A recently reported cardiac syndrome of transient left ventricular dysfunction, clinically resembles acute myocardial infarction and presents with chest pain, ECG changes and minimal elevation of cardiac enzymes in absence of myocardial ischemia or injury. The clinical presentation includes a wide range of symptoms and left ventricular function is normalized completely within days to weeks. This syndrome is likely a non-ischemic, metabolic-dependent syndrome caused by stress-induced activation of the cardiac adrenoreceptors. We report three cases of stress-induced transient LV dysfuction.
Cardiomyopathies* ; Chest Pain ; Electrocardiography ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left ; Ventricular Function, Left

Atrial aneurysms involving the free wall or atrial appendage are very rare intracardiac anomalies, less than 100 case reported worldwide. It is usually detected by chance and also could be associated with atrial arrhythmias or systemic embolism. Transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac MRI is the standard diagnostic modality. Aneurysmectomy is usually recommended especially in symptomatic cases. We review the literature and report a case of atrial appendiceal aneurysm, a 23 year-old young man whose diagnosis was established with transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac CT angiography.
Aneurysm* ; Angiography ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Atrial Appendage* ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Embolism ; Heart Aneurysm ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Echocardiography ; Hepatopulmonary Syndrome*

We report a case of a distal seeding of invasive thymoma at descending abdominal aortic wall. It is relatively common that direct extension of invasive thymoma into the adjacent great arteries and veins. But distal seeding of invasive thymoma is extremely rare. We found abnormal mass at abdominal aortic wall incidentally during routine transthoracic echocardiography. Operation of aortic segment replacement and mass removal was carried out. Histological evaluation of mass found invasive thymoma.
Aorta ; Arteries ; Echocardiography ; Thymoma* ; Veins

Congenital right ventricular diverticulum is extremely rare and is associated with other congenital cardiac anomalies. It functionally behaves like an accessory ventricular chamber which contracts synchronously with the normal ventricles. Only dozens of patients with right ventricular diverticulum have been reported in literature worldwide and one case in Korea. An apical right ventricular diverticulum occurs in patients with thoracoabdominal midline defects or abnormalities of the cardiac position. However, an antero-superior diverticulum is usually associated with other congenital cardiac defects, such as a ventricular septal defect, tetralogy of Fallot, double outlet right ventricle, and pulmonary stenosis. We report a 69-year-old woman with a congenital right ventricular diverticulum without associated cardiac anomalies. The right ventricular diverticulum was diagnosed by echocardiography, right ventriculography, and cardiac MRI.
Adult* ; Aged ; Diverticulum* ; Double Outlet Right Ventricle ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Korea ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Pulmonary Valve Stenosis ; Tetralogy of Fallot

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Stress induced cardiomyopathy has been reported as reversible left ventricular dysfunction with electrocardiographic changes. Although the exact mechanism of this dysfunction has not been clarified, catecholamine "surge" is suspected as a potential cause of this disease. It has not been undergone the studies about the effect of chronic or recurrent psychological stress on the myocardium. We suspect that reversible ischemic change of myocardium could be induced by chronic or recurrent emotional stress. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The clinical, echocardiographic and angiographic data of 189 patients (72 women) who presented with ischemic symptoms and eletrocardiographic changes were participated. BAI (Beck anxiety inventory) and BDI (Beck Depression inventory) were obtained and analyzed for evaluation of degree of psychological stress. RESULTS: 54 patients who had left ventricular apical wall motion abnormalities without significant angiographical stenosis in the coronary artery were younger than the others with left ventricular wall motion abnormalities and angiographic stenosis. And they increased the BAI and BDI as tools of evaluation of psychological stress (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Data of this study suggested that psychological stress can be associated with myocardial dysfunction. It can be postulated that psychological stress should be considered as one of the cause of non-coronary myocardial injury.
Anxiety ; Cardiomyopathies ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Vessels ; Depression ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Ventricles* ; Humans ; Myocardium ; Stress, Psychological ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left

