Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Two patients, a 72-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman, presented with severe pain in the lower back and abdomen, respectively, accompanied by acute dyspnoea. One patient presented additionally with a palpable pulsatile abdominal mass and a continuous harsh bruit. He subsequently developed massive haemoptysis and went into deep shock. The second patient presented with peripheral cyanosis and a loud systolic heart murmur. She developed increasing respiratory distress and was maximally supported in the intensive care unit. Further investigation revealed acute left-to-right shunting based on rupture of an aortic aneurysm into the venous system in both patients; in the first this was into the V. cava inferior and in the second this was into the right atrium. In both patients, high-output heart failure was present. Acute right heart failure due to a fistula between the aorta and the venous system is a life-threatening and rapidly worsening haemodynamic disturbance. The diagnosis is not difficult but the condition is rare. In some cases, the patient's survival can be achieved by prompt diagnosis followed by operative closure of the fistula.
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PMID:[Acute right heart failure due to aortic aneurysm: 2 patients with an aortocaval shunt]. 1223 63

Computed tomographic (CT) pulmonary angiography has been established as a first-line diagnostic technique in patients suspected of having pulmonary embolism. Risk stratification is important in patients with pulmonary embolism because optimal management, monitoring, and therapeutic strategies depend on the prognosis. Acute right-sided heart failure is known to be responsible for circulatory collapse and death in patients with severe pulmonary embolism. Acute right-sided heart failure can be assessed at CT pulmonary angiography by measuring the dimensions of right-sided heart cavities or upstream venous structures, such as the superior vena cava or azygos vein. The magnitude of pulmonary embolism can be calculated at CT pulmonary angiography by applying angiographic scores adapted for CT (Miller and Walsh scores) or dedicated CT scores (Qanadli and Mastora scores). The advent of CT pulmonary angiography performed with electrocardiographic gating permits new advances in assessment of acute right-sided heart failure, such as measurement of the ventricular ejection fraction. Although such findings may be useful for assessment of treatment effectiveness, their effect on prognosis in patients with severe pulmonary embolism is debated in the literature.
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PMID:Can CT pulmonary angiography allow assessment of severity and prognosis in patients presenting with pulmonary embolism? What the radiologist needs to know. 1641 40