The Role of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy for the Management of Functional Mitral Regurgitation.

Valve leaflets and chordae structurally normal characterize functional mitral regurgitation (FMR), which in heart failure (HF) setting results from an imbalance between closing and tethering forces secondary to alterations in the left ventricle (LV) and left atrium geometry. In this context, FMR impacts the quality of life and increases mortality. Despite multiple medical and surgical attempts to treat FMR, to date, there is no univocal treatment for many patients.

The hemodynamic performance of balloon-expandable aortic bioprostheses in the elderly: a comparison between rapid deployment and transcatheter implantation.

Background: Surgical aortic valve replacement with a rapid deployment valve (RDV) is a relatively recent treatment option. The aim of this study was to compare the hemodynamic performance of balloon-expandable (BE)-RDVs and BE-transcatheter heart valves (THVs) in a high surgical risk and frail-elderly population.

Methods: BE-THVs and BE-RDVs were implanted in 138 and 47 patients, respectively, all older than 75 years and with a Canadian Study of Health and Aging category of 5 or above.

Predictors of persistence of functional mitral regurgitation after cardiac resynchronization therapy: Review of literature.

Functional mitral regurgitation is a common finding among heart failure patients with ischemic and non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathies. The presence of moderate or severe mitral regurgitation is associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Heart failure patients meeting electrocardiogram and left ventricle function criteria are good candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy, which may reduce the degree of functional mitral regurgitation in the short and long term, specifically targeting myocardial dyssynchrony and inducing left ventricle reverse remodeling.

High Rates of Hidden HCV Infections among Hospitalized Patients Aged 55-85.

Background And Aims: The WHO has solicited all countries to eliminate HCV by 2030. The Italian government started routine screening for HCV infection in January 2021, initially targeting subjects born between 1969 and 1989. With the aim of achieving micro-elimination, we designed a hospital-wide project focusing on inpatients born from 1935 to 1985 and conducted it in our institution.

The best way to transcatheter aortic valve implantation: From standard to new approaches.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a safe and beneficial treatment for patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis at high and intermediate surgical risk. The safety of the procedure continues to improve thanks to more refined procedural approaches and devices but, also and above all, to the accrual of the procedural knowledge and expertise by the operators. The diversification of the approaches and the possibility to tailor the treatment on the individual needs and anatomical features of the patients allows a rapid learning curve in the management of even complications.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation With Portico Versus Evolut Devices.

New-generation devices such as Evolut and Portico have provided favorable results in patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic stenosis, but their comparative effectiveness remains debated, despite its relevance when envisioning TAVI in low-risk patients. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of 2 leading TAVI devices (Evolut and Portico) used by the same team of experienced TAVI operators, focusing on long-term outcomes, including major adverse events (i.e.

Pulmonary Embolism and Thrombus in Transit Through Patent Foramen Ovale.

Thrombus-in-transit through a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in a patient with pulmonary embolism (PE) is a rare event with high mortality rates. We report the case a of 53-year-old woman admitted for dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis, presyncope, tachycardia, and hypotension. A recent fall down the stairs with costal trauma was also reported.

Rate and Predictors of Permanent Pacemaker Implantation After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: Current Status.

Transcather aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become a safe and indispensable treatment option for patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who are at high surgical risk. Recently, outcomes after TAVI have improved significantly and TAVI has emerged as a qualified alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement in the treatment of intermediate risk patients and greater adoption of this procedure is to be expected in a wider patients population, including younger patients and low surgical risk patients. However since the aortic valve has close spatial proximity to the conduction system, conduction anomalies are frequently observed in TAVI.

Transapical aortic valve replacement is a safe option in patients with poor left ventricular ejection fraction: results from the Italian Transcatheter Balloon-Expandable Registry (ITER).

Objectives: The most commonly used accesses for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) are the transfemoral (TF-TAVI) and the transapical (TA-TAVI) ones. There are concerns about TA-TAVI use in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The aim of this retrospective multicentre study was to compare the outcomes of TA-TAVI and TF-TAVI in patients with poor LVEF.

STEMI and NSTEMI ACS in a 30-Year-Old Patient: An Extremely Rare Complication of a Left Atrial Myxoma.

Primary cardiac tumors are a rare entity whose incidence in the general population ranges from 0.0017% to 0.28%.

Transfemoral transcatheter ACURATE-neo™ aortic valve replacement in a patient with a previous mechanical mitral valve.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in the presence of a mechanical mitral valve (MMV) prosthesis is challenging due to the stiff mitral cage in the boundaries of the aorto-mitral curtain. We describe the technique for TAVR using the ACURATE-neo™ aortic bioprosthesis in a patient with a MMV prosthesis.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients With Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease.

Advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with poor outcomes in patients who underwent surgical aortic valve replacement, whereas its prognostic role in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate outcomes in patients with advanced CKD who underwent TAVI. A total of 1,904 consecutive patients who underwent balloon-expandable TAVI in 33 centers between 2007 and 2012 were enrolled in the Italian Transcatheter Balloon-Expandable Valve Implantation Registry.

