Cigarette smoking is a leading preventable risk factor for the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Epidemiologic studies conclusively prove that both active smoking and secondhand smoke contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality related to CVD. Cigarette smoke is a mixture of several toxic chemicals, of which nicotine, carbon monoxide, and oxidant chemicals are most commonly implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Tobacco causes endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, insulin resistance, alteration of lipid profile, hemodynamic alterations, and a hypercoagulable state. All of these act synergistically as pathobiologic mechanisms of atherothrombosis in tobacco users.

This study, using validation with CTA, showed that conventional ECG criteria and fluoroscopy are inaccurate in differentiating septal from anterior RVOT pacing. The fluoroscopic lateral view, as corroborated by CTA, is more reliable than the LAO view in predicting septal lead placement.

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Inflammation may be an important contributing factor to the progression of Eisenmenger syndrome (ES). Markers of systemic inflammation in ES have not been systematically studied. Inflammatory markers including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-6, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were measured in 42 consecutive ES patients (mean age, 24.3 ± 10.6 years) compared with their levels in 22 healthy control subjects. The patients were followed up for a mean duration of 16.3 ± 13.7 months. The levels of inflammatory markers were correlated with clinical and hemodynamic variables at baseline and the outcomes of death, hospitalization, and worsening World Health Organization (WHO) functional class at follow-up evaluation. Compared with the control subjects, ES patients showed a significant elevation in hs-CRP (2.99 ± 3.5 vs 1.1 ± 0.9 mg/dl; p = 0.002) and IFN-γ (41.3 ± 43.6 vs 10.4 ± 6.9 pg/ml; p < 0.001) levels. The levels of IL-2 and IL-6 also were elevated but did not differ significantly from those in the control subjects. The patients with hs-CRP levels higher than 3 mg/dl were significantly older (28.9 ± 10.6 vs 21.5 ± 9.8 years) and had a significantly shorter 6-min walk distance (421.5 ± 133.2 vs 493.3 ± 74.8 m). The levels of inflammatory markers did not correlate with baseline parameters or clinical outcomes. To conclude, the levels of hs-CRP and IFN-γ are significantly elevated in ES. Elevated hs-CRP in ES was associated with older age and shorter 6-min walk distance, but the levels of inflammatory markers were not predictive of clinical events.

A 72-year-old gentleman was brought to the emergency department, after sustaining an allegedly accidental airgun-shot injury to the right side of his neck. A chest radiograph and plain CT chest revealed the bullet lodged deeply in the soft tissues of the right side of the neck. He was taken up for an emergency neck exploration for foreign