Atrial fibrillation ablation in systolic dysfunction: clinical and echocardiographic outcomes.

Background: Heart failure and atrial fibrillation (AF) often coexist in a deleterious cycle.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical and echocardiographic outcomes of patients with ventricular systolic dysfunction and AF treated with radiofrequency (RF) ablation.

Methods: Patients with ventricular systolic dysfunction [ejection fraction (EF) <50%] and AF refractory to drug therapy underwent stepwise RF ablation in the same session with pulmonary vein isolation, ablation of AF nests and of residual atrial tachycardia, named "background tachycardia".

In vitro assessment of the Apico Aortic Blood Pump: anatomical positioning, hydrodynamic performance, hemolysis studies, and analysis in a hybrid cardiovascular simulator.

The Apico Aortic Blood Pump (AABP) is a centrifugal continuous flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) with ceramic bearings. The device is in the initial development phase and is being designed to be attached directly to the left ventricular apex by introducing an inlet cannula. This paper reports results from in vitro experiments.

Sepsis in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery: problem description.

Background: In spite of the advances in sepsis diagnosis and treatment in the last years, the morbidity and mortality are still high.

Objective: To assess the prevalence, in-hospital evolution and prognosis of patients that presented sepsis in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery.

Methods: This is a prospective study that included patients (n = 7,332) submitted to cardiac surgery (valvular or coronary) between January 1995 and December 2007.

Risk factors for stroke after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: Stroke is a feared complication after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG), with an incidence between 1.3 and 4.3%.

Prevalence and surgical approach of supravalvular pulmonary stenosis after Jatene operation for transposition of great arteries.

Background: The Transposition of the Great Arteries is the most frequent congenital cyanogenic cardiopathy in the neonatal period, corresponding to 7% of all congenital cardiopathies. Among the operations for surgical treatment, the Jatene operation, with arterial correction, is the treatment of choice. During the late postoperative evolution, some problems were observed, with the most common being the occurrence of supravalvular stenosis at the neopulmonary, regardless of the type of surgical technique used.