Extraction Of Transvenous ICD Leads In An Over-ninety Years Old Patient.

There is a general consensus that once a part of an implanted cardiac device becomes infected, it is usually impossible to cure the infection without completely removing all prosthetic material from the body. Consequently the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) included the pocket infection or erosion as a class I indication for pacemaker lead exctraction. However, the procedure still carries a high risk of life-threatening complications due to fibrotic attachments between leads, veins, valves or other endocardial structures, notwithstanding specific tools and techniques that have been developed to assist the lead removal, preventing tissue laceration.

Diagnostic accuracy of multidetector computed tomography coronary angiography in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: The purpose of this work was to assess the safety, feasibility, and diagnostic accuracy of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) of unknown etiology.

Background: Multidetector computed tomography is an appropriate noninvasive tool for coronary artery disease (CAD) detection, particularly in patients with low probability of the disease, such as patients with DCM of unknown origin.

Methods: We studied 61 unknown origin DCM patients (ejection fraction: 33.

Feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of 16-slice multidetector computed tomography coronary angiography in 500 consecutive patients: critical role of heart rate.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of multidetector computed tomography coronary (MDCT) angiography applied to an unselected heart-disease population, to identify all causes of unfeasibility of exams, the distribution of artifacts in every coronary segment and their influence on diagnostic accuracy of examination.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated 500 patients with different indications for invasive coronary angiography. All underwent coronary MDCT and ICA.

Comparison of feasibility and accuracy of transthoracic echocardiography versus computed tomography in patients with known ascending aortic aneurysm.

Aortic valve diseases, hypertension, and connective tissue disorders may be causes of ascending aortic aneurysms. Aortic enlargement monitoring is essential for surgical timing and for operative design. In this regard, several imaging techniques may have limitations: magnetic resonance is not widespread and is expensive, computed tomography uses radiation, and transesophageal echocardiography is a semi-invasive method.