prosthetic valve endocarditis with severe aortic regurgitation successfully treated with transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

We describe the case of a 69-year-old man with a history of bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement who presented with prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) complicated by severe aortic insufficiency with refractory cardiogenic shock despite antibiotic therapy. He was considered a prohibitive-risk surgical candidate due to co-morbid conditions and off-label valve-in-valve transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was performed after detailed multidisciplinary evaluation. He recovered well without recurrent infection following completion of antibiotics and transthoracic echocardiogram at 12 months showed a normal functioning prosthetic valve.

Ambulatory Intra Aortic Balloon Pump in Advanced Heart Failure.

Cardiac transplantation is the gold standard treatment for patients with advanced congestive heart failure that is refractory to maximal medical therapy. However, donor heart availability remains the major limiting factor, resulting in a large number of patients waiting long periods of time before transplantation. As a result, mechanical circulatory support devices have been increasingly used as a 'bridge' in order to sustain organ function and stabilise haemodynamics while patients remain on the transplant waiting list or undergo left ventricular assist device surgery.