Milestones in the Development of Fetal Cardiac Interventions.

Cardiac patients of all ages were managed in the past by internists who specialized in cardiology. During the past 50 years, the medical field has witnessed great strides in the management of congenital heart disease, and thus pediatric cardiology has become a subspecialty in many countries. This review article focuses on the advances in fetal cardiac interventions (FCI) since its inception by our group in 1975.

Detection of severe left anterior descending coronary artery stenosis by transthoracic evaluation of resting coronary flow velocity dynamics.

In the presence of severe stenosis, coronary artery flow may be reduced at rest. Recent advances in echocardiography have made non-invasive sampling of velocities in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) possible. The aim of our study was to evaluate feasibility and capability of transthoracic Doppler to detect severe stenosis of the LAD.

The early anti-oxidant effect of carvedilol predicts the clinical course in congestive heart failure patients.

Background: Carvedilol, a beta1 and beta2 as well as an alpha1 adrenoreceptor antagonist with multiple hemodynamic, anti-ischemic and anti-oxidant properties, is widely accepted for the treatment of hypertension and congestive heart failure (CHF). It has been shown to improve morbidity and mortality in CHF.

Objectives: To assess whether the anti-oxidant effect of carvedilol has an impact on the clinical course in post-myocardial infarction (MI) CHF.

Novel insights into the natural history of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy during long-term follow-up.

Background: Long-term follow-up in apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is rare.

Objective: To study the natural history of the disease.

Methods: We followed 11 patients, 5 women and 6 men, for 5-20 years.