Bilateral vas deferens calcification in a patient with multi-vessel coronary artery disease and severe aortic stenosis: linking infertility with cardiovascular disease.

Vas deferens calcification is a chronic arterio-sclerotic process that develops over many years and is strongly associated with infertility. Incidental findings on imaging are the most common means of diagnosing this condition. We report a case of a 56-year man who likely has male factor infertility and was found to have bilateral vas deferens calcification on CT imaging.

Serial echocardiography for valve dysfunction and aortic dilation in bicuspid aortic valves.

Background And Aims: Complications of bicuspid aortic valve commonly include aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, and ascending aortic dilation. The progression of these lesions is not well described.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed 249 bicuspid aortic valve patients with at least two echocardiograms from 2006 to 2016.

Evaluating a decision tool for diagnosing diastolic dysfunction and estimation of left ventricular filling pressures in the presence of mitral annular calcium.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate a decision algorithm for the estimation of left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP) in patients with mitral annular calcification (MAC).

Background: In a single center study, Abudiab et al evaluated echocardiographic parameters to estimate LVFP in patients with MAC against invasive hemodynamic measurements and developed a decision algorithm which demonstrated high predictive accuracy.

Methods: Retrospectively, 55 patients (mean age 68.

Pleural Effusions Following Liver Transplantation: A Single-Center Experience.

Introduction: This was a single-center retrospective study to evaluate incidence, prognosis, and risk factors in patients with postoperative pleural effusions, a common pulmonary complication following liver transplantation.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed on 374 liver transplantation cases through a database within the timeframe of January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2015. Demographics, pulmonary and cardiac function testing, laboratory studies, intraoperative transfusion/infusion volumes, postoperative management, and outcomes were analyzed.

Usefulness of the American Heart Association's Life Simple 7 to Predict the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation (from the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke [REGARDS] Study).

The American Heart Association has identified metrics of ideal cardiovascular (CV) health known as Life's Simple 7 (LS7). We determined the prospective relationship between the LS7 and the incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in a biracial cohort. The REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study enrolled non-Hispanic black and white adults 45 years or older.

Clinical and Echocardiographic Correlates of Left Atrial Function Index: The Framingham Offspring Study.

Background: Left atrial (LA) remodeling is a predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We performed measurement of the LA function index (LAFI), a composite measure of LA structure and function, in a community-based cohort and here report the distribution and cross-sectional correlates of LAFI.

Methods: In 1,719 Framingham Offspring Study participants (54% women, mean age 66 ± 9 years), we derived LAFI from the LA emptying fraction, left ventricular (LV) outflow tract velocity time integral, and indexed maximal LA volume.

Association of Left Atrial Function Index With Late Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence after Catheter Ablation.

Introduction: Although catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) is commonly used to improve symptoms, AF recurrence is common and new tools are needed to better inform patient selection for CA. Left atrial function index (LAFI), an echocardiographic measure of atrial mechanical function, has shown promise as a noninvasive predictor of AF. We hypothesized that LAFI would relate to AF recurrence after CA.

Atrial Fibrillation and Hypertension: Mechanistic, Epidemiologic, and Treatment Parallels.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an increasingly prevalent condition and the most common sustained arrhythmia encountered in ambulatory and hospital practice. Several clinical risk factors for AF include age, sex, valvular heart disease, obesity, sleep apnea, heart failure, and hypertension (HTN). Of all the risk factors, HTN is the most commonly encountered condition in patients with incident AF.

Body mass index predicts major bleeding risks in patients on warfarin.

Despite the lack of an optimum dosing strategy in obese patients, warfarin remains the most commonly used anticoagulant. Body mass index (BMI) >30 has been linked to increased time to obtain a therapeutic international normalized ratio on initiation of warfarin as well as higher maintenance dose. Despite higher dosage requirements, few studies have examined the relationship between warfarin and bleeding events in obese individuals.