OBJECTS: Atherosclerosis is closely related with the coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral arterial disease. Recently, It was revealed that a common cause of death in Korea is cardiovascular disease, like a western country. So the early detection of atherosclerosis and prevention of atherosclerosis is very important aspect. There are several methods to evaluate the early atherosclerosis. Among them, flow mediated vasodilation of brachial artery and intima-media thickness of carotid artery are commonly used surrogate marker of early atherosclesrosis. The aim of this article is to review published papers how we can apply these methods to assess the early atherosclerosis. METHOD AND RESULT: In medline search, seventy four articles were selected to review the method and clinical application of these two methods. Most of these papers were from peer reviewed journals. CONCLUSION: Flow-mediated vasodilation and the measurement of intima-media thickness of carotid artery were very useful and important methods to detect early atherosclerosis. and also to evaluate the clinical efficacy of various kinds of intervention to assess the vascular function and structure.
Atherosclerosis* ; Biomarkers ; Brachial Artery ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Carotid Arteries ; Cause of Death ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Korea ; Peer Review ; Peripheral Arterial Disease ; Ultrasonography* ; Vasodilation

The cardiomyopathies constitute a group of diseases in which the dominant feature is direct involvement of the heart muscle itself. They are distinctive because they are not the result of pericardial, hypertensive, congenital, valvular, or ischemic diseases. Although the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy requires the exclusion of these etiological factors, the features of cardiomyopathy are often sufficiently distinctive-both clinically and hemodynamically-to allow a definitive diagnosis to be made. With increasing awareness of this condition, along with improvements in diagnostic techniques, cardiomyopathy is being recognized as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Whether the result of improved recognition or of other factors, the incidence and prevalence of cardiomyopathy appear to be increasing. A variety of schemes have been proposed for classifying the cardiomyopathies. The most widely recognized classification is that promulgated jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Society and Federation of Cardiology (ISFC). In the WHO/ISFC classification, the cardiomyopathies are classified based on their predominant pathophysiological features; other diseases that affect the myocardium that are associated with a specific cardiac disorder or are part of a generalized systemic disorder are termed specific cardiomyopathies. Three basic types of functional impairment have been described: 1) dilated (DCM, formerly called congestive), the most common form, accounting for 60 percent of all cardiomyopathies and characterized by ventricular dilatation, contractile dysfunction, and often symptoms of congestive heart failure; 2) hypertrophic (HCM), recognized by inappropriate left ventricular hypertrophy, often with asymmetrical involvement of the interventricular septum, with preserved or enhanced contractile function until late in the course; and 3) restrictive (RCM), the least common form in western countries, marked by impaired diastolic filling and in some cases with endocardial scarring of the ventricle. Two other forms of cardiomyopathy are recognized: arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and unclassified; the latter includes fibroelastosis, systolic dysfunction with minimal dilatation, and mitochondrial involvement. The distinction between the three major functional categories is not absolute, and often there is overlap; in particular, patients with HCM also have increased wall stiffness as a consequence of the myocardial hypertrophy and thus present some of the features of an RCM. Late in their course, ventricular dilation and systolic heart failure, bearing some resemblance to DCM, may occur. The aim of this review is to introduce the unusual forms of cardiomyopathy with the current literatures in this field.
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia ; Cardiology ; Cardiomyopathies* ; Cicatrix ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Dilatation ; Heart Failure ; Heart Failure, Systolic ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Incidence ; Mortality ; Myocardium ; Prevalence ; World Health Organization

Rupture of the interventricular septum is a serious complication of acute myocardial infarction, accounting for 5% of death due to acute myocardial infarction. The mortality with medical therapy alone exceeds 90%. Accurate diagnosis, urgent management, and early operative correction are necessary for survival. We report cases of 3 patients with ventricular septal rupture after acute myocardial infarction.
Diagnosis ; Humans ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Rupture ; Ventricular Septal Rupture*

Double-chambered right ventricle (DCRV) is a congenital cardiac anomaly in which the right ventricle is divided into two chambers by anomalous hypertrophied muscle bundles that cross the right ventricular cavity. DCRV may be associated with other congenital cardiac anomalies, most commonly with ventricular septal defect. We report two cases of DCRV without other congenital cardiac anomalies with review of literatures. We performed echocardiography, cardiac catheterization and right ventricular angiogram to confirm the diagnosis.
Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Heart Ventricles*