Dysfunction of a 21-mm aortic bioprosthesis treated with percutaneous implantation of a CoreValve prosthesis.

Percutaneous aortic valve replacement is an emerging alternative for high surgical risk patients with native aortic valve stenosis. We describe for the first time a valve-in-valve procedure with a CoreValve prosthesis for the treatment of a severely stenotic degenerated aortic bioprosthesis.

Improvement of intrinsic myocardial contractility and cardiac fibrosis degree in acromegalic patients treated with somatostatin analogues: a prospective study.

Background: Acromegalic patients have increased left ventricular (LV) mass (M) and impaired diastolic function.

Aim: Using ultrasonic cardiac tissue characterization, we evaluated the early changes in cardiac fibrosis (IBS) and intrinsic myocardial contractility (CVI) as well as their reversibility after treatment with somatostatin analogues (SMSA) in patients with acromegaly.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-two acromegalic patients with active untreated disease (Acro(UNTR)) underwent conventional Doppler echocardiography and integrated backscattering; 25 healthy subjects (controls) and eight patients with acromegaly in remission after pituitary adenomectomy (Acro(REM)) served as controls.