Interventional Treatment of Access Site Complications During Transfemoral TAVI: A Single Center Experience.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has rapidly developed over the last decade and is nowadays the treatment of choice in the elderly patients irrespective of surgical risk. The outcome of these patients is mainly determined not only by the interventional procedure itself, but also by its complications. We analyzed the outcome and procedural events of transfemoral TAVI procedures performed per year at our institution.

Ventricular assist device implantation improves skeletal muscle function, oxidative capacity, and growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-1 axis signaling in patients with advanced heart failure.

Background: Skeletal muscle dysfunction in patients with heart failure (HF) has been linked to impaired growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 signaling. We hypothesized that ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation reverses GH/IGF-1 axis dysfunction and improves muscle metabolism in HF.

Methods: Blood and rectus abdominis muscle samples were collected during VAD implantation and explantation from patients with HF and controls.