Management of Late-Presenting Congenital Combined Heart Defect - Bicuspid Aortic Valve and Ventricular Septal Aneurysm.

BACKGROUND Bicuspid aortic valve is the most common congenital heart malformation, encountered in 1-2% of the population, while interventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus are the most common congenital malformations associated with bicuspid aortic valve. Although bicuspid valve can have no clinical manifestation, patients with bicuspid valve are prone to develop vascular abnormalities. Aortic dilatation is the most common of these abnormalities, which in turn can lead to serious complications and often requires surgical treatment.

The relationship between mitral annular systolic velocity and ejection fraction in patients with preserved global systolic function of the left ventricle.

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the ejection fraction (EF) and the mitral annular systolic velocity (Sm) in patients with preserved left ventricular systolic function (EF>55%). The study task was to evaluate whether the assessment of Sm(avg) can be used as an alternative to the Simpson's method in assessment of the EF. The expected benefit was that Sm could be used to predict EF, when EF is difficult to assess due to poor image quality (IQ).