Mitral valve surgery with or without coronary bypass grafting: eight-year cohort study.

Aims: A significant minority of patients undergoing mitral valve surgery (MVR) have indication for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The risks of combination surgeries are not well appreciated and maybe more than additive. We compared the characteristics and outcomes of MVR+/-CABG performed at our centre.

Natural history of a systemic right ventricle.

The natural history of a systemic right ventricle after an atrial switch procedure has yet to be fully characterised. We describe the case of the longest surviving patient at our institution who underwent a Mustard Baffle correction for dextro-transposition of great arteries in childhood. Over following decades he was reviewed regularly with deteriorating systemic right ventricle function.

Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography for surgical repair of mitral regurgitation.

Surgical repair of the mitral valve is being increasingly performed to treat severe mitral regurgitation. Transesophageal echocardiography is an essential tool for assessing valvular function and guiding surgical decision making during the perioperative period. A careful and systematic transesophageal echocardiographic examination is necessary to ensure that appropriate information is obtained and that the correct diagnoses are obtained before and after repair.

Thrombo-embolic cerebral infarction secondary to giant Lambl's excrescence.

Lambl's excrescences are common fibrinous strands found at the contact margin of cardiac valves. They are referred to as "giant" when multiple strands form a complex. Embolic stroke secondary to these valvular strands has rarely been described in the literature.

Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide levels in cardiac donors.

Introduction: Elevated levels of plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and amino-terminal BNP (NT-proBNP) are associated with adverse cardiac outcomes. It is not known whether BNP and NT-proBNP levels in heart donors can aid in selection and predict outcomes in transplant recipients.

Methods: Plasma BNP and NT-proBNP were measured in 32 organ donors prior to removal from life-support systems.

Percutaneous transcatheter obliteration of aortic paravalvular leak.

A 76-year-old man who underwent aortic valve replacement for severe calcific aortic stenosis developed a significant paravalvular leak. Because the risk of re-operation was felt too great, a percutaneous transcatheter obliteration of the defect using an Amplatzer vascular plug was undertaken, with an excellent clinical outcome.

Association of the fourth heart sound with increased left ventricular end-diastolic stiffness.

Background: Although the fourth heart sound (S4) is thought to be associated with a stiff left ventricle, this association has never been proven. Recently, single-beat estimation of the end-diastolic pressure volume relationship (EDPVR) has been characterized (P = alphaV(beta)), allowing the estimation of EDPVR in larger groups of patients. We hypothesized that the S(4) is associated with an upward- and leftward-shifted EDPVR, indicative of elevated end-diastolic stiffness.

Percutaneous closure of post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal defects: a single centre experience.

Background: Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a serious complication of myocardial infarction (MI), occurring in about 0.2% of cases. Untreated, mortality in high and early surgical repair is difficult because of friable necrotic tissue.

Quantitative assessment of severity of mitral regurgitation by serial echocardiography in a multicenter clinical trial of percutaneous mitral valve repair.

The aims of the echocardiographic substudy of this multicenter trial were to evaluate the use of quantitative assessment of mitral regurgitation (MR) severity using serial echocardiography and to assess the efficacy of percutaneous mitral valve repair. Previous surgical repair studies did not use quantitative echocardiographic methods. Results of a percutaneous mitral valve repair clip device in a core echocardiographic laboratory were evaluated.

Physiology of the third heart sound: novel insights from tissue Doppler imaging.

Background: The third heart sound (S(3)) is thought to be caused by the abrupt deceleration of left ventricular (LV) inflow during early diastole, increased LV filling pressures, and decreased LV compliance. We sought to determine whether the ratio of early mitral inflow velocity to diastolic velocity of the mitral annulus (E/E') could confirm the proposed mechanism of the S(3).

Methods: A total of 90 subjects underwent phonocardiography, echocardiography, tissue Doppler imaging, and left-sided heart catheterization.

Performance of phonoelectrocardiographic left ventricular systolic time intervals and B-type natriuretic peptide levels in the diagnosis of left ventricular dysfunction.

