Congenital unicuspid aortic valve in adults: Minireview and case series.

A unicuspid aortic valve (UAV) in adults is a very rare form of aortic valve (AV) malformation. UAV has two distinct subtypes, acommissural UAV and unicommissural, and can be differentiated by anatomical features, imaging modalities, and clinical presentation. With the development of significant AV lesion (s), surgical or transcatheter intervention will be required.

Potential Diagnostic and Prognostic Values of Left Atrial Strain in Valvular Heart Disease.

There has been increasing evidence supporting the importance of left atrial (LA) functional analysis and measurement in various physiologic and pathologic cardiovascular conditions due to its high diagnostic and prognostic values. Assessment of LA strain (LAS) has emerged as an early marker of subclinical LA dysfunction. Using speckle-tracking echocardiography, LAS can be measured in all phases of LA function (reservoir, conduit, and booster pump).

Central role of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography in the assessment of intracardiac thrombi.

Unlabelled: The current study was designed to evaluate the feasibility and clinical utility of real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) for detection of intracardiac thrombi with comparison to 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE). The study included 45 consecutive patients with intracardiac thrombi detected by routine 2DE (mean age 45 +/- 8.4 years, 75% males).