occurrence of IOB. IOB was registered in 473 patients (20.5%). Patients with controlled hypotension had IOB significantly more often than patients without controlled hypotension (33.9 vs 15.1%) (p = 0.000). The significant predictors of IOB were: age (OR = 1.158; 95% CI = 1.068–1.256; p = 0.000), sex (OR = 0.786; 95% CI = 0.623–0.993; p = 0.043), ischemic heart disease (OR = 2.016; 95% CI = 1.182–3.441; p = 0.010); ear surgery (OR = 1.593; 95% CI = 1.232–2.060; p = 0.000), anesthesia duration, (OR = 1.006; 95% CI = 1.004–1.007; p = 0.000) and controlled hypotension (OR = 2.204; 95% CI = 1.761–2.758; p = 0.000). IOB is common in maxillofacial, ear, nose and throat surgery, particularly in male, older age and patients with ishemic heart disease. The ear surgery, longer anesthesia duration and controlled hypotension raise the risk for occurrence of IOB. © 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

A comprehensive understanding of the cardiac structure–function relationship is essential for proper clinical cardiac imaging. This review summarizes the basic heart anatomy and physiology from the perspective of a heart imager focused on myocardial mechanics. The main issues analyzed are the left ventricular (LV) architecture, the LV myocardial deformation through the cardiac cycle, the LV diastolic function basic parameters and the basic parameters of the LV deformation used in clinical practice for the LV function assessment. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

The deleterious effects of free radicals in acute myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion are rather well known. However, the possibility that thrombolysis positively affects the recovery of blood antioxidant capacity in the later postinfarction period, and thus contributes to the better overall outcome of these patients, has not yet been investigated. We followed the time course of erythrocyte antioxidant activity in 45 patients with first acute myocardial infarction (AMI), who were treated with streptokinase. Success of thrombolysis was evaluated by noninvasive clinical signs of reperfusion using continuous vector cardiography. The patients were divided into two groups according to successful or unsuccessful reperfusion. The control group consisted of 24 healthy subjects. Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined immediately after admittance to the hospital (0 hours) and after subsequent thrombolytic therapy (1.5, 6, 12, and 24 hours after initiation of infusion of streptokinase), and 2, 4, and 8 days after AMI. Patients with AMI had decreased antioxidant enzyme activity at the time of admittance to the hospital, showing that the oxidative/antioxidative balance is disturbed early during the ischemic phase of AMI. In AMI patients without successful reperfusion, erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme activity remains low during the postinfarction period of 7 days. It can be concluded that prolonged ischemia reduces antioxidant enzyme activity. AMI patients with successful reperfusion have a significant rise in the activity of antioxidant enzymes within the first hours after thrombolysis, followed by a decrease until the third postinfarction day. During the subsequent postinfarction period, erythrocyte antioxidant activity gradually recovered and reached control levels. These beneficial effects of reperfusion on erythrocyte antioxidant status might contribute to the better overall prognosis of these patients. Copyright © 2004 by the Japanese Heart Journal.

Introduction: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections in the world. Cardiac complications of the disease are usually in the form of endocarditis, and, to a lesser extent, in the form of myopericarditis. Case: We report the case of a 34-year-old female admitted with signs of fever, nausea, and headache. The patient came from Libya, where she drank unpasteurized milk. Whright-Coombs test and blood confirmed Brucella species infection, while transoesophagal echocardiogram revealed a thrombotic mass on the tricuspid valve that required cardiac surgery and antibiotic treatment, leading to complete recovery. The second case was a 37-years-old male admitted with suspected acute coronary syndrome, where further diagnostics excluded occlusions of coronary arteries and found Brucella species infection and signs of myocardial and pericardial involvement that reacted well on treatment (combination of doxycycline and rifampicin). Discussion: Brucellosis is commonly seen in people working with farm animals or using unpasteurized milk but is still often misdiagnosed. Conclusions: Tricuspid valve endocarditis, as well as isolated myopericarditis, are rare complications of Brucellosis, which can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated on time. Copyright © 2024 Šačić et al.

Introduction: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections in the world. Cardiac complications of the disease are usually in the form of endocarditis, and, to a lesser extent, in the form of myopericarditis. Case: We report the case of a 34-year-old female admitted with signs of fever, nausea, and headache. The patient came from Libya, where she drank unpasteurized milk. Whright-Coombs test and blood confirmed Brucella species infection, while transoesophagal echocardiogram revealed a thrombotic mass on the tricuspid valve that required cardiac surgery and antibiotic treatment, leading to complete recovery. The second case was a 37-years-old male admitted with suspected acute coronary syndrome, where further diagnostics excluded occlusions of coronary arteries and found Brucella species infection and signs of myocardial and pericardial involvement that reacted well on treatment (combination of doxycycline and rifampicin). Discussion: Brucellosis is commonly seen in people working with farm animals or using unpasteurized milk but is still often misdiagnosed. Conclusions: Tricuspid valve endocarditis, as well as isolated myopericarditis, are rare complications of Brucellosis, which can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated on time. Copyright © 2024 Šačić et al.