Cardiac conduction disorders can manifest in young adults in isolated forms, associated with myocardial diseases or as part of a multiorgan disorder. Underlying causes of cardiac conduction disorders may be genetically determined or acquired. Cardiac conduction disorder in young adults is a complex and often underestimated and underrecognized disease that may need of a multidisciplinary team for the diagnosis, treatment, and long‐term management of these patients. Therefore, it is crucial to raise clinicians' awareness of this condition. In this review, we provide a comprehensive update on the cause, diagnosis, and treatment of young adults with cardiac conduction disorders, also suggesting potential strategies to improve the current clinical management of these patients.
The use of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in the setting of stable coronary artery disease is highly recommended for low-risk patients. High-risk patients, such as symptomatic subjects with prior revascularization, are suggested to be investigated with noninvasive functional tests or invasive coronary angiography. CCTA is not considered for these patients because of some well-known CCTA artifacts, such as blooming and motion artifacts. However, new technology has allowed us to obtain images with high spatial resolution, overcoming these well-known limitations of CCTA. Furthermore, the introduction of CT-derived fractional flow reserve and stress CT perfusion has made CCTA a comprehensive examination, including anatomical and functional assessments of coronary plaques. Additionally, CCTA allows for plaque characterization, which has become a cornerstone for the optimization of medical therapy, which is not possible with functional tests. Recent evidence has suggested that CCTA could be used with the aim of monitoring revascularization, both after coronary bypass grafts and percutaneous coronary intervention. With this background information, CCTA can also be considered the exam of choice in subjects with a history of revascularization. The availability of a noninvasive anatomic test for patients with previous coronary revascularization and its possible association with functional assessments in a single exam could play a key role in the follow-up management of these subjects, especially considering the rate of false-positive and negative results of noninvasive functional tests. The present review summarizes the main evidence about CCTA and coronary artery bypass grafts, complex percutaneous coronary intervention, and bioresorbable stent implantation.
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited heart disease characterized by fibrofatty replacement of the ventricular myocardium, with an estimated prevalence of 1:5000 people in the general population. Sudden cardiac death is the first manifestation of this disease in 16–23% of patients with ACM. Fibrofatty infiltration can be identified with noninvasive cardiac magnetic resonance. Studies of epicardial fat deposits have suggested pathogenic roles of epicardial fats in mediating cardiac diseases and arrhythmias. Although myocardial fat infiltration has been well described in ACM, changes in epicardial fat deposits with this disease have not been well investigated. Our study shows that patients with ACM have a higher amount of EAT compared to controls. Additionally, the EAT amount seems to increase with the evolution of the disease.
We report the case of an 80 yo female patient with cardiovascular risk factors and previous diagnosis of Tako-Tsubo syndrome, who was referred to our institution one year after a previous diagnosis, due to symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (SCA) after severe emotional stress. After ruling out suspected CAD by cardiac computed tomography (CCT) and subsequent invasive coronary angiography (ICA) confirming no significant stenosis but presence of vulnerable plaque, the patient underwent further investigation by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) that confirmed a clinical picture compatible with recurrence of Tako-Tsubo syndrome. Our case underlines the importance of multimodality imaging to guide diagnosis and treatment in this specific clinical scenario.