Impact and natural history of postprocedural aortic regurgitation on early and midterm mortality following transcatheter aortic valve implantation in high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis.

Background: Post-procedural aortic regurgitation (AR) negatively impacts the prognosis after trans-catheter aortic valve implantation. However, data evaluating the impact of different post-procedural AR grades (particularly mild) on clinical outcomes are still important.

Aim And Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed on all consecutive patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent trans-catheter aortic valve implantation between July 2008 and August 2011 in a single Institution.

Cardiac surgery for patients with heart failure due to structural heart disease in Uganda: access to surgery and outcomes.

Objective: Few data are available on heart failure (HF) in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to provide a current picture of HF aetiologies in urban Uganda, access to heart surgery, and outcomes.

Methods: We prospectively collected clinical and echocardiographic data from 272 consecutive patients referred for suspected heart disease to a tertiary hospital in Kampala during seven non-governmental organisation (NGO) missions from 2009 to 2013.

How should I treat a left main spontaneous dissection involving left anterior descending artery, intermediate branch artery and left circumflex artery?

Background: A 45-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Investigation: Physical examination, electrocardiography, coronary angiography, echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography.

Diagnosis: STEMI due to spontaneous left main coronary artery dissection involving left anterior descending, intermediate and left circumflex arteries.

Clinical outcome and quality of life in octogenarians following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for symptomatic aortic stenosis.

Objective: TAVI is the alternative option in pts with AS deemed ineligible for surgery. Although mortality and morbidity are measures to assess the effectiveness of treatments, quality of life (QOL) should be an additional target. We assessed clinical outcome and QOL in octogenarians following TAVI.

Calcified left ventricular endomyocardial fibrosis.

Endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) is a rare condition, but in certain tropical countries it is a major cause of illness and death. Moreover, the etiology of the disease is unknown, it has no specific treatment, and it carries a poor prognosis. As both the heart and the peritoneum may be affected by the inflammation and deposition of fibrous tissue, even left ventricular EMF may present with gross ascites mimicking right-heart failure.

New-onset atrial fibrillation as first clinical manifestation of latent Brugada syndrome: prevalence and clinical significance.

Aims: To evaluate the prevalence, clinical significance, and prognosis of latent Brugada syndrome (BrS) in patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) unmasked by class 1C antiarrhythmic drugs.

Methods And Results: Between January 2000 and June 2008, all consecutive patients with new-onset AF, who after flecainide exhibited typical Brugada ECG pattern, underwent electrophysiologic, pharmacologic, and genetic testing. Among 346 patients [median age 53 years; interquartile range (IQR), 15], 11 (3.