OBJECTIVE: Radiotherapy-induced malfunction of pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators has been reported, and corresponding guidelines have been developed in various countries. Although several studies have reported the effects of radiotherapy in patients with implantable left ventricular assist device (LVAD), its safety remains unclear. Herein, we report three cases of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) using CyberKnife for early-stage lung cancer in patients with implantable LVAD.
METHODS: Three patients in their 50s or 60s, including two women and one man, who had LVADs due to dilated or ischemic cardiomyopathy and performance status of 0 or 1, were diagnosed with stage IA2 lung cancer (cT1bN0M0) by imaging only. All three patients were deemed inoperable due to cardiac comorbidity and underwent SABR at the Osaka University Hospital. The total radiation dose was 42-52 Gy, administered in four fractions. All treatment plans were designed to keep the LVAD dose below 2 Gy. In all patients, SABR was completed without acute adverse events or LVAD malfunction. During the follow-up period of 3-29 months, no disease progression or chronic adverse events were observed in any of the patients.
CONCLUSIONS: This case series indicated that SABR using CyberKnife is a safe treatment option for early-stage lung cancer in patients with LVAD by reducing the dose to the LVAD.

Fulminant myocarditis has been defined as the clinical manifestation of cardiac inflammation with rapid-onset heart failure and cardiogenic shock. We report on the case of a 17-year-old boy with hemodynamic derangement and cardiac arrest due to fulminant myocarditis. After about 2 h of intensive cardiopulmonary resuscitation, with 13 days of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support, the patient finally bridged to orthotopic heart transplantation. The patient recovered uneventfully and was discharged 37 days after transplantation. The explanted heart revealed diffuse lymphocytic infiltration and myocyte necrosis in all four cardiac chamber walls confirming the diagnosis and identifying the underlying cause of fulminant myocarditis.

We report the case of a 32-year-old man who developed a giant diaphragmatic hernia following the removal of a left ventricular assist device 4 years prior due to improved cardiac function. Chest radiography revealed an intrathoracic prolapse of the gastrointestinal tract. The patient was diagnosed with a diaphragmatic hernia and a laparoscopy-assisted repair was performed. A 12 × 8 cm hernia was found intraoperatively on the left diaphragm, and a large portion of the gastrointestinal tract had prolapsed into the thoracic cavity. We attempted to repair the ventromedial defect using mesh; however, it was found to be insufficient. Therefore, we used a left rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap to fill the defect and sutured it to the mesh. A myocutaneous flap could be a useful strategy in cases where complete closure with mesh is difficult.

With changes in the heart transplant allocation system in the United States, the use of left ventricular device therapy (LVAD) as a bridge to transplant has decreased. Currently, one of the primary reasons to implant a device is for patient support until they can lose weight to qualify for transplant. This paper reviews the outcomes of various weight loss strategies for patients with LVADs including weight reduction surgery and cardiac rehab. Additionally, results of the use of GLP1 agonists on weight loss in general and in heart failure patients is reviewed. Finally, because of the unique issues involving exercise for patients with LVADs, we review safe exercise techniques with instructions for patients.

Right ventricular myocardial work is an echocardiographic technique yielding significant insights into cardiac mechanics, energetics, and efficiency. Combining right ventricular myocardial strain with loading conditions correlates with invasively measured myocardial work and myocardial oxygen consumption. This method has not yet been described intraoperatively by transesophageal echocardiography. We describe this technique during a left ventricular assist device implantation. This case demonstrates that right ventricular myocardial work indices can be monitored intraoperatively and might assist decisions during left ventricular assist device implantation.

BACKGROUND: Following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), surgery for left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) and ventricular septal rupture (VSR) has a high in-hospital mortality rate, which has not improved significantly over time. Unloading the LV is critical to preventing excessive stress on the repair site and avoiding problems such as bleeding, leaks, patch dehiscence, and recurrence of LVFWR and VSR because the tissue is so fragile. We present two cases of patients who used Impella 5.5 for LV unloading following emergency surgery for AMI mechanical complications.
METHODS: A 76-year-old male STEMI patient underwent fibrinolysis of the distal right coronary artery. Three days later, he passed out and went into shock. Echocardiography revealed a cardiac tamponade. We found an oozing-type LVFWR on the posterolateral wall and treated it with a non-suture technique using TachoSil. Before the patient was taken off CPB, Impella 5.5 was inserted into the LV via a 10 mm synthetic graft connected to the right axillary artery. We kept the flow rate above 4.0 to 4.5 L/min until POD 3 to reduce LV wall tension while minimizing pulsatility. On POD 6, we weaned the patient from Impella 5.5. A postoperative cardiac CT scan showed no contrast leakage from the LV. However, a cerebral hemorrhage on POD 4 during heparin administration complicated his hospitalization. Case 2: A diagnosis of cardiogenic shock caused by STEMI occurred in an 84-year-old male patient, who underwent PCI of the LAD with IABP support. Three days after PCI, echocardiography revealed VSR, and the patient underwent emergency VSR repair with two separate patches and BioGlue applied to the suture line between them. Before weaning from CPB, we implanted Impella 5.5 in the LV and added venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) support for right heart failure. The postoperative echocardiography revealed no residual shunt.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing emergency surgery for mechanical complications of AMI may find Impella 5.5 to be an effective tool for LV unloading. The use of VA-ECMO in conjunction with Impella may be an effective strategy for managing VSR associated with concurrent right-sided heart failure.

