Percutaneous occlusion balloon as a bridge to surgery in a swine model of superior vena cava perforation.

Background: Superior vena cava (SVC) perforation is a rare but potentially fatal complication of transvenous lead removal.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of hemodynamic stabilization using an occlusion balloon during SVC tear in a porcine model.

Methods: A surgically induced SVC perforation was created in Yorkshire cross swine (n = 7).

Cellularity and structure of fresh human coronary thrombectomy specimens; presence of cells with markers of progenitor cells.

Acute coronary syndromes and acute myocardial infarctions are often related to plaque rupture and the formation of thrombi at the site of the rupture. We examined fresh coronary thrombectomy specimens from patients with acute coronary syndromes and assessed their structure and cellularity. The thrombectomy specimens consisted of platelets, erythrocytes and inflammatory cells.

Atrial fibrillation and mitral valve repair.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is present in 30-40% of patients presenting for mitral valve surgery. In patients undergoing mitral valve repair, the presence of AF may be associated with increased mortality and morbidity and this is also the case in patients in whom AF persists postoperatively. Advances in understanding the pathogenesis of AF led to techniques that include both mitral valve repair and ablation of AF.

Gender differences in ventricular arrhythmia recurrence in patients with coronary artery disease and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.

Objectives: We sought to determine whether men and women with coronary artery disease (CAD) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) differ in frequency of arrhythmia recurrence and whether gender differences are independent of clinical, electrocardiographic, and electrophysiologic characteristics.

Background: Epidemiologic studies show that women have a lower rate of sudden cardiac death (SCD) than men, even among patients with CAD. Whether this is due to differing susceptibilities to ischemia or to arrhythmia is unknown.

Hyperkalemia induced T wave oversensing leading to loss of biventricular pacing and inappropriate ICD shocks.

Inappropriate ICD shocks remain a common problem. Double counting of single ventricular events can occur with biventricular ICDs implanted before univentricular sensing was available. Often this is due to a tachyarrhythmia or loss of left ventricular capture.