A Multicenter Analysis of Aortic Root Replacement: Non-Native Chest Increases Risk of Post-Operative Mortality.

Objective: Re-do root replacement poses a significant technical challenge, increasing potential risk of morbidity and mortality. This multi-institution study compared outcomes in aortic root replacement stratified by chest surgery and aortic root history.

Methods: A retrospective review by the Western Aortic Collaborative was performed for three different aortic centers for patients who underwent non-emergent root replacement from 2017-2023 with exclusion of patients who underwent more than hemiarch replacement or who presented with acute or hyperacute aortic dissection.

Familial Associations of Prevalence and Cause-Specific Mortality for Thoracic Aortic Disease and Bicuspid Aortic Valve in a Large-Population Database.

Background: Thoracic aortic disease and bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) likely have a heritable component, but large population-based studies are lacking. This study characterizes familial associations of thoracic aortic disease and BAV, as well as cardiovascular and aortic-specific mortality, among relatives of these individuals in a large-population database.

Methods: In this observational case-control study of the Utah Population Database, we identified probands with a diagnosis of BAV, thoracic aortic aneurysm, or thoracic aortic dissection.

Minimally Invasive versus Full Sternotomy SAVR in the Era of TAVR: An Institutional Review.

In the era of advancing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) technology, traditional open surgery remains a valuable intervention for patients who are not TAVR candidates. We sought to compare perioperative variables and postoperative outcomes of minimally invasive and full sternotomy surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) at a single institution. A retrospective analysis of 113 patients who underwent isolated SAVR via full sternotomy or upper hemi-sternotomy between January 2015 and December 2019 at the University of Utah Hospital was performed.

Premature atrial stimulation accentuates conduction abnormalities in cardiac surgery patients that develop postoperative atrial fibrillation.

Background: postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a common cardiac surgery complication that is associated with increased complications and negative outcomes, but the association between presurgical atrial conduction abnormalities and POAF has not been investigated clinically during premature atrial S1S2 stimulation. This clinical study sought to examine whether intraoperative premature atrial stimulation reveals increased areas of slowed and/or blocked conduction in patients that develop POAF.

Methods: High-density intraoperative epicardial left atrial mapping was conducted in 20 cardiac surgery patients with no prior history of atrial fibrillation (AF).

Predictors of Adherence to Anti-Impulse Therapy among Patients Treated for Acute Type-B Aortic Dissections.

Background: Medical management remains the mainstay of treatment for patients who present with acute Type-B aortic dissections (TBAD). However, it is unclear whether patients maintain adherence to their anti-impulse therapy medication regimen following hospital discharge. This study was designed to evaluate rates and predictors of medication adherence among insured patients treated for acute TBAD.

Evaluating Quality in Adult Cardiac Surgery.

National and institutional quality initiatives provide benchmarks for evaluating the effectiveness of medical care. However, the dramatic growth in the number and type of medical and organizational quality-improvement standards creates a challenge to identify and understand those that most accurately determine quality in cardiac surgery. It is important that surgeons have knowledge and insight into valid, useful indicators for comparison and improvement.

Preventing or Minimizing Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is now routinely performed in patients with aortic stenosis with low mortality and complication rates. Although periprocedural risks have been substantially minimized, procedure- and contrast-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) remains a major concern. AKI remains a frequent complication of contrast-guided interventional procedures and is associated with a significantly adverse prognosis.

Is timing everything? Bioprosthetic valve fracture in valve-in-valve TAVR.

We present a challenging case of early bioprosthetic valve degeneration following valve-in-valve transcatheter aortic valve replacement and bioprosthetic valve fracture.

Surgical explantation of atrial septal closure devices for refractory nickel allergy symptoms.

Objectives: Systemic allergic reactions to nickel alloys in percutaneous atrial septal defect occlusion devices have a poorly defined natural history. We describe our experience of surgical removal of the offending device in a series of patients with nickel allergy and refractory symptoms.

Methods: Patients with atrial septal defect device explants for nickel allergy were reviewed.

Evaluation of the Sex-and-Age-Specific Effects of PM on Hospital Readmission in the Presence of the Competing Risk of Mortality in the Medicare Population of Utah 1999-2009.

Acute ambient air pollution exposure increases risk of cardiac events. We evaluated sex-and-age-specific effects of PM on hospital readmission and death among 19,602 Medicare beneficiaries ( = 30,510) who survived cardiovascular events including myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and cardiac arrhythmias in Utah from 1999-2009. Fine and Gray regression jointly modeled the effect of PM on readmission hazard rates while allowing for the competing risk of death.

