Increased duration and similar outcomes of V-V ECLS in patients with COVID-19 ARDS compared to non-COVID ARDS: Single center experience.

Background: Veno-venous extracorporeal life support (V-V ECLS or V-V ECMO) has been adopted as a rescue support in severe cases of COVID-19 ARDS. Initial reports on the use of V-V ECLS in COVID-19 patients reported very high mortality rates (57%-94%), but subsequent studies showed much lower rates (30%-40%). The aim of this study is to analyze demographic features, clinical course and outcomes of COVID-19 treated with V-V ECLS during the Italian 'third wave', in which the alpha variant was prevalent in the country.

Asymmetrical aortic root aneurism in patient with Filamin A mutation.

We report the case of a 28 years old woman with periventricular nodular heterotopia, due to Filamin A mutation. She had an asymmetrical aneurysm of the aortic root, involving, above all, noncoronary Valsalva sinus. She was asymptomatic and she had moderate aortic regurgitation.

Radiation Therapy-Induced Cardiovascular Disease Treated by a Percutaneous Approach.

We report the case of a 51-year-old woman, treated with radiotherapy at the age of two years, for a pulmonary sarcoma. Subsequently she developed severe aortic stenosis and bilateral ostial coronary artery disease, symptomatic for dyspnea (NYHA III functional class). Due to the prohibitive surgical risk, she underwent successful stenting in the right coronary artery and left main ostia with drug eluting stents and, afterwards, transcatheter aortic valve replacement with transfemoral implantation of a 23 mm Edwards SAPIEN XT valve.

An intriguing case report of functional mitral regurgitation treated with MitraClip.

Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is frequent in patients with heart failure (HF). It develops as a consequence of left ventricle (LV) geometry alterations, causing imbalance between increased tethering forces and decreased closing forces exerted on the mitral valve apparatus during systole.FMR is known to change at rest and during effort, due to preload-afterload changes, myocardial ischemia, and/or LV dysfunction.

How should I treat a challenging case of MitraClip implantation?

Background: A 71-year-old woman affected by idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy with normal coronary arteries and permanent atrial fibrillation was found to have severe mitral regurgitation at transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), due to annular dilatation and restricted motion of the posterior leaflet. Because of poor quality of life, high functional class (NYHA Class III) and the high risk of surgery, the patient agreed to undergo the implantation of a MitraClip device. During the procedure, the transoesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) images were of a poor quality since the view of the mitral valve in the mid-oesophageal and transgastric projections did not accurately show the valve leaflets and the convergence area of the regurgitation at colour Doppler, which is indispensable for the correct positioning of the clip.