Rivaroxaban is a new oral anticoagulant used for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. Hemorrhagic pericarditis is known to occur with rivaroxaban; however, only a few case reports in the literature describe such events. Recently, we experienced hemorrhagic pericarditis that treated with rivaroxaban for anticoagulation of newly diagnosed, non valvular AF patients with pacemaker. An 83 year old male with permanent pacemaker receiving rivaroxaban 20 mg daily once for 3 months presented at our emergency department complaining of exertional dyspnea. ECG showed intermittent atrial pacing failure and echocardiography showed large amount of pericardial effusion. After urgent pericardiocentesis, which resulted in removal of 500cc bloody fluid, there was an immediate and dramatic improvement in the patient's clinical state. He was discharged without anticoagulation therapy due to concern for further bleeding. This case highlight the potential for bleeding complications associated with novel anticoagulants. Rivaroxaban is being used with increasing frequently in outpatient care. However, no available laboratory test specifically measures the anticoagulant effect of rivaroxaban. Also, in the events of serious bleeding, no specific antidotes, reversal agents were available. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of hemopericardium in patients treated with anticoagulants, including rivaroxaban who presented with cardiomegaly.
Ambulatory Care ; Anticoagulants ; Antidotes ; Atrial Fibrillation* ; Cardiomegaly ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Pericardial Effusion ; Pericardiocentesis ; Pericarditis* ; Rivaroxaban* ; Stroke

Acute myocardial infarction is a rare but potentially lethal complication of systemic lupus erythematosus. There are several proposed mechanisms for acute myocardial infarction in lupus patients: atherosclerosis and endothelial injury leading to plaque rupture, coronary vasculitis and inflammation of the vessel wall causing aneurismal dilatation or spasm, and acute thrombosis and embolism. We report a-37-year-old man with systemic lupus erythematosus who developed myocardial infarction twice. Potential mechanisms for acute myocardial infarction for this patient are discussed in this report.
Atherosclerosis ; Dilatation ; Embolism and Thrombosis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Male* ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention* ; Rupture ; Spasm ; Vasculitis

Drug-eluting stents (DES) have gained great popularity because of extraordinarily low rates of restenosis. Despite these superior clinical outcomes, several cases regarding the severe multi-vessel coronary spasm, although rare, after the placement of first generation DES have been reported. We report a case of severe, multi-vessel coronary spasm that occurred two occasions after placement of a zotarolimus-eluting stent, one of the second generation DES, in a 42-year-old man with unstable angina. The first incidence was relieved by intracoronary nitroglycerin alone, and second incident, which had combined fixed stenosis was treated with intracoronary nitroglycerin and everolimus-eluting stent.
Angina, Unstable ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Vessels ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Humans ; Incidence ; Nitroglycerin ; Spasm ; Stents

An aneurysm of the subclavian artery is rare. Recently, we experienced a case of a ruptured subclavian artery aneurysm presenting as hemoptysis. The patient had experienced atypical chest discomfort, and computed tomography (CT) revealed a small aneurysm of the left subclavian artery (SCA). Hemoptysis occurred 2 weeks later. Follow-up CT showed a ruptured aneurysm at the proximal left SCA. Endovascular treatment with a graft stent was performed by bilateral arterial access with a 12-Fr introducer sheath placed via cutdown of the left axillary artery and an 8-Fr sheath in the right femoral artery. A self-expandable Viabahn covered stent measuring 13x5 mm was introduced retrogradely via the left axillary sheath and was positioned under contrast guidance with an 8-Fr JR4 guide through the femoral sheath. After the procedure, hemoptysis was not found, and the 3-month follow-up CT showed luminal patency of the left proximal SCA and considerable reduction of the hematoma.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, Ruptured ; Axillary Artery ; Femoral Artery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoma ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Phenobarbital ; Stents ; Subclavian Artery ; Thorax ; Transplants

The present study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and 1-year outcomes of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients without significant stenosis on a coronary angiogram comparison with the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with significant coronary artery stenosis. A total of 1,220 patients with AMI were retrospectively classified into Group I (> or =50% diameter stenosis, n=1,120) and Group II (<50%, n=100). Group II was further divided into two subgroups according to the underlying etiology: cryptogenic (Group II-a, n=54) and those with possible causative factors (Group II-b, n=46). Patients in Group II were younger, were more likely to be women, and were less likely to smoke and to have diabetes mellitus than were patients in Group I. The levels of cardiac enzymes, LDL-cholesterol levels, and the apo-B/A1 ratio were lower in Group II. However, 1-month and 12-month rates of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were not significantly different between the two groups. The Group II-b subgroup comprised 29 patients with vasospasm, 11 with myocardial bridge, and 6 with spontaneous thrombolysis. Left ventricular ejection fraction and creatinine clearance were lower and levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were higher in Group II-a than in Group II-b. However, outcomes including MACE and mortality at 12 months were not significantly different between the two subgroups. The 1-year outcomes of patients in Group II were similar to those of patients in Group I. The clinical outcomes in Group II-a were also similar to those of Group II-b, although the former group showed higher levels of NT-proBNP and hs-CRP.
C-Reactive Protein ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Stenosis ; Creatinine ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Female ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Peptide Fragments ; Retrospective Studies ; Smoke ; Stroke Volume