Transesophageal echocardiography identification of aortic dissection during cardiac arrest and cessation of ECMO initiation.

Cardiac arrest is a challenging clinical presentation that emergency medicine providers often encounter. Aortic dissection is an uncommon etiology in all-comers presenting in cardiac arrest. The use of bedside point of care echocardiography to aid in resuscitative efforts is expanding, particularly with the increasing use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) by emergency medicine providers.

Value-driven cardiac surgery: Achieving "perfect care" after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if the implementation of a value-driven outcomes tool comprising modifiable quality and utilization metrics lowers cost and improves value of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) postoperative care.

Methods: Ten metrics were defined for CABG patients in 2 temporally separated phases. Clinical care protocols were designed and implemented to increase compliance with these metrics.

Evolutionary Improvements in the Jarvik 2000 Left Ventricular Assist Device.

Mechanical circulatory support devices experience a wide range of operating conditions during patient use. Since its first implant in June 2000, the Jarvik 2000 left ventricular assist device has witnessed systematic stepwise modifications to reduce the risk of serious adverse events and improve patient outcomes. Over time, clinical experience revealed a number of low-incidence failure modes that presented opportunities for improvement.

PHD-2 Suppression in Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Enhances Wound Healing.

Background: Cell therapy with mesenchymal stromal cells is a promising strategy for tissue repair. Restoration of blood flow to ischemic tissues is a key step in wound repair, and mesenchymal stromal cells have been shown to be proangiogenic. Angiogenesis is critically regulated by the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) superfamily, consisting of transcription factors targeted for degradation by prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHD)-2.

Repair of ascending aortic aneurysms following cardiac transplantation.

Ascending aortic aneurysms arising from the native aorta following cardiac transplantation are rare. We report two patients who developed aneurysms of the native ascending aorta requiring surgical repair post-transplantation. Both patients underwent ascending and hemi-arch replacement and recovered uneventfully.

Microfluidic single-cell transcriptional analysis rationally identifies novel surface marker profiles to enhance cell-based therapies.

Current progenitor cell therapies have only modest efficacy, which has limited their clinical adoption. This may be the result of a cellular heterogeneity that decreases the number of functional progenitors delivered to diseased tissue, and prevents correction of underlying pathologic cell population disruptions. Here, we develop a high-resolution method of identifying phenotypically distinct progenitor cell subpopulations via single-cell transcriptional analysis and advanced bioinformatics.

Diabetes irreversibly depletes bone marrow-derived mesenchymal progenitor cell subpopulations.

Diabetic vascular pathology is largely attributable to impairments in tissue recovery from hypoxia. Circulating progenitor cells have been postulated to play a role in ischemic recovery, and deficiencies in these cells have been well described in diabetic patients. Here, we examine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells (BM-MPCs) that have previously been shown to be important for new blood vessel formation and demonstrate significant deficits in the context of diabetes.

Reduced BMPR2 expression induces GM-CSF translation and macrophage recruitment in humans and mice to exacerbate pulmonary hypertension.

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH [IPAH]) is an insidious and potentially fatal disease linked to a mutation or reduced expression of bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 (BMPR2). Because intravascular inflammatory cells are recruited in IPAH pathogenesis, we hypothesized that reduced BMPR2 enhances production of the potent chemokine granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in response to an inflammatory perturbation. When human pulmonary artery (PA) endothelial cells deficient in BMPR2 were stimulated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a twofold increase in GM-CSF was observed and related to enhanced messenger RNA (mRNA) translation.

Tracking the elusive fibrocyte: identification and characterization of collagen-producing hematopoietic lineage cells during murine wound healing.

Fibrocytes are a unique population of circulating cells reported to exhibit characteristics of both hematopoietic and mesenchymal cells, and play an important role in wound healing. However, putative fibrocytes have been found to lose expression of hematopoietic surface markers such as CD45 during differentiation, making it difficult to track these cells in vivo with conventional methodologies. In this study, to distinguish hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cells without surface markers, we took advantage of the gene vav 1, which is expressed solely on hematopoietic cells but not on other cell types, and established a novel transgenic mouse, in which hematopoietic cells are irreversibly labeled with green fluorescent protein and nonhematopoietic cells with red fluorescent protein.