Medium-term outcomes of 78,808 patients after heart valve surgery in a middle-income country: a nationwide population-based study.

Background: Heart valve surgery outcomes are unknown in middle-income countries and thus cannot be used in health system decision making processes. This study estimated in-hospital mortality and medium and long-term survival.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of 78,806 patients who underwent heart valve surgery between 2001 and 2007 in Brazil.

Seven years of use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapies: a nationwide population-based assessment of their effectiveness in real clinical settings.

Background: The efficacy of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator (CRT-D) therapy has already been established in clinical trials but their effectiveness in several clinical settings remains undetermined. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of ICD and CRT-D therapies within the Brazilian National Health System (SUS).

Methods: All patients who underwent ICD or CRT-D implantation within the SUS from 2001 to 2007 were included in the study.