Publications by authors named "Alexandra Stepanovic"
Article Synopsis
- Mitral leaflet elongation in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can lead to obstruction and mitral regurgitation, complicating surgical efforts to address these issues.
- A study comparing outcomes for patients who had myectomy with and without mitral leaflet shortening found no significant difference in survival or echocardiographic results between the two groups.
- The findings support the idea that mitral leaflet shortening may be a viable surgical option for certain patients undergoing myectomy.
Article Synopsis
- Mitral valve (MV) elongation is linked to obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and this study aimed to analyze the histopathological characteristics of MV residual leaflets in patients with this condition.
- Researchers examined 22 MV residual leaflets from patients undergoing surgery and compared their structure and composition to 11 control leaflets from healthy individuals.
- Findings showed that MV residual leaflets in HCM had disorganized structures with abnormal features such as expanded spongiosa and fragmented elastic fibers, indicating significant alterations compared to normal valves.
Weight loss in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A clinical case series.
Int J Cardiol Cardiovasc Risk Prev
June 2023
Article Synopsis
- - Obesity in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is linked to worse heart function and more severe symptoms, but weight loss can improve the condition.
- - A case study of six HCM patients showed that losing weight through diet, lifestyle changes, or surgery resulted in decreased left ventricular (LV) mass and wall thickness, as well as symptom improvement.
- - The results suggest that weight loss may positively remodel the heart in HCM patients, but further research is needed to fully understand the benefits.
Article Synopsis
- * A study analyzed 70 adults with HCM who tested positive for COVID-19 over the course of a year, finding common symptoms like fever and cough, and revealing that most patients recovered without medical intervention.
- * Key findings included a case fatality rate of 2.9% among the patients, with obesity and other existing health conditions appearing more significant in driving severe outcomes than HCM itself.
Clinical spectrum of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) has been expanded to include patients with mild or no thickening of the left ventricle (LV), who nevertheless have outflow tract obstruction at rest or after exercise, due to systolic anterior motion (SAM) and ventricular septal contact, with mitral valve elongation and papillary muscles anomalies. Apical ballooning mimicking a takotsubo syndrome (TS) wall motion pattern can occur in HC with mild septal thickening when latent obstruction becomes unrelenting. To define the prevalence of anatomic abnormalities characteristic of HC in patients diagnosed with TS, we analyzed echocardiograms of 44 unselected TS patients, age 67±12 years, 95% women including studies performed before the event (n = 11, median 515 days) and after recovery of left ventricular function (n = 33, median 92 days, interquartile range = 29 to 327) and compared the findings to 60 age and sexed matched controls.
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