Combined Retrograde/Antegrade Approach to Transcatheter Closure of an Aortic Paravalvular Leak.

New interventional techniques have made transcatheter closure of aortic paravalvular leaks a viable therapeutic option to treat the sequelae of these defects, including congestive heart failure and hemolysis. We report the transcatheter closure of an aortic paravalvular leak via a combined retrograde/antegrade approach. This was necessary because of difficulty in crossing the defect with a sheath from the retrograde approach.

The story of the lost needle: Foreign body embolization to the heart.

A 61-year-old female was evaluated because of severe symptomatic mitral regurgitation. She was found to have a foreign body in the heart by cardiac catheterization. Through a retrospective review of serial imaging studies, we found that a hypodermic needle had been retained in the body from a prior abdominal wall surgery and had subsequently migrated to the heart.

Perioperative assessment of platelet function by Thromboelastograph Platelet Mapping in cardiovascular patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.

Unlabelled: Five percent of patients on dual antiplatelet therapy after coronary artery stent implantation will need non-cardiac surgery within the first year of therapy, and many more will need surgery later on. A function assay that evaluates platelet reactivity and inhibition by drug therapy is beneficial for such patients. Platelet Mapping assay (PM) using the TEG analyzer was tested in surgical patients.

Cardiac tumors in a tertiary care cancer hospital: clinical features, echocardiographic findings, treatment and outcomes.

Cardiac tumors are a rare entity, comprised of tumors with diverse histology and natural history. We report the clinical characteristics, echocardiograhic findings, therapy and outcome of 59 patients with primary and metastatic cardiac tumors. Our institutional echocardiogram data base from 1993 through 2005 was reviewed to identify patients diagnosed with intra-cardiac tumor.