A rare case of aortic valve myxoma: an unusual cause of embolic stroke.

Aortic valve myxoma is an extremely rare cardiac tumour. We describe a 60-year-old woman found to have an aortic valve myxoma and a patent foramen ovale (PFO) presenting as a stroke. In view of the recurrent cerebral ischaemic events, the aortic valve myxoma was surgically removed and the PFO was closed.

Safety and acceptability of implantation of internal cardioverter-defibrillators under local anesthetic and conscious sedation.

Background: Implantation and testing of implantable defibrillators (ICDs) using local anesthetic and conscious sedation is widely practiced; however, some centers still use general anesthesia. We assessed safety and patient acceptability for implantation of defibrillators using local anesthetic and conscious sedation.

Methods: The records of 500 consecutive device implants from two UK cardiac centers implanted under local anesthetic and conscious sedation from January 1996 to December 2004 were reviewed.