Background: Systolic time intervals measured by echocardiography and carotid artery tracings are validated methods of assessing left ventricular function. However, the clinical utility of phonoelectrocardiographic systolic time intervals for predicting heart failure using newer technology has not been evaluated.

Methods: We enrolled 100 adult patients undergoing left heart catheterization.

Diagnostic characteristics of combining phonocardiographic third heart sound and systolic time intervals for the prediction of left ventricular dysfunction.

Background: The third heart sound (S3) and systolic time intervals (STIs) are validated clinical indicators of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. We investigated the test characteristics of a combined score summarizing S3 and STI results for predicting LV dysfunction.

Methods And Results: A total of 81 adults underwent computerized phonelectrocardiography for S3 and STI (Audicor, Inovise Medical Inc), cardiac catheterization for LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), echocardiography for LV ejection fraction (LVEF), and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) testing.

Obese patients have lower B-type and atrial natriuretic peptide levels compared with nonobese.

Obesity is a risk factor for the development of heart failure, but the causal mechanism remains unclear. Impaired production or enhanced clearance of natriuretic peptides, which regulate sodium balance and sympathetic activation, may play an important role. The authors investigated the relationship of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide and atrial natriuretic peptide levels to body mass index in 100 patients referred for left heart catheterization.

Relationship between accurate auscultation of a clinically useful third heart sound and level of experience.

Background: Poor performance by physicians-in-training and interobserver variability between physicians have diminished clinicians' confidence in the value of the third heart sound (S3).

Methods: To determine whether auscultation of a clinically useful S3 improves with advancing levels of experience, we performed a prospective, blinded, observational study of 100 patients undergoing left-sided heart catheterization. Patients underwent blinded auscultation by 4 physicians (each from 1 of 4 different levels of experience), phonocardiography, measurement of blood B-type natriuretic peptide levels, echocardiography for measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction, and cardiac catheterization for measurement of left ventricular end-diastolic pressure.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and parameters of left ventricular dysfunction.

Background: Elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory marker, have been associated with heart failure. However, it is not known which parameters of left ventricular dysfunction correlate with elevated levels of CRP.

Methods And Results: In this cross-sectional study of 98 patients referred for cardiac catheterization, we investigated whether commonly used clinical indices of left ventricular dysfunction correlated with CRP levels.

Association between phonocardiographic third and fourth heart sounds and objective measures of left ventricular function.

Context: The third (S3) and fourth (S4) heart sounds detected by phonocardiography are considered to represent the criterion standards of the gallop sounds, but their test characteristics have not been explored.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic test characteristics of the S3 and S4 for prediction of left ventricular dysfunction using a computerized heart sound detection algorithm.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Prospective study of 90 adult patients undergoing elective left-sided heart catheterization at a single US teaching hospital between August 2003 and June 2004.

Effects of intravenous levosimendan on human coronary vasomotor regulation, left ventricular wall stress, and myocardial oxygen uptake.

Background: Levosimendan is a calcium-sensitizing agent and an inodilator under current investigation in the treatment of decompensated heart failure. The effects of intravenous levosimendan on the human coronary vasculature, together with myocardial wall stress and oxygen uptake, have not been adequately studied.

Methods And Results: Ten adult patients underwent right- and left-heart catheterization.

Usefulness of serial measurement of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide plasma levels in asymptomatic patients with aortic stenosis to predict symptomatic deterioration.

In 29 initially asymptomatic patients with aortic stenosis followed for an average of 18 months, patients with a N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) level above the normal range at baseline were more likely to develop symptoms during follow-up compared with patients with NT-pro-BNP within normal limits. The average increase in NT-pro-BNP per year was greater for patients who developed symptoms compared with patients who remained asymptomatic. Aortic valve area, peak aortic velocity, and the ejection fraction were less reliable predictors of symptom onset.

Effect of aortic valve replacement on c-reactive protein in nonrheumatic aortic stenosis.

Plasma levels of C-reactive protein were higher in 20 patients with bicuspid or trileaflet degenerative aortic stenosis than in 31 normal controls and in 19 patients with pure aortic regurgitation. C-reactive protein decreased from before to 6 months after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis. These observations suggest that aortic stenosis is an inflammatory disease.