The follow electronic only articles are published in conjunction with this issue of Heart.

Fatal fulminant myocarditis caused by disseminated mucormycosis

A Basti, S Taylor, M Tschopp, J Sztajzel

Acute fulminant myocarditis is a critical clinical condition with sudden onset of severe congestive heart failure followed by severe haemodynamic deterioration. Instituting early left ventricular support may improve outcome and result in better long term survival. The case of an immunocompromised patient who developed acute fulminant myocarditis in the setting of disseminated mucormycosis is presented.

(Heart 2004;90:e60) www.heartjnl.com/cgi/content/full/90/10/e60

Intravascular ultrasound findings of coronary wall morphology in a patient with pseudoxanthoma elasticum

K Miwa, T Higashikata, H Mabuchi

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is an inherited disorder characterised by progressive calcification of the elastic fibres in the skin, eye, and cardiovascular system. Recently, mutations in the ATP binding cassette transporter gene (ABCC6) were identified as cause of this disease. Although patients with PXE often have coronary artery disease, little is known about the process and the mechanism of coronary artery disease in PXE. In this report, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging was performed in a female patient with PXE seven years after the onset of skin lesion to assess the coronary wall morphology in detail. IVUS showed a unique five layer appearance without acoustic shadowing along the vessel wall observed in the angiographically normal portion. These findings may reflect the earlier stage of coronary artery disease caused by PXE before calcification of the internal elastic laminae.

(Heart 2004;90:e61) www.heartjnl.com/cgi/content/full/90/10/e61

Percutaneous device closure of a pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricular wall

P Clift, S Thorne, J de Giovanni

The percutaneous device closure of a left ventricular pseudoaneurysm is described in a 60 year old man with a history of myocardial infarction complicated by ventricular tachycardia and left ventricular aneurysm treated by coronary artery bypass grafting and aneursymectomy with ventricular tachycardia ablation. He subsequently developed a vast pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle with New York Heart Association functional class II heart failure symptoms. The selection of the approach and type of device used to close the neck of the pseudoaneurysm are discussed.

(Heart 2004;90:e62) www.heartjnl.com/cgi/content/full/90/10/e62