Moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation in ischemic heart disease: to operate or not? A meta-analysis.

Introduction: Deciding whether to perform coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) alone or in combination with mitral valve repair is a common dilemma encountered by surgeons when treating patients with ischemic mitral regurgitation, a common condition related to coronary artery disease. Although ischemic mitral regurgitation after CABG has been linked to unfavorable results, the benefits of including mitral valve repair are still unknown. This discrepancy led us to undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether combining CABG with mitral valve surgery leads to better clinical results than CABG alone.

Assessment of genetic polymorphism associated with ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) gene and fluctuations in serum lipid profile levels in patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the common genetic and clinical risk factors associated with cardiovascular and multifactorial disorder. ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) gene plays an important role in lipid metabolism and in multiple studies associated with CAD. However, more studies are needed to identify the exact role of single nucleotide polymorphisms which may cause CAD.

Coronary Artery Disease: Association Study of 5 Loci with Angiographic Indices of Disease Severity.

Background: Different common gene variants were related to coronary artery disease (CAD) in many studies. Yet, the relation of these loci to the severity of CAD is not completely elucidated.

Methods: We enrolled 520 subjects (315 CAD cases and 205 controls).

Genetic Association of rs10757278 on Chromosome 9p21 and Coronary Artery Disease in a Saudi Population.

Purpose: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the most important leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Few studies have been carried out in the Saudi population regarding the association of rs10757278 polymorphism with CAD. This study aimed to investigate the association of the rs10757278 polymorphism with CAD in Saudi population.

Long-term secondary cardiovascular prevention programme in patients subjected to coronary artery bypass surgery.

Aims: Patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) are at very high risk of recurrent events. A strategy to reduce excess risk might be to deliver structured secondary prevention programmes, but their efficacy has been mostly evaluated in the short term and in experimental settings. This is a retrospective case-control study aimed at assessing, in the real world, the efficacy of a secondary prevention programme in reducing long-term coronary event recurrences after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG).

3D Model Guiding Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in a Patient With Aortic Coarctation.

We demonstrate the utility of a printed 3-dimensional model to assist in the vascular access planning for a transcatheter aortic valve replacement in an elderly woman with complicated vascular anatomy including aortic coarctation, severe iliofemoral disease, and a small and tortuous left subclavian artery. ().

A genetic variant c.553G > T (rs2075291) in the apolipoprotein A5 gene is associated with altered triglycerides levels in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with lipid lowering drug.

Background: Elevated plasma triglycerides (TGs) are widely used as a major cardiovascular risk predictor and are thought to play an important role in the progression of coronary heart disease (CHD). It has been demonstrated that lipid lowering was associated with lower mortality in patients with CHD. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the consequences of the genetic variant c.

Intraoperative antiaggregant strategy for off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in a patient with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Immune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is a rare complication of heparin administration. We describe a patient with a previous diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and related contraindications to anticoagulation who underwent urgent off-pump myocardial revascularization with the administration of only antiaggregant therapy.

Surgery of left ventricular aneurysm: a meta-analysis of early outcomes following different reconstruction techniques.

Background: The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of linear and geometric left ventricular aneurysm reconstruction on early postoperative outcomes.

Methods: A search of computerized databases supplemented with manual bibliographic review was performed for all peer-reviewed English language publications concerning randomized and nonrandomized studies reporting the results of left ventricular reconstruction after both linear and geometric reconstruction techniques. Meta-analyses of several short-term outcomes were performed.

Head-to-head comparison of two- and three-dimensional transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography in the localization of mitral valve prolapse.

Objectives: The aim of this study, undertaken in patients who underwent mitral valve (MV) repair surgery, was to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of 3-dimensional (3D) transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal (TEE) echocardiography in the evaluation of MV pathology.

Background: A pre-operative assessment of MV anatomy is essential to surgical design in patients undergoing MV repair. Although 2-dimensional (2D) echocardiography provides precise information regarding MV anatomy, 3D TTE and 3D TEE could increase the understanding of MV apparatus and individual scallop identification.

Left common carotid artery as inflow site in coronary artery bypass grafting.

Porcelain aorta is associated to significantly increased risk of atheromatous embolization in patients who undergo cardiac surgery. We described three cases in which coronary artery bypass grafting was performed off-pump and the saphenous vein graft was anastomosed proximally to the left common carotid artery. This technique permitted avoidance of ascending aortic manipulation and reduce the risk of atheromatous embolization.

[Off-pump coronary bypass surgery: pros and cons].

Off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery is a well established surgical option for patients candidate to coronary artery bypass. Current evidence suggests that there are no differences between off-pump and on-pump coronary surgery in terms of major perioperative outcomes such as perioperative mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, and renal failure, whereas off-pump coronary surgery seems to reduce some minor complications like atrial fibrillation, transfusion requirements, and postoperative hospital stay. However, some recent papers suggest that graft patency may be lower for grafts performed with the off-pump technique.

Long-term results after aortic valve replacement with the Bravo 400 stentless xenograft.

Background: This study was undertaken to evaluate the long-term clinical and echocardiographic outcome after aortic valve replacement with the Bravo Cardiovascular Model 400 stentless xenograft.

Methods: Between February 1992 and January 1994, 67 patients underwent aortic valve replacement with the Bravo 400 bioprosthesis. The valvular pathology was aortic stenosis in 36 patients (53.

Six-year monitoring of the donor-specific immune response to cryopreserved aortic allograft valves: implications with valve dysfunction.

Background: The immune rejection has been anticipated as one of the major causes of allograft aortic valve (AAV) degeneration. The purpose of this study was to prospectively serially measure the magnitude and evolution of the recipient anti-HLA class I antibody response up to 6 years from AAV implant and to correlate serologic data with valve performance by means of a concurrent echocardiographic survey.

Methods: Cryopreserved AAVs were obtained from multiorgan HLA-typed donors.

Biological effects of off-pump vs. on-pump coronary artery surgery: focus on inflammation, hemostasis and oxidative stress.

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has been recognized as a cause of complex systemic inflammatory response, which significantly contributes to several adverse postoperative complications. In the last few years, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting has gained widespread diffusion as an alternative technique to conventional on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. Surgeons supporting off-pump surgery state that the avoidance of the CPB and myocardial ischemia-reperfusion significantly reduces the postoperative systemic inflammatory response and other biological derangements and, possibly, may improve the clinical outcomes.

Lack of association between serum immunoreactivity and Chlamydia pneumoniae detection in the human aortic wall.

Background: Only a few studies have focused the attention on the relation between elevated anti-Chlamydia pneumoniae (CP) antibodies and the detection of CP in the arterial wall. The aim of our study is thus to investigate the relationship between immune response to CP and detection of CP in the aortic walls of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Methods And Results: A specimen of aortic wall was obtained from 102 consecutive patients who underwent abdominal aneurysm repair.