The large spectrum of etiologies, severities, and histologic appearances of eosinophilic myocarditis (EoM) poses challenges to its diagnosis and management. Endomyocardial biopsy is the current gold standard for diagnosis. However, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging is becoming more frequently used to diagnose acute myocarditis because of enhanced sensitivity when compared to histopathologic examination, and its less invasive nature. We report a complicated case of EoM in a male in his mid-thirties that led to fulminant cardiogenic shock that required immunosuppressive therapy on day 5 of admission and implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) on day 30. EoM was diagnosed on histopathologic examination of the resected fragment of the left ventricular myocardium. Nine months after the initial presentation, the patient ultimately required heart transplantation. The explanted heart showed minimal residual interstitial inflammation with evidence of mildly active intimal arteritis and patchy areas of interstitial fibrosis. In this report, we describe our patient\'s clinical features and correlate them with imaging and histopathologic findings to illustrate the difficulty in diagnosing EoM, particularly in this complicated patient that ultimately required heart transplantation. The diagnosis can be challenging due to the variable histopathologic features, clinical presentation, and utilization of therapeutic medications and devices.

BACKGROUND: The implantation of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) as a bridge to transplantation or as destination therapy in end-stage heart failure patients is frequently complicated by the emergence of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs). These arrhythmias have been implicated in precipitating deleterious clinical outcomes, increased mortality rates and augmented healthcare expenditures.
METHODS: We present a challenging case of a 49-year-old male with a history of dilated cardiomyopathy who received an LVAD. Post-implantation, the patient suffered from intractable VAs, leading to multiple rehospitalizations and hemodynamic deterioration. Despite exhaustive medical management and electrical cardioversion attempts, the patient\'s VAs persisted, ultimately necessitating prioritization for cardiac transplantation.
CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights the challenges in managing VAs in LVAD patients and the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration. While pharmacological intervention is the initial strategy, catheter ablation may be considered in selected cases when medication is insufficient. In instances of intractable VAs, expeditious listing for heart transplantation as a high-priority candidate is advisable when feasible.

This case report describes the exercise program on a hospitalized 54-year-old male patient with cardiogenic shock waiting for a heart transplant assisted by an intra-aortic balloon pump, a temporary mechanical circulatory support device. The temporary mechanical circulatory support device, an intra-aortic balloon pump, was placed in the left subclavian artery, enabling the exercise protocol. Measurements and values from Swan-Ganz catheter, blood sample, brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), as well as the six-minute walk test (6MWT) and venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) were obtained before and after an exercise protocol. The exercise training protocol involved the use of an unloaded bed cycle ergometer once a day, for a maximum of 30 minutes, to the tolerance limit. No adverse events or events related to the dislocation of the intra-aortic balloon pump were observed during the exercise protocol. The exercise program resulted in higher SvO2 levels, with an increased 6MWT with lower Borg dyspnea scores (312 meters vs. 488 meters and five points vs. three points, respectively). After completing the ten-day exercise protocol, the patient underwent a non-complicated heart transplant surgery and a full recovery in the ICU. This study showed that exercise is a feasible option for patients with cardiogenic shock who are using an intra-aortic balloon pump and that it is well-tolerated with no reported adverse events.
O presente relato de caso descreve o programa de exercícios aplicado a um paciente do sexo masculino, de 54 anos, internado com choque cardiogênico, aguardando transplante cardíaco e assistido por balão intra-aórtico, um dispositivo de suporte circulatório mecânico temporário. O dispositivo de suporte circulatório mecânico temporário, um balão intra-aórtico, foi colocado na artéria subclávia esquerda, possibilitando o protocolo de exercícios. Antes e após um protocolo de exercícios, foram obtidos dados a partir de cateter de Swan-Ganz, amostra de sangue, peptídeo natriurético cerebral (NT-proBNP), proteína C reativa de alta sensibilidade (PCR-as), teste de caminhada de seis minutos (TC6min) e medição da saturação venosa de oxigênio (SvO2). O protocolo de treinamento físico envolveu a utilização de um cicloergômetro adaptado ao leito, sem carga, uma vez ao dia, por no máximo 30 minutos, até o limite da tolerância. Não foram observados eventos adversos tampouco relacionados ao deslocamento do balão intra-aórtico durante o protocolo de exercícios. O programa de exercícios resultou em maior SvO2 com aumento do TC6min e menores escores de dispneia de Borg (312 metros vs. 488 metros e cinco pontos vs. três pontos, respectivamente). Após completar o protocolo de exercícios de dez dias, o paciente foi submetido a uma cirurgia de transplante cardíaco sem complicações e recuperação total na UTI. O presente estudo demonstrou que o exercício é uma opção viável para pacientes com choque cardiogênico em uso de balão intra-aórtico e que é bem tolerado, além de não haver relatos de eventos adversos.

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