Myocardial calcifications in neonates and infants: a unique tissue reaction.

O Topaz - Southern medical journal, 1991 - europepmc.org
O Topaz
Southern medical journal, 1991europepmc.org
The deposit of calcium salts into myocardial cells represents the process of dystrophic
calcification. Once it causes alterations in cellular calcium hemostasis, it can initiate
deleterious events leading to ischemic myocardial injury and cell death. Myocardial
calcifications in infants are markedly different from those in adults; calcifications are
significantly more frequent in cases of myocardial necrosis in the young, and can be
demonstrated microscopically without removal of necrotic fibers and scar formation, which …
The deposit of calcium salts into myocardial cells represents the process of dystrophic calcification. Once it causes alterations in cellular calcium hemostasis, it can initiate deleterious events leading to ischemic myocardial injury and cell death. Myocardial calcifications in infants are markedly different from those in adults; calcifications are significantly more frequent in cases of myocardial necrosis in the young, and can be demonstrated microscopically without removal of necrotic fibers and scar formation, which are the adult's usual stages of response to myocardial necrosis. Important functional and clinical implications in myocardial calcification, other than serving as a marker for necrosis, relate to accelerated myocardial calcification after cardiac surgery in infants.
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