Background: New onset third degree or complete heart block (CHB) is a medical emergency and usually requires permanent pacemaker. CHB can be caused by cardiac ischemia or non-ischemic conditions such as infiltrative diseases or fibrosis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics associated with ischemic versus non ischemic causes of complete [...]

Case Presentation: A 45-year-old previously healthy male with a known history of polysubstance use (tobacco, ethanol, and cocaine) presented to the emergency department with sudden onset left-sided facial droop, hemiparesis, hemisensory loss, and dysarthria. The patient reported using cocaine twelve hours previously. On arrival, the EKG revealed complete atrial ventricular dissociation with a ventricular escape [...]

Case Presentation: A 29-year-old previously healthy male presented to an outside hospital emergency department with two days of flu-like symptoms including fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and recurrent episodes of syncope. On arrival, physical exam revealed a heart rate of 50 beats/minute and a blood pressure of 75/53 mmHg, elevated JVP, diminished right basilar [...]

Case Presentation: We describe a patient with relapsing polychondritis (RPC) who developed a complete heart block, mitral valve insufficiency and aortic root dilation. A 72-year-old man with a history of RPC presented with fatigue, lightheadedness and syncope, which was secondary to the new onset complete heart block (CHB). Further investigation showed an elevated C-reactive protein [...]

Case Presentation: A thirty-seven year old female with past medical history of hypertension presented with syncope and chest pain. The pain was non-exertional, substernal, pressure like, associated with lightheadedness, dizziness and shortness of breath occurring intermittently for past few days. Her father died from myocardial infarction at age forty-two and she smoked one pack per [...]