Browsing by Author "Batal, Omar"

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    Dual Coronary-Pulmonary Artery Fistula in a Patient with Severe Bicuspid Aortic Valve Stenosis
    (Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, 2023-04-10) Bou Chaaya, Rody G.; Sammour, Yasser; Thakkar, Samarthkumar; Jaradat, Ziad; Gill, William J.; Batal, Omar; Medicine, School of Medicine
    A 62-year-old male presented to the emergency department with acute viral bronchitis and worsening of his chronic dyspnea on exertion. Incidentally, a murmur was detected on physical examination. Extensive work-up, including coronary computed tomography angiography, revealed a rare combination and potential association between severe bicuspid aortic valve stenosis and coronary-pulmonary artery fistulas.
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    Serum albumin concentration as an independent prognostic indicator in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension
    (Wiley, 2018) Snipelisky, David; Jentzer, Jacob; Batal, Omar; Dardari, Zeina; Mathier, Michael; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background Serum albumin is a strong prognostic indicator for many disease processes, yet limited data exist regarding its prognostic relationship in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Our study aims to assess the relationship of hypoalbuminemia with disease severity and mortality in this population. Hypothesis Serum albumin concentrations are a predictor of outcomes in PAH. Methods A retrospective review of all patients with World Health Organization group 1 PAH evaluated between March 2001 and August 2008 was performed. Patients were stratified into groups based on serum albumin concentration ≤3.3 g/dL (hypoalbuminemia) vs >3.3 g/dL. Clinical, hemodynamic, and survival comparisons were compared between groups using Student t test and χ2 test, followed by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression. Results A total of 163/273 (59.7%) patients had a documented serum albumin concentration. Hypoalbuminemia was present in 41 (25.2%) patients and serum albumin ≤3.3 g/dL represented the lowest quartile of serum albumin. Patients with hypoalbuminemia had higher rates of renal dysfunction (26.8% vs 9.8%, P =0.0069) and hepatic dysfunction (29.3% vs 6.6%, P <0.001), and lower hemoglobin levels (11.6 vs 13.4 g/dL, P < 0.001). Hemodynamic and functional capacity assessments were comparable between groups. Independent predictors of mortality included low albumin levels (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.485, P = 0.008), high right atrial systolic area (HR: 1.062, P = 0.003), low Fick‐derived cardiac index (HR: 1.465, P = 0.016), and high New York Heart Association functional class (HR: 1.767, P = 0.042). Patients with hypoalbuminemia demonstrated a significantly lower survival rate at latest follow‐up (P = 0.01). Conclusions Lower serum albumin concentrations in patients with PAH are associated with higher mortality and can serve as a marker of disease severity in this patient population.