Reliability of Percutaneous Pulmonary Vent and Coronary Sinus Cardioplegia in the Setting of Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement: A Single-Center Experience.

Objectives: Evaluating the efficacy of 2 new percutaneous devices specifically designed to be placed through the right internal jugular vein, therefore named "necklines," for achieving retrograde cardioplegia and pulmonary venting in the setting of minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (MIAVR).

Design: Case series.

Setting: University-affiliated private hospital.

Aortic Valve Replacement in Redo-Scenarios: A Comparison Between Traditional Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) and Transapical-TAVR from Two Real-World Multicenter Registries.

Background: The study aim was to compare the outcome of transapical transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TaTAVR) and traditional aortic valve replacement (AVR) in redo from two real-world registries.

Methods: The 30-day and follow up outcome of 462 patients enrolled in two multicenter redo registries, treated with redo-AVR (RAVR; n = 292 patients) or TaTAVR (n = 170 patients), were analyzed according to VARC-2 criteria, stratified also by propensity-matching analysis.

Results: TaTAVR-patients were older and sicker than RAVR patients, and reported a higher all-cause 30-day mortality (p <0.

First North American Experience With the Engager Self-Expanding Transcatheter Aortic Valve: Insights From the London Health Sciences Centre Heart Team.

The Engager aortic bioprosthesis consists of bovine pericardial leaflets mounted on a self-expandable frame with unique anatomic orientation capabilities to engage the aortic valve cusps. We report the initial North American transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) experience with the Engager device. Transapical TAVI was performed in 4 patients (mean age 80 ± 6 years, Society of Thoracic Surgeons score 5 ± 1%).

Early and mid-term outcomes of 1904 patients undergoing transcatheter balloon-expandable valve implantation in Italy: results from the Italian Transcatheter Balloon-Expandable Valve Implantation Registry (ITER).

Objectives: The aim of this multicentre study is to report the clinical experiences of all patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with a balloon-expandable device in Italy.

Methods: The Italian Transcatheter balloon-Expandable valve Registry (ITER) is a real-world registry that includes patients who have undergone TAVI with the Sapien (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA) bioprosthesis in Italy since it became available in clinical practice. From 2007 to 2012, 1904 patients were enrolled to undergo TAVI in 33 Italian centres.

Predictive ability of the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores for stroke after transcatheter aortic balloon-expandable valve implantation: an Italian Transcatheter Balloon-Expandable Valve Implantation Registry (ITER) sub-analysis.

Objectives: Stroke incidence after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) still represents a concern. This multicentre study aimed at investigating the hypothesis that CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores may be used to predict perioperative stroke after TAVI.

Methods: The Italian Transcatheter Balloon-Expandable Valve Implantation Registry (ITER) is a multicentre, prospective registry of patients undergoing balloon-expandable TAVI using Edwards Sapien and Sapien XT prosthesis between 2007 and 2012.

Transcatheter Simultaneous Double-Transapical Access for Paravalvular Mitral Leak Closure Using the Occlutech PLD.

A 67-year-old patient with rheumatic heart valve disease had undergone two cardiac surgeries at the age of 30 years, then re-do with mitral valve replacement at 50 years. She presented with congestive heart failure and hemolytic anemia. Doppler echocardiography showed moderate-severe mitral regurgitation due to paravalvular mitral valve leak (PVML) and severe pulmonary hypertension.

Results of surgical aortic valve replacement and transapical transcatheter aortic valve replacement in patients with previous coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objectives: To evaluate the results of aortic valve replacement through sternotomic approach in redo scenarios (RAVR) vs transapical transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), in patients in the eighth decade of life or older already undergone previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: One hundred and twenty-six patients undergoing RAVR were compared with 113 patients undergoing TaTAVR in terms of 30-day mortality and Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 outcomes. The two groups were also analysed after propensity-matching.

The rise of new technologies for aortic valve stenosis: A comparison of sutureless and transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Objective: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and sutureless aortic valve replacement (SU-AVR) are suitable alternatives to conventional surgery. The aim of this study is to compare early outcomes of patients undergoing TAVI and SU-AVR.

Methods: Data were analyzed on patients who underwent TAVI and patients who underwent SU-AVR.

Treatment of cardiogenic shock in severe aortic stenosis with the Edwards INTUITY valve.

We report the first known cases of successful implantation of the Edwards INTUITY (Edwards Lifesciences LLC, Irvine, CA) rapid-deployment valve in 3 patients with aortic stenosis presenting under emergency cardiogenic shock. At the 6-month follow-up, the 3 patients showed improved left ventricular function and improved functional capacity.

Incremental value of anemia in cardiac surgical risk prediction with the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) II model.

Background: Anemia is a risk factor for adverse events after cardiac operations. We evaluated the incremental value of preoperative anemia over the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) II to predict hospital death after cardiac operations.

Methods: Data for 4,594 consecutive adults (1,548 women [33.