Fifteen-year clinical prognosis and cardiovascular or limb event associated with homocysteine levels in peripheral arterial disease.

Background: There are limited reports on the relationship between plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels and long-term all-cause death (ACD), cardiovascular events, or limb events in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). We examined the relationship between plasma Hcy levels and 15-year these events in PAD patients.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study in 955 PAD patients.

[Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation for Severe Aortic Stenosis with Preexisting Mitral Prosthesis;Report of a Case].

An 81-year-old woman presented with progressive congestive heart failure. Seventeen years before, she had undergone mitral valve replacement with a mechanical prosthesis. Echocardiography revealed severe aortic stenosis with a depressed left ventricular ejection fraction of 32%.

Bronchogenic cyst of the interatrial septum.

Although bronchogenic cysts are the most common primary mediastinal cysts, intracardiac bronchogenic cysts are extremely rare. We report a case of a bronchogenic cyst of the interatrial septum in a 42-year-old woman who presented with recent onset of dyspnea on exertion. Cardiac investigations including transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography revealed a cystic homogeneous mass in the interatrial septum.

Statins Reduce Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Growth in Marfan Syndrome Mice via Inhibition of the Ras-Induced ERK (Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase) Signaling Pathway.

Background Statins reduce aneurysm growth in mouse models of Marfan syndrome, although the mechanism is unknown. In addition to reducing cholesterol, statins block farnesylation and geranylgeranylation, which participate in membrane-bound G-protein signaling, including Ras. We dissected the prenylation pathway to define the effect of statins on aneurysm reduction.

Obturator foramen bypass for infective groin caused by closure device.

A 69-year-old man underwent carotid artery stenting through the right femoral artery with a percutaneous vascular closure device for hemostasis. Eleven days later, an infective femoral artery pseudoaneurysm was diagnosed by computed tomography. At surgery, a defect in the femoral artery was observed, corresponding to the remnants of the closure device.

[Surgical Treatment of Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis; Tips of Complete Resection of Infective Tissue and Valve Replacement].

Fifteen consecutive prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) patients were operated from March 2009 to September 2014. The average age of patients was 68 years ( range 49 to 82) and 7 patients were male. The interval between initial surgery and reoperation was 62.

Endovascular Total Arch Repair Using In Situ Fenestration for Arch Aneurysm and Chronic Type A Dissection.

Background: Total arch replacement and ascending aorta and arch replacement are the gold standard treatments for aortic arch aneurysm and are possible treatment strategies for chronic type A dissection, with good reported outcomes. However, because total arch replacement is extremely invasive, it can be difficult to perform in some patients. We designed an endovascular total arch repair procedure with the use of in situ fenestration and commercially available devices, and we present our initial experience.

Type IA endoleak embolization after TEVAR via direct transthoracic puncture.

We report the case of a 74-year-old man who developed type IA endoleak after endovascular thoracic aortic repair. The patient was admitted with expansion of the aneurysm after TEVAR, for additional therapy. Fluoroscopy and cone-beam computed tomography-guided direct transthoracic sac puncture and complete embolization of the endoleak channels with metal coils and glue were performed, and resulted in complete exclusion of the endoleak.

[Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) Combined with Embolization Technique for Saccular Aortic Arch Aneurysm].

Many of saccular aortic arch aneurysms exist near left subclabian artery(LSA). The thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair( TEVAR) landing on zone 2 is a less invasive and suitable procedure for this type of aneurysm. However, there are several cases with the aneurysm located close to LSA necessitate landing TEVAR on zone 1 or zone 0, otherwise the aneurysm could not be sealed completely.

[Effectiveness of Mitral Natural Folding Plasty for Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery Mitral Valve Plasty (MICS MVP)].

We performed 45 cases of Natural folding plasty without leaflet resection for degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR) between September 2005 and July 2014. Twenty cases of 45 were operated by right small intercostal approach (MICS). There was no operative mortality.

Open-stent grafting with a GORE TAG thoracic endoprosthesis for an extended severely atheromatous thoracic aortic aneurysm: report of a case.

An 82-year-old man with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease experienced sudden back pain. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed a thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) 63 mm in maximum diameter, with severe atheromas, representing "shaggy aorta", extending down to the level of the ninth thoracic vertebra. Emergency surgery was necessitated by the impending rupture of the aneurysm.

[Acute coronary syndrome caused by giant right coronary artery aneurysm; report of a case].

A 52-year-old man suffered from sudden chest pain. After urgent hospitalization, electrocardiogram showed complete atrioventricular (A-V) block. Computed tomography and coronary angiography showed a giant right coronary artery aneusysm.