Dr Malik: Kawasaki Disease

Dr Malik presented at a fantastic meeting that tried to resolve what to do with Kawasaki Disease, a rare cause of heart attacks in Children and young Adults.

Professor Mike Levin and Dr Aubrey Cunnington Organised the meeting!

He covered the new London protocol that he was involved in writing, meaning that these high risk patients get:

1. A Patient Specific Pathway (PSP) for London Ambulance to transport to a Heart Attack Centre if the patient is unwell
2. Some guidance on how to manage a heart attack in them. Unlike other patients
   1. They have giant aneurysms of the coronary arteries-very unusual and tricky to treat
   2. They often have huge clots- standard removal techniques don’t work
   3. They have very calcified arteries- it might need more than just balloons to treat
   4. Before considering stents, the size of the artery should be assessed with intravascular ultrasound.

Remember to think about Kawasaki disease in your angiogram shows very large and aneurysmal arteries and you are under 40 years old.