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Segmental renal hypoplasia or Ask-Upmark kidney is an extremely rare anomaly that induces severe arterial hypertension in young patients. Two new cases of this entity are presented respectively in a 39 and 31 years old women who are admitted for hematuria, elevated blood pressure level and flank pain. Surgical treatment of the hypoplasia kidney permitted successful treatment of the high blood pressure with preservation of renal function and flank pain. In view of the literature, the authors discuss the pathogenic, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of this condition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A letter to the editor is presented concerning the implementation of an "in-house" polymerised chain reaction (PCR) assay validation for the detection of hepatitis C virus RNA.

Introduction and Importance: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare cause of acute coronary syndromes not related to atherosclerosis. It involves the sudden tearing of the coronary artery wall, separating the inner intimal lining from the outer vessel wall, typically affecting a single coronary vessel. In 20% of cases, the cause of spontaneous coronary artery dissection is unknown. The other cases often occur in pregnant or postpartum women or in individuals with conditions such as connective tissue disorders or vasculitis., Case Presentation: Here, we describe a case of a 69-year-old African female presenting with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography revealed an unusual triple-vessel spontaneous coronary artery dissection affecting peripheral segments, with further investigations suggesting polyarteritis nodosa., Conclusion: While triple-vessel spontaneous coronary artery dissection and polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) are individually rare, their coexistence is exceptionally uncommon and presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Clinicians should be alert to vasculitic causes in patients with spontaneous coronary artery dissection, especially with atypical clinical features., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Acromegalic cardiomyopathy is a significant cardiovascular complication associated with acromegaly, caused by excessive growth hormone production from a pituitary adenoma. Early diagnosis can be challenging due to its insidious nature. This case underscores the critical significance of timely medical intervention, illustrating favorable outcomes resulting from prompt therapeutic measures., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare condition that is frequently under-recognized. It has been connected to several triggers and predisposing factors. Interestingly, hypothyroidism has been linked to a higher likelihood of arterial dissections. We present the case of a 49-year-old woman who was admitted for acute coronary syndrome. Coronary angiography revealed signs of SCAD affecting the distal left anterior descending artery and the right ventricular branch. Additionally, microaneurysms were detected in the distal circumflex artery, the main septal artery, and a branch of the distal right coronary artery. During her hospitalization, a goiter was identified, and further evaluation confirmed autoimmune thyroiditis. The patient was managed with conservative treatment. A follow-up angiogram 6 months later showed that the previously dissected coronary segments and microaneurysms had regressed. This case highlights the possible role of hypothyroidism in increasing risk of SCAD and possibly microaneurysms which has been suggested in only isolated cases in the literature. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of a conservative treatment approach for this condition., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of University of Washington.)

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is characterized by transient left ventricular dysfunction without obstructive coronary artery disease, often mimicking acute coronary syndrome. Its association with diabetes mellitus and arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (AF), suggests potential shared pathophysiological mechanisms. We report the case of a 76-year-old woman with diabetes who developed sudden, severe chest pain and palpitations after cataract surgery. Initial EKG showed ST-segment elevation, and laboratory tests revealed elevated high-sensitivity troponin, inflammatory markers, and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Despite acute coronary syndrome symptoms, coronary angiography showed no significant obstruction. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed left ventricular apical akinesia and a moderately reduced ejection fraction. A cardiac MRI a month later demonstrated complete recovery of left ventricular function and spontaneous resolution of AF tachycardia. This case highlights a rare presentation of TTS in a diabetic patient with AF and DKA. The spontaneous resolution of AF and recovery of left ventricular function underscore the complex interplay between these conditions. Further research is needed to explore the mechanisms linking TTS with diabetes and AF to improve clinical management and outcomes., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Bouzhir et al.)

Background: Coronary artery perforation is a rare but serious complication of percutaneous coronary interventions, that may eventually lead to major and fatal events such as myocardial infarction, cardiac tamponade, and ultimately death. The risk of coronary artery perforation is more significant during complex procedures as chronic total occlusions but it can occur in other circumstances such as oversized stents and/or balloons, excessive post-dilatation, and the use of hydrophilic wires. Coronary artery perforation is often not recognized during the procedure and the diagnosis is frequently not made until later when the patient develops signs related to pericardial effusion. Thus, causing a delay in management and worsening the prognosis., Case Presentation: We report a case of a distal coronary artery perforation secondary to using a hydrophilic guide in a young male patient of 52-year-old arab, initially presented with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, complicated by pericardial effusion that was treated medically with a favorable outcome., Conclusions: This work highlights that coronary artery perforation is a complication that must be anticipated in high-risk situations and its diagnosis must be made early to allow adequate management., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Systemic sclerosis is a multisystemic character autoimmune disease. It is characterized by vascular dysfunction and progressive fibrosis affecting mainly the skin but also different internal organs. All heart structures are commonly affected, including the pericardium, myocardium, and conduction system. However, tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome is not common in the literature as a cardiac complication of systemic sclerosis. Case presentation We report a case of tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome in a 46-year-old Moroccan woman followed for systemic sclerosis with cutaneous, vascular, and articular manifestations. The diagnosis was based mainly on patient-reported symptoms and electrocardiogram data. A permanent pacemaker was implanted, allowing the introduction of beta-blockers with good outcomes., Conclusions: This case aims to show that even minor electrocardiogram abnormalities should be monitored in this group of patients, preferably by 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram because they could be a good indicator of the activity and progression of cardiac fibrosis., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Infective endocarditis is a grave disease because of a high level of morbidity and mortality. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 100 patients hospitalized for infective endocarditis from January 2009 until December 2015. The mean age was 41 years with a male predominance. Infective endocarditis occurs on a native valve (77 patients), prosthetic valves (12 patients), Pacemaker (7 patients) and congenital heart disease (4 patients). The diagnostic delay was 77 days on average. The fever was present in 85 patients. Blood cultures were negative in 54 patients. Echocardiography allowed visualizing the vegetations in 95 patients. In patients with prosthetics valves, a paraprosthetic regurgitation was diagnosed in 54 % of these patients and vegetation in 18 %. The main complications are heart failure (42), neurological (19), spleen (10) and renal (23) complications. The evolution under medical treatment was marked by the clinical-laboratory improvement in 57 patients, the lack of improvement with persistent fever in 21 patients. The mortality rate of our series is 23 %. Only seven patients underwent urgent surgery for hemodynamic and infectious indications. At the end of this work, it is emphasized that the epidemiological profile of infective endocarditis does not follow the changes of Wold. Its management is difficult in our context (significant diagnostic delay, often negative blood cultures, high level of morbidity, lack of recourse to early surgery). The improvement of this disease consistes of the prevention of acute articular rhumatism and the establishment of an heart team endocarditis to adapt international recommendations to our context., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The Kounis-Zavras syndrome is defined as the coincidental occurrence of acute coronary events and hypersensitivity reactions following an allergic reaction including a mast-cell degranulation of vasospastic mediators. This report describes a case of Kounis-Zavras syndrome in the setting of aspirin-induced asthma also known as Samter-Beer triad combining nasal polyps, asthma, and aspirin allergy leading to vasospasm and myocardial infarction. All physicians should be aware of The Kounis syndrome and always keep that unique clinical entity in mind to recognize it promptly and direct the therapy at suppressing the allergic reaction.

Polyvalvular disease is not a rare condition, the lack of specific data for each situation does not allow perfoming standardized management and guidelines. We want to present by this review available data on the management of polyvalvular disease, taking into account different possible associations between the valve lesions., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Pericardial effusion and pulmonary embolism are relatively common complications of malignancy and are uncommon as its initial manifestation. This report describes a case of a patient, who presented with this association, due to an underlying pulmonary adenocarcinoma. When a major pericardial effusion is associated with pulmonary hypertension, some echocardiographic signs may redress the diagnosis. This case emphasizes a challenge diagnostic which may be guided by high right ventricular pressure and on the other hand the importance of keeping both these conditions in mind when dealing with context of malignancy.

Background: Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a recently recognized rare disorder. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may help to clarify the uncertainties related to this genetic cardiomyopathy. Despite the fact that many articles have been published concerning the use of MRI in the study of LVNC, there is a lack of data describing the disease in the North African population. The aim of our study is to clarify MRI findings of LVNC in North African patients., Methods: In our retrospective cohort, twelve patients (7 male, mean age 53 ± 8 years) underwent MRI for suspected LVNC. Correlations were investigated between the number of non-compacted segments per patient and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), then between the number of non-compacted segments and left ventricular end diastolic diameter. The presence or absence of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) was qualitatively determined for each left ventricular myocardial segment., Results: Non-compaction was more commonly observed at the apex, the anterior and the lateral walls, especially on their apical and mid-cavity segments. 83% of patients had impaired LVEF. There was no correlation between the number of non-compacted segments per patient and LVEF (r = -0.361; p = 0.263), nor between the number of non-compacted segments per patient and left ventricular end diastolic diameter (r = 0.280; p = 0.377). LGE was observed in 22 left ventricular segments. No association was found between the pattern of fibrosis and non-compaction distribution (OR = 2.2, CI [0.91-5.55], p = 0.076)., Conclusion: The distribution of LVNC in North African patients does not differ from other populations. Ventricular dysfunction is independent from the number of non-compacted segments. Myocardial fibrosis is not limited to non-compacted areas but can extend to compacted segments.

Mycotic aneurysms are rare, and depending on their location, can threaten functional prognosis. We report on a 17-year-old girl with no previous history of cardiovascular or infectious disease, referred to our Department of Cardiology with right hemiplegia and aphasia. A neurological evaluation revealed thrombosis of a mycotic cerebral aneurysm, complicated by ischemic and hemorrhagic infarction. Transthoracic echocardiography indicated huge, highly mobile mitral vegetation associated with a mitral regurgitation with a triple stream. Hemocultures isolated Staphylococcus lugdunensis. Shortly afterward, she developed bilateral tibial and pedal mycotic aneurysm. The patient received antibiotics, with minor neurological improvement initially, but she soon died because of a brain herniation. Based on our findings in this case, we discuss the features of endocarditis attributable to S. lugdunensis., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Herein, we report 3 cases of Behçet syndrome that were accompanied by intracardiac thrombus. The 1st patient was a 30-year-old man who presented with dyspnea; a right atrial thrombus was identified upon transthoracic echocardiography. The 2nd patient was a 52-year-old man who was admitted for dyspnea; transthoracic echocardiography revealed an echogenic mass in the right ventricle. The 3rd patient was a 23-year-old man who was hospitalized for hemoptysis; the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was made, and right ventricular thrombosis was found.Because these patients had no hemodynamic compromise, medical management consisting of immunosuppressive and anticoagulative therapy was adopted. This treatment resulted in complete dissolution of the thrombi.

We present the case of an 18-year-old male patient with Behçet's disease who presented with dyspnoea, fever and haemoptysis. A diagnosis of right ventricular thrombosis associated with endomyocardial fibrosis, a pulmonary artery aneurysm, and cerebral vein thrombosis was made. Considering the absence of haemodynamic compromise and the risk of recurrence after surgical treatment for cardiac thrombus, we preferred medical management, which consisted of immunosuppression and anticoagulation. During a follow-up period of 9 months we observed complete dissolution of the thrombus and dramatic improvement of the patient's clinical status.

Neuromuscular Diseases are a heterogeneous molecular, clinical and prognosis group. Progress has been achieved in the understanding and classification of these diseases.Cardiac involvement in neuromuscular diseases namely conduction disorders, ventricular dilatation and dilated cardiomyopathy with its impact on prognosis, is often dissociated from the peripheral myopathy. Therefore, close surveillance is mandatory in the affected patients. In this context, preventive therapy (beta-blockers and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors) has been recently recommended in the most common Neuromuscular Diseases, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Myotonic Dystrophy.

Testicular infarction without torsion of the spermatic cord is a rare lesion, generally idiopathic and spontaneous. It may be exceptionally associated with certain risk factors (vasculitis, cholesterol emboli, malakoplakia, protein S or antithrombin III deficiency, etc.). It often simulates testicular tumour, leading to orchidectomy, which can be avoided, particularly in the case of segmental infarction, by applying conservative treatment. The authors report an original case of infarction of an inguinal ectopic testis without torsion. No cause was identified. In the light of this case and a review of the literature, the authors discuss the various aspects of this clinical entity.

Primary hyperaldosteronism represents less tha 1% of all causes of hypertension. We report one case of primary hyperaldosteronism which emphasizes the difficulty of distinguishing tumoral PHA from idiopathic PHA (bilateral adrenal hyperplasia), observed in a 57-year-old man. The diagnosis was suggested by marked hypokalemia, and was confirmed by hyperaldosteronaemia and low and poorly stimulated renin activity. Intravenous saline infusion failed to significantly suppress plasma aldosterone levels. Upright posture for 60 minutes suppressed plasma aldosterone concentration. A Computed tomography (CT) scan showed bilateral adrenal mass. Management consisted of total right adrenalectomy, and enucleation of adenoma from the opposite adenoma. The patient is normotensive 4 years after surgery.

Four cases of ureteropelvic junction syndrome associated with arterial hypertension were reported. The authors discuss the ethiopathogenic of hypertension, on the basis of these observations and a review of the literature. They conclude that union bilateral hydronephrosis can lead to hypertension and renal failure by both inappropriate production of renin and water chronic retention. The correction of ureteropelvic junction should return blood pressure to normal levels.

Objectives: Among 82 patients hospitalized for infective endocarditis between June 1995 and June 2001 at the cardiology B unit of the Rabat University Hospital Morocco, 18 (22%) had one or more vascular complications. We present here a retrospective analysis., Patients and Methods: The cohort included 12 men and 6 women, mean age 22 years. Infective endocarditis had grafted on a pre-existing cardiopathy among 17 patients: rheumatic heart disease (n=14), mechanical prosthetic valve (n=2), congenital heart disease (n=1)., Results: For 12 patients, vascular disease was the only complication, 1 had two complications and 4 three complications. This gave 26 lesions: 11 neurological complications, 10 arterial diseases involving the limbs including 5 mycotic aneurysms, 2 acute myocardial infarcts, 2 splenic infarcts, and 1 recurrent septic pulmonary embolism. Vascular disease was the inaugural manifestation in 9 patients and 54% of the complications occurred before the end of the second week of antibiotic treatment. Blood cultures were positive in 7 patients (40%). Oral streptococcus was isolated in 5 cases, Gram-negative bacillus in 1 case and Staphylococcus aureus in 1. Echography revealed valvular vegetations in the 16 cases of infective endocarditis on native valves: mitral (n=9), aortic (n=5), mitroaortic (n=1), tricuspid (n=1). Short term outcome was marked by 4 deaths including 3 directly related to the vascular complication., Discussion: We emphasize the variable and diverse features of vascular complications of infective endocarditis. Prevention and early diagnosis are essential to institute optimal management of infective endocarditis.

The authors report the case of tricuspid and pulmonary disease, revealing a carcinoid syndrome in a 32 years-old young man who was admitted for asthenia and an effort hepatology. The carcinoid syndrome was confirmed by hormonal proportioning, and by an anatomopathologic and immunohistochimic study of a hepatic metastatic biopsy. The check-up to search the primitive tumor was negative. The clinicals, paraclinicals and therapeutics aspects of the carcinoid heart were reported in this work.