Percutaneous aortic valve implantation of the Medtronic CoreValve self-expanding valve prosthesis via left subclavian artery access: the first case report in Greece.

This case report describes a percutaneous aortic valve implantation with the Medtronic CoreValve selfexpanding valve prosthesis in a patient with severe aortic stenosis. The approach was made via the left subclavian artery because of the lack of femoral vessel access. The patient was a 78-year-old female with breathlessness on minimal effort, a recent hospitalisation due to pulmonary oedema, and frequent episodes of pre-syncope; surgical valve replacement had been ruled out.

Expression profile of total VEGF, VEGF splice variants and VEGF receptors in the myocardium and arterial vasculature of diabetic and non-diabetic patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key regulator of angiogenesis and is implicated in the development of diabetic microvascular and macrovascular disease.

Methods: The expression of total VEGF, VEGF splice variants (VEGF(121), VEGF(145), VEGF(148), VEGF(165), VEGF(183) and VEGF(189)), VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2, was investigated in biopsies from the right atrium and left internal mammary artery (LIMA) of 32 non-diabetic and 20 diabetic patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

Results: Diabetes was independently negatively correlated to total VEGF mRNA expression in atrium.