A 32-year-old African American female presented with dyspnea, and after several cardiac diagnostic tests, the diagnosis of an anomalous origin of the RCA from the pulmonary trunk was established by multislice coronary CT angiography. She underwent surgical correction with reimplantation of the RCA, from the pulmonary artery to the aortic root. However, 10 days after surgery, she developed frequent episodes of chest pain, and repeat coronary CTA showed a partially occlusive thrombus in the surgically reimplanted RCA. Anticoagulation with warfarin resulted in complete resolution of the patient’s symptoms.

Vasovagal syncope (VVS) refers to a heterogeneous group of conditions whereby the cardiovascular reflexes normally controlling the circulation are interrupted irregularly in response to a trigger, resulting in vasodilation, bradycardia, or both. VVS affects one-third of the population at least once in their lifetime or by the age of 60, reduces the quality of life, and may cause disability affecting certain routines. It poses a considerable economic burden on society, and, despite its prevalence, there is currently no proven pharmacological treatment for preventing VVS. The novel procedure of ganglionated plexus (GP) ablation has emerged rapidly in the past two decades, and has been proven successful in treating syncope. Several parameters influence the success rate of GP ablation, including specific ablation sites, localization and surgical techniques, method of access, and the integration of other interventions. This review aims to provide an overview of the existing literature on the physiological aspects and clinical effectiveness of GP ablation in the treatment of VVS. Specifically, we explore the association between GPs and VVS and examine the impact of GP ablation procedures as reported in human clinical trials. Our objective is to shed light on the therapeutic significance of GP ablation in eliminating VVS and restoring normal sinus rhythm, particularly among young adults affected by this condition.

A 30-year-old previously healthy female, who was six-week postpartum, experienced sudden collapse and tonic-clonic seizure. Emergency medicine services arrived at the scene and the patient was found to be in ventricular fibrillation. Advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) was initiated with return of spontaneous circulation. Afterwards, her initial EKG showed atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular rate, ST elevation in leads II, III, and aVF, and ST depression in V2–V4. She was transferred to a tertiary care hospital where emergent angiogram was performed revealing obstruction of blood flow in the proximal and mid right coronary artery (RCA). A hazy and irregularly contoured appearance of the RCA was consistent with diagnosis of fibromuscular dysplasia. Subsequently, intravascular ultrasonogram (IVUS) was performed which confirmed the diagnosis of RCA dissection. Successful revascularization of the RCA was performed using two bare mental stents. After a complicated course in hospital, she was discharged in stable condition and did very well overall.

A 35-year-old Hispanic male presented at an outside facility with chest pain a few days after a long road trip. The initial electrocardiogram (EKG) showed sinus tachycardia with no other abnormality. His D-dimer was positive but a subsequent computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the chest was negative for pulmonary embolism. An echocardiogram showed trace pericardial effusion with a normal ejection fraction (EF) of 70% and severe asymmetric septal hypertrophy. Satisfactory Doppler signals to assess the gradient across the left ventricle outflow tract (LVOT) could not be obtained on echocardiogram. The patient was diagnosed with acute pericarditis, which was treated medically with an improvement of his symptoms. Later, he presented to our facility for an outpatient cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) with and without contrast, which showed severe asymmetric septal hypertrophy measuring 29 mm with substantial patchy myocardial delayed enhancement and systolic anterior motion of the mitral leaflet with flow dephasing of LVOT. These findings were diagnostic of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. CMR also showed signs consistent with pericarditis. A Holter monitor was unremarkable for arrhythmia. A stress echocardiogram did not demonstrate any drop in blood pressure during exercise. His interventricular septum measured 29 mm on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which was very close to the 30 mm cut-off for an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). In addition, he had a marked delayed enhancement in the hypertrophied septum due to gadolinium uptake, which is also considered a high-risk feature for sudden cardiac death. After discussions between the patient, cardiologist, cardiac imaging specialist, and electrophysiologist, a subcutaneous ICD was pursued, which was successfully implanted. He was started on medical treatment. He was followed closely in the clinic and has remained asymptomatic for the past two years.