Atrial Fibrillation

Deep venous thrombosis as a complication of leiomyoma uteri is rare and only a few cases have been reported to date.

Persons with primary hyperaldosteronism and hypertension are at significantly increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. But if these patients are treated with spironolactone and reach target blood pressure, their CV outcomes are the same as those of others with essential hypertension after 6.5 years of follow-up.

The key diagnostic considerations hypokalemia, periodic paralysis, and ischemia should lead the assessment of a patient with acute generalized weakness.

A 22-year follow-up of the SHEP study cohort showed that each month of active treatment with chlorthalidone was associated with a 1-day extension of life.

The 2012 ADA/EASD Position Statement prescribes patient-centered care for type 2 diabetes management using lifestyle change, metformin, DPP-4Is, GLP-1 RAs.

Also known as “broken-heart syndrome,” Takotsubo syndrome is a stress-induced cardiomyopathy.

What newer options are available to lower blood pressure in resistant hypertension? What about renal sympathetic denervation?

Is a patient's disorientation associated with arrhythmia?

During my residency in medicine, and for a generation after, ß-blockers were among first choices for lowering blood pressure. Now it seems that ß-blockers have evolved into disreputable antihypertensives. What’s changed over a generation?

An 86-year-old woman presented with a 1-week history of worsening dyspnea, wheezing, and orthopnea. She denied chest pain, cough, or fever. She did not smoke cigarettes. Her oxygen saturation was 86% on 2 L/min via nasal cannula.

Gout, once considered a disease of kings, is now a common and equal opportunity disease that affects as many as 3 million people in the US. Gouty arthritis has now become a serious problem in organ transplant recipients; in diuretic users; and in patients with CKD, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, heart failure, plus more.

The authors’ opening salvo seems to say it all (again). . . “A patient’s nocturnal BP profile, without the pressor effect of physical activity, emotional stress, and environmental factors that are usually present during the day, is more representative of the true BP status and a stronger predictor of cardiovascular outcomes.”

A 54-year-old man presented to the ED with palpitations identified as atrial flutter and RVR. Medical history included stage IV renal-cell carcinoma, end-stage COPD, NYHA class IV heart failure, and recent pulmonary embolism. A CT scan of the thorax was ordered.

A 26-year-old man presented with sudden onset of palpitations and shortness of breath after incidentally taking tadalafil. He had no other symptoms and no history of illnesses during childhood. He drank socially but denied smoking and use of illicit drugs.

A 38-year-old man with a history of alcoholism, intravenous drug use, and cerebrovascular accident was referred for assessment of possible endocarditis, based on history, fever 39 °C (102.9 °F) and mildly elevated troponin level.

For years, GI toxicity and risk of bleeding were the issues of most concern when deciding to prescribe an NSAID. The cardiac effects associated with these drugs were considered a positive in that least some have been shown to provide prophylaxis against myocardial infarction.

A 41-year-old woman came to the emergency department complaining of pain in the lower right portion of her abdomen that had become steadily worse over the past 2 days.

A 48-year-old African American man with no significant medical history sustained a gunshot wound to the face and shoulder.

A review of 140 trials and 26 observational studies supports metformin as the best first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes in adults, both stand-alone and in combination with other medications. But second-line treatments are still a judgment call.

An 88-year-old man presents with a 2-month history of a non-healing ulcer on his right lower limb.

Cirrhosis and ascites developed in a 52-year-old man with a history of chronic hepatitis C and alcohol abuse. He was hospitalized because of bleeding esophageal varices, which were successfully treated with elastic band ligation.

Exercising at least 4 times a week can increase left ventricular mass and preserve elasticity, thereby reducing the risk of diastolic heart failure. Researchers from Texas presented their study results at the American College of Cardiology’s 60th Annual Scientific Session.

Here: a succinct review of the diagnosis and treatment of pemphigus vulgaris, dermatomyositis, cicatricial pemphigoid, linear IgA bullous disease, coma bullae, and stasis bullae.

A Danish study found no clinical benefit from using NT-proBNP (b-type natriuretic peptide) to identify and monitor high-risk patients with chronic heart failure, according to research from the NorthStar study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 60th Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans.