Outcomes of emergent cardiac surgery after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reasons for emergent cardiac surgery (ECS) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and assess outcomes of these patients.

Methods: All patients undergoing ECS following a complicated TAVI procedure at a high-volume TAVI centre in the Netherlands from 1 January 2008 to 1 April 2022 were included. Baseline and procedural characteristics and outcome data (procedural, 30-day and 1‑year mortality, in-hospital stroke, 30-day pacemaker implantation, 30-day vascular complications, 30-day deep sternal wound infections and 30-day re-exploration) were collected from patient files and analysed using descriptive statistics.

Two presentations of acute coronary syndrome with progression of giant right coronary artery aneurysm; a case report.

Background: Giant coronary aneurysms are a rare finding on coronary angiography. Given its very low prevalence, little is known about optimal management of this coronary pathology.

Case Summary: In this case report, we review the two presentations of a patient with acute coronary syndrome during a 6-year period.

Randomized controlled trial between conventional versus sutureless bioprostheses for aortic valve replacement: Impact of mini and full sternotomy access at 1-year follow-up.

Background: The present study is a sub-analysis of the multicenter, randomized PERSIST-AVR trial (PERceval Sutureless Implant versus Standard Aortic Valve Replacement) comparing the in-hospital and 1-year results of sutureless versus conventional stented bioprostheses in isolated surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) within two different surgical approaches: mini-sternotomy (MS) and full-sternotomy (FS).

Methods: A total of 819 patients (per-protocol population) underwent preoperative randomization to sutureless or stented biological valve at 47 centers worldwide. Sub-analysis on isolated SAVR was performed.

Pacemaker implantation after sutureless or stented valve: results from a controlled randomized trial.

Objectives: Sutureless aortic valves demonstrated non-inferiority to standard stented valves for major cardiovascular and cerebral events at 1 year after aortic valve replacement. We aim to assess the factors correlating with permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) in both cohorts.

Methods: PERSIST-AVR is a prospective, randomized, open-label trial.

Hemodynamic Performance of Sutureless vs. Conventional Bioprostheses for Aortic Valve Replacement: The 1-Year Core-Lab Results of the Randomized PERSIST-AVR Trial.

Objective: Sutureless aortic valves are an effective option for aortic valve replacement (AVR) showing non-inferiority to standard stented aortic valves for major cardiovascular and cerebral events at 1-year. We report the 1-year hemodynamic performance of the sutureless prostheses compared with standard aortic valves, assessed by a dedicated echocardiographic core lab.

Methods: Perceval Sutureless Implant vs.

Surgical Sutureless and Sutured Aortic Valve Replacement in Low-risk Patients.

Background: Randomized clinical trials have shown that transcatheter aortic valve replacement is noninferior to surgery in low surgical risk patients. We compared outcomes in patients treated with a sutured (stented or stentless) or sutureless surgical valve from the Evolut Low Risk Trial.

Methods: The Evolut Low Risk Trial enrolled patients with severe aortic stenosis and low surgical risk.

Recovery of conduction disorders after sutureless aortic valve replacement.

Objectives: Conduction disorders and the need for permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation after surgical aortic valve replacement are well-recognized complications. However, in the case of sutureless valve prostheses, it remains unknown whether pacemaker (PM) dependency and conduction disturbances resolve over time. Our aim was to evaluate whether conduction disorders after Perceval sutureless valve implantation recover during follow-up.

Effects of Age Discrimination on Self-perceptions of Aging and Cancer Risk Behaviors.

Background And Objectives: Almost one-third of older adults report experiencing age discrimination. We hypothesized sequential links between older adults' everyday experiences of age discrimination and future health behaviors related to cancer risk through self-perceptions of aging (SPA).

Research Design And Methods: Participants were community-dwelling respondents (age: 51-96 years) from the 2008, 2012, and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 4,467).

Impact of Experience Corps® Participation on Children's Academic Achievement and School Behavior.

This article reports on the impact of the Experience Corps® (EC) Baltimore program, an intergenerational, school-based program aimed at improving academic achievement and reducing disruptive school behavior in urban, elementary school students in Kindergarten through third grade (K-3). Teams of adult volunteers aged 60 and older were placed in public schools, serving 15 h or more per week, to perform meaningful and important roles to improve the educational outcomes of children and the health and well-being of volunteers. Findings indicate no significant impact of the EC program on standardized reading or mathematical achievement test scores among children in grades 1-3 exposed to the program.

Sutureless aortic valve replacement in a calcified homograft combined with mitral valve replacement.

Background: Aortic valve replacement in a patient with an aortic homograft can be very challenging, especially when concomitant mitral valve surgery needs to be performed.

Case Presentation: We report a case of implantation of a sutureless aortic valve bioprosthesis combined with mitral valve replacement in a patient with a severely calcified aortic homograft where conventional valve replacement was technically unfeasible.

Conclusions: We believe that sutureless AVR is a viable option especially for young patients with a high surgical risk where conventional valve replacement cannot be achieved.

Positive Aging Expectations Are Associated With Physical Activity Among Urban-Dwelling Older Adults.

Purpose: Regular physical activity is a key component of healthy aging, but few older adults meet physical activity guidelines. Poor aging expectations can contribute to this lack of activity, since negative stereotypes about the aging process can be internalized and affect physical performance. Although prior cross-sectional studies have shown that physical activity and aging expectations are associated, less is known about this association longitudinally, particularly among traditionally underrepresented groups.

One-Year Outcomes of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Using the Direct Aortic Approach.

Background: The direct aortic (DA) approach allows for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in patients with difficult peripheral vascular anatomy. The CoreValve ADVANCE Direct Aortic (ADVANCE DA) study was performed to assess the outcomes of DA TAVI with the CoreValve System (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) in routine practice.

Methods: Patients were selected for the DA approach by local cardiac surgical teams, and TAVI was performed with patients under general anesthesia.

Percutaneous coronary intervention of an iatrogenic occlusion of the circumflex coronary artery after mitral valve replacement.

Occlusion of the circumflex coronary artery by compromising sutures is a serious complication in patients undergoing mitral valve replacement. The majority of such patients have to undergo bypass surgery or redo mitral valve replacement. We report a case of an iatrogenic occlusion of the circumflex coronary artery after mitral valve replacement that was treated by percutaneous coronary intervention.

A European Multicenter Study of 616 Patients Receiving the Freedom Solo Stentless Bioprosthesis.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and performance of the Freedom Solo valve in aortic valve replacement by clinical and hemodynamic outcomes.

Methods: Six hundred sixteen patients underwent aortic valve replacement in 18 European centers; mean age was 74.5 ± 5.

Effect of Community Volunteering on Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Older adults with a high number of chronic conditions and who live in environments that do not promote physical activity have great difficulty initiating and adhering to exercise programs. Novel lifestyle activity interventions that can effectively increase physical activity may address disparities in health in these populations. This study evaluates the effects of the Baltimore Experience Corps program, a community-based volunteer program, on walking activity in older adults.

Mid-term haemodynamic and clinical results after aortic valve replacement using the Freedom Solo stentless bioprosthesis versus the Carpentier Edwards Perimount stented bioprosthesis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the mid-term haemodynamic and clinical results after aortic valve replacement (AVR) using the Sorin Freedom Solo (SFS) stentless bioprosthesis, compared with the standard Carpentier Edwards Perimount (CEP) stented bioprosthesis.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data, 116 patients were included in the SFS group (53 males; median age 74 years, range 56-85 years), and 122 patients in the CEP group (85 males; median age 73 years, range 43-88 years) between July 2007 and January 2013. Echocardiography was performed at 6 weeks after surgery in our centre, and the most recent echocardiography (in our centre or in referring cardiology departments) was requested.

Impact of Experience Corps(®) participation on school climate.

We examined the impact of the Experience Corps(®) (EC) program on school climate within Baltimore City public elementary schools. In this program, teams of older adult volunteers were placed in high intensity (>15 h per week), meaningful roles in public elementary schools, to improve the educational outcomes of children as well as the health and well-being of volunteers. During the first year of EC participation, school climate was perceived more favorably among staff and students in EC schools as compared to those in comparison schools.

Clinical and haemodynamic outcomes in 804 patients receiving the Freedom SOLO stentless aortic valve: results from an international prospective multicentre study.

Objectives: The Freedom SOLO™ valve (Sorin Group, Italy) is a stentless aortic bioprosthesis designed for simplified implantation. The present multicentre study is the largest prospective evaluation of this prosthesis. Herein, we report on outcomes at 3-year follow-up.

Low-intensity daily walking activity is associated with hippocampal volume in older adults.

Hippocampal atrophy is associated with memory impairment and dementia and serves as a key biomarker in the preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease. Physical activity, one of the most promising behavioral interventions to prevent or delay cognitive decline, has been shown to be associated with hippocampal volume; specifically increased aerobic activity and fitness may have a positive effect on the size of the hippocampus. The majority of older adults, however, are sedentary and have difficulty initiating and maintaining exercise programs.

Effects of cell-saving devices and filters on transfusion in cardiac surgery: a multicenter randomized study.

Background: Cell-saving devices (CS) are frequently used in cardiac surgery to reduce transfusion requirements, but convincing evidence from randomized clinical trials is missing. Filtration of salvaged blood in combination with the CS is widely used to improve the quality of retransfused blood, but there are no data to justify this approach.

Methods: To determine the contribution of CS and filters on transfusion requirements, we performed a multicenter factorial randomized clinical trial in two academic and four nonacademic hospitals.

Postoperative conduction disorders after implantation of the self-expandable sutureless Perceval S bioprosthesis.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Minimally invasive techniques for aortic valve replacement (AVR) have been developed as an alternative to conventional AVR for patients with high operative risk. Yet, these techniques are still associated with an increased risk of postoperative conduction disorders. The study aim was to identify the incidence and fate of postoperative conduction disorders in patients undergoing sutureless (SU) AVR with the Perceval S bioprosthesis.

Low-intensity walking activity is associated with better health.

Recommended levels of physical activity may represent challenging targets for many older adults at risk for disability, leading to the importance of evaluating whether low-intensity activity is associated with health benefits. We examined the cross-sectional association between low-intensity walking activity (<100 steps/min) and health and physical function in a group of older adults. Participants (N = 187; age = 66.

The evolution of an academic-community partnership in the design, implementation, and evaluation of experience corps® Baltimore city: a courtship model.

Purpose: Experience Corps Baltimore City (EC) is a product of a partnership between the Greater Homewood Community Corporation (GHCC) and the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health (COAH) that began in 1998. EC recruits volunteers aged 55 and older into high-impact mentoring and tutoring roles in public elementary schools that are designed to also benefit the volunteers. We describe the evolution of the GHCC-COAH partnership through the "Courtship Model.

Experience Corps: a dual trial to promote the health of older adults and children's academic success.

Background: As the population ages, older adults are seeking meaningful, and impactful, post-retirement roles. As a society, improving the health of people throughout longer lives is a major public health goal. This paper presents the design and rationale for an effectiveness trial of Experience Corps™, an intervention created to address both these needs.