Range and distribution of NT-proBNP values in stable corrected congenital heart disease of various types.

Background: Elevated levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are an expected finding in many adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) but no reports have described the range of values within different diagnostic groups.

Methods: Between the years 2003 and 2011 we measured NT-proBNP in consecutive ACHD patients attending the outpatient department. Further NT-proBNP analysis was performed on 705 blood samples from 394 stable patients with the defect corrected.

[Type II atrial septal defects in adulthood].

Indication criteria of adult patients with atrial septal defects type II for surgery are not uniform so far. In a group of 150 adult patients with atrial septal defects type II operated in 1978-1987 at the cardiosurgical department in Brno the authors report the following results: a mortality on operation of 0.7% and a very satisfactory postoperative condition in almost all patients.

Percutaneous retrieval of foreign bodies from the cardiovascular system.

The authors retrieved percutaneously an iatrogenic foreign body from the cardiovascular system in 10 patients without any complications. The Dormia basket catcher commonly used for stone extraction from the urinary tract was used in 9 out of 10 patients. The foreign body was extracted 6 times from the right atrium and once each from the pulmonary artery, the right ventricle, the iliac vein and the iliac artery.