Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: There are conflicting data on the incidence of ischemia by stress echocardiography in patients referred for dyspnea without accompanying chest pain. METHODS: A total of 311 consecutive patients with exertional dyspnea (without chest pain) referred to the echocardiography lab for ischemia evaluation from August 2008 to March 2012 were evaluated. Exercise by Bruce protocol or dobutamine stress echocardiography was performed. Resting left ventricular ejection fraction and segmental wall motion abnormalities were assessed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of ischemia on stress echocardiography. RESULTS: The mean age was 61 years (range, 20-96 years), with 196 women (63%). Exercise stress was performed in 114 patients (37%); the rest of the patients underwent dobutamine stress. The patient population had a high burden of obesity, diastolic dysfunction, and pulmonary hypertension. Thirty patients (10%) had evidence of stress-induced ischemia (nine [8%] with exercise and 21 [11%] with dobutamine). In multivariate analysis, male gender (odds ratio, 2.8; P = .03), history of coronary artery disease (odds ratio, 3.5; P = .02), and resting wall motion abnormalities (odds ratio, 16.6; P < .01) were independent predictors of inducible ischemia. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of stress-induced ischemia is low in patients referred for stress echocardiography with exertional dyspnea (without chest pain). Ischemia is more likely to be present in men with histories of coronary artery disease and resting wall motion abnormalities.

Subacute (medical) tamponade develops over a period of days or even weeks. Previous studies have shown that subacute tamponade is uncommonly associated with hypotension. On the contrary, many of those patients are indeed hypertensive at initial presentation. We sought to determine the prevalence and predictors of hypertensive cardiac tamponade and hemodynamic response to pericardial effusion drainage. We conducted a retrospective study of patients who underwent pericardial effusion drainage for subacute pericardial tamponade. Diagnosis of pericardial tamponade was established by the treating physician based on clinical data and supportive echocardiographic findings. Patients were defined as hypertensive if initial systolic blood pressure (BP) was >/=140 mm Hg. Thirty patients with subacute tamponade who underwent pericardial effusion drainage were included in the analysis. Eight patients (27%) were hypertensive with a mean systolic BP of 167 compared to 116 mm Hg in 22 nonhypertensive patients. Hypertensive patients with tamponade were more likely to have advanced renal disease (63% vs 14%, p <0.05) and pre-existing hypertension (88% vs 46, p <0.05) and less likely to have systemic malignancy (0 vs 41%, p <0.05). Systolic BP decreased significantly in patients with hypertensive tamponade after pericardial effusion drainage. Those results are consistent with previous studies with an estimated prevalence of hypertensive tamponade from 27% to 43%. In conclusion, a hypertensive response was observed in approximately 1/3 of patients with subacute pericardial tamponade. Relief of cardiac tamponade commonly resulted in a decrease in BP.

In this case, uncharacteristic clinical and laboratory findings led to an unanticipated diagnosis for a 24-year-old woman admitted for new-onset heart failure with features suggesting cardiac tamponade. Concomitant diagnosis of progressive mixed connective tissue disease associated with severe hypothyroidism was made. Despite early recognition (based on clinical and pathologic features) and rapid management (with glucocorticoids, thyroxine, metoprolol, lisinopril, furosemide, and milrinone), she deteriorated and died within 4 weeks.

BACKGROUND: Subacute pericardial tamponade can present without signs of cardiogenic shock. Symptoms and signs lack both sensitivity and specificity. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study in consecutive hospitalized patients with moderate-to-large pericardial effusion who had no evidence of hemodynamic compromise upon admission. Patients with pericardial effusion drained for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes served as cases, and patients who were not drained served as controls. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were obtained by retrospective chart review. Echocardiograms were reviewed by 2 independent observers. Pericardial effusion scoring index was calculated for each patient based on effusion size, echocardiographic assessment of hemodynamics, and clinical factors. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients were included in the study: 27(56%) patients had pericardial effusion drained and 21(44%) had clinical follow-up without drainage. Pericardial effusion drainage was surgical in 60% of the cases with the mean time to drainage of 2.5 days. No significant difference was seen between the groups in terms of clinical hemodynamic parameters such as blood pressure or heart rate upon initial presentation. The mean pericardial effusion scoring index was 6.0 for cases and 3.3 for controls showing a wide separation between the groups (P < 0.01). The area under the curve for receiver operator characteristic was 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.82-1.00). CONCLUSIONS: The pericardial effusion scoring index obtained at the initial presentation in patients without immediate hemodynamic compromise showed a high accuracy in identifying patients who required pericardial effusion drainage downstream.

The diagnosis and management of pericardial disease are very challenging for clinicians. The evidence base in this field is relatively scarce compared with other disease entities in cardiology. In this article, we outline a unified, stepwise pathway-based approach for the management of pericardial disease. We used the "CHASER" acronym to define the entry points into the pathway. These include chest pain, hypotension or arrest, shortness of breath, echocardiographic or other imaging finding of pericardial effusion, and right-predominant heart failure. We propose a score for the assessment of pericardial effusion that is composed of the following 3 parameters: the etiology of the effusion, the size of the effusion, and the echocardiographic assessment of hemodynamic parameters. The score is applied to clinically stable patients with pericardial effusion to quantify the necessity of pericardial effusion drainage. A stepwise, pathway-based approach to the management of pericardial disease is intended to provide guidance for clinicians in decision-making and a patient-tailored evidence-based approach to medical and surgical therapy for pericardial disease. The pathway for the management of pericardial disease is the ninth project to be incorporated into the "Advanced Cardiac Admission Program" at Saint Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center of Columbia University in New York. Further studies should focus on the validation of the feasibility, efficacy, and reliability of this pathway.