Echocardiography

Sickle cell anemia is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder that affects red blood cells. The sickle cell gene inherited form both parents causes the production of structurally abnormal hemoglobin, clinical known as hemoglobin S, which cluster together, causing red blood cells to become rigid and develop a crescent shape. These sickled cells become trapped in small blood vessel and block them, reducing blood and oxygen flow in many parts of the body, and leading to tissue and organ damage.…

Ultrasound in Patients with Ebstein’s Anomaly Ebstein’s Anomaly of the tricuspid valve is a disease close to my heart, because I was diagnosed with it at birth and it has been a part of my life and a factor of inspiration toward the field of medical imaging. It has affected my health negatively, yet affected my life positively. I have seen every test and imaging modality involving this condition and its understanding. Ebstein’s anomaly is a congenital heart defect that counts for less than 1% of…

Capecitabine, an oral 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) analogue, is a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent (antimetabolite) of the pyrimidine analogue family. It is a basic cytostatic agent used in therapy of solid gastrointestinal cancers (as adjuvant therapy as well as in treatment of metastatic disease); besides, it is also widely used in therapy of metastatic breast cancer. Myocardial infarction is a rare adverse effect related to capecitabine therapy. We present case report of a female patient with no…

Coarctation of the Aorta Coarctation of the aorta is a congenital defect that can occur in infants. A congenital defect is present at birth and may or may not be discovered before delivery. Once discovered, management of the condition and treatment must begin immediately. Etiology Coarctation of the aorta presents as a narrowing of the aorta near the heart. Specifically, near where the ductus arteriosus joins the heart. Because this narrowing occurs distal to the vessels that supply blood…

The anesthesiologist profession is intriguing because it stands out from other health professions. It is a more specialized, critical, and high-pressure job, but still different from what a surgeon does. I thoroughly enjoyed AP Chemistry in high school, where we had labs and studied various topics including mixing of beakers and equilibrium charts, but I realize this is only a taste of what anesthesiology is. I wanted to learn more about it through interviewing a veteran anesthesiologist from my…

Everyone knows regular, daily exercise is beneficial to the heart. It helps reduce the risk of heart disease, maintains a healthy body weight, lowers blood pressure, and improves cholesterol. A difference of appearance can be identified between the hearts of people who exercise routinely and those of highly trained athletes. Athletic hearts undergo cardiac remodeling of chambers and physiological changes as a result of extreme conditions placed on the heart over a long period of time. The heart…

At this moment, this young boy fits the diagnosis of Normocytic anemia with increased red cell production along with leukopenia. The patient presents with symptoms consistent with severe anemia including of pallor, fatigue, tachycardia, tachypnea, and hypotension. The patient’s new systolic ejection murmur is most likely related to increased semilunar flow due to the anemia. The recent throat infection and subsequent antibiotic treatment are the most probable cause of these symptoms. The…

This presentation will summarize what Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is, so the patient and family will have a better understanding of the disease. Coronary Artery Disease is thought to “begin in early childhood and is evident in the teenage years” (http://www.heart.org/). The plaque keeps building up each year and stays with a person for life. As a person ages the risks of coronary artery disease becomes higher with the type of lifestyle a person chooses. “The leading causes of CAD are “high…

Effect of chronic chest diseases on right ventricle I. Effects of chronic chest disease on right heart structure and function In patients with restrictive lung disease, right ventricular hypertrophy was estimated to be present in 50% of them (Figure15) (Shivkumaret al., 1994). Despite these changes in the structure of the right ventricle, myocardial systolic function is generally conserved in pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic lung disease (Vizza et al., 1998).…

ENDOCRINAL GLANDS Patients with anorexia nervosa have a number of abnormalities in endocrine function. Secretion rates of cortisol are generally elevated,and metabolic clearance rates are decreased, with the result that the half-life of cortisol may be prolonged in malnourished individuals. The clinical significance of this elevated cortisol level is unknown, but it may be involved with loss of bone density in anorexia nervosa(Lo Sauro et al., 2008). Alterations in growth hormone are also…