Quantitative estimation of aortic valve calcification in multislice computed tomography in predicting the development of paravalvular leaks following transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Introduction: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) improves prognosis in patients disqualified from surgical valve replacement. Calcifications of the aortic complex can lead to deformation of the prosthesis, resulting in paravalvular leaks (PVL).

Aim: To evaluate the predictive value of quantitative estimation of volume/weight and geometric distribution of calcifications in multislice computed tomography, for the development of PVL.

The role of septal perforators and "myocardial bridging effect" in atherosclerotic plaque distribution in the coronary artery disease.

The distribution of atherosclerotic plaque burden in the human coronary arteries is not uniform. Plaques are located mostly in the left anterior descending artery (LAD), then in the right coronary artery (RCA), circumflex branch (LCx) and the left main coronary artery (LM) in a decreasing order of frequency. In the LAD and LCx, plaques tend to cluster within the proximal segment, while in the RCA their distribution is more uniform.

Invasive and non-invasive fractional flow reserve index in validation of hemodynamic severity of intracoronary lesions.

This review discusses visual and functional evaluation of the hemodynamic significance of the degree of stenosis in coronary angiography, with respect to the indications for revascularization. The concept of the coronary flow reserve is defined, and the theoretical assumptions of the invasive measurement of the fractional flow reserve (FFR) are presented. In the following part, the publication describes the basic steps of numerical stimulations in terms of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in calculating the fractional flow reserve based on computed tomography (CT) coronary angiography (FFRCT).

Calcific aortic valve damage as a risk factor for cardiovascular events.

Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is a common disease of the elderly. It is a progressive disease ranging from mild valve thickening to severe calcification with aortic valve stenosis. Risk factors for AVC are similar to those for atherosclerosis: age, gender, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, hypertension, smoking and renal failure.