MitraClip device for patients with functional mitral valve regurgitation: A systematic review.

Background: MitraClip device is a novel therapeutic option for patients with degenerative mitral valve regurgitation. Nevertheless, several studies have also focused on the safety and efficacy of this method in functional mitral valve regurgitation (FMR).

Aim: To systematically review all original studies that provided mortality data among FMR patients treated with MitraClip.

Meta-Analysis of Radial Versus Femoral Artery Approach for Coronary Procedures in Patients With Previous Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Cardiac catheterization through the radial artery approach (RA) has been shown to significantly reduce access-site complications compared with the femoral artery approach (FA) in many clinical settings. However, in the subset of patients with previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), optimal vascular access site for coronary angiography and intervention is still a matter of debate. We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of available studies comparing RA with FA in patients with previous CABG.

Differences in Stress Forces and Geometry between Left and Right Coronary Artery: A Pathophysiological Aspect of Atherosclerosis Heterogeneity.

Introduction: We sought to assess noninvasively the differences in hemorrheologic and geometric parameters between the left and right coronary artery (RCA). Low endothelial shear stress (ESS), high molecular viscosity (MV), and high wall stress (WS) induce atherosclerosis, while curvature and torsion have lately been implicated in the atherosclerotic process.

Methods: We studied 28 coronary arteries from 22 subjects undergoing coronary computed tomography angiography.

Serial measurements of acute phase proteins in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Introduction: Levels of inflammatory markers increase in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and the magnitude of the inflammatory response has been related to clinical outcomes. The release patterns and, thereby, the time point of maximal increase for multiple inflammatory markers following an ACS are not fully defined. Our purpose was to serially measure three acute phase proteins (APPs) in patients with ACS.

Radial versus femoral access for orally anticoagulated patients.

Objectives: To prospectively compare the efficacy and procedural safety of the radial versus femoral route for cardiac catheterization during uninterrupted warfarin therapy.

Background: The optimal treatment strategy for cardiac catheterization in patients receiving long-term oral anticoagulation has not been defined. Increasing evidence suggests the feasibility and safety of catheterization without warfarin interruption.

Coronary ostial stenosis after aortic valve replacement: successful treatment of 2 patients with drug-eluting stents.

Coronary ostial stenosis is a rare but potentially serious sequela after aortic valve replacement. It occurs in the left main or right coronary artery after 1% to 5% of aortic valve replacement procedures. The clinical symptoms are usually severe and may appear from 1 to 6 months postoperatively.

Total cholesterol content of erythrocyte membranes and coronary atherosclerosis: an intravascular ultrasound pilot study.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that erythrocytes may participate in atherogenesis. We sought to investigate the relationship between total cholesterol content in erythrocyte membranes (CEM) and coronary atheroma burden in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 28 participants: 11 patients with angiographically significant CAD and 17 controls.

Sodium-lithium countertransport activity in healthy, dyslipidemic, and hypertensive individuals.

The aim of our study was to investigate the role of dyslipidemia on red blood cell sodium-lithium countertransport activity in healthy and hypertensive individuals. A total of 128 Caucasian individuals, aged 20 to 60 years old, were divided into 4 groups: dyslipidemic/ hypertensive, dyslipidemic/normotensive, normolipidemic/hypertensive, and normolipidemic/ normotensive (controls). Sodium-lithium countertransport activity was determined based on the Canessa et al method.

Subaortic and midventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with extreme segmental hypertrophy.

Background: Subaortic and midventricular hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a patient with extreme segmental hypertrophy exceeding the usual maximum wall thickness reported in the literature is a rare phenomenon.

Case Presentation: A 19-year-old man with recently diagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) was referred for sudden death risk assessment. The patient had mild exertional dyspnea (New York Heart Association functional class II), but without syncope or chest pain.