Levosimendan In Single Ventricle Heart Failure After Longterm Survival Of A Modified Blalock-Taussig Shunt.

We report the case of a 44 year-old patient with complex ACHD, admitted with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in hemodynamic profile B. He had a single ventricle with pulmonary atresia, previously submitted to three modified Blalock-Taussig shunts (mBTs) at the age of 2, 12 and 19 years old. Despite conventional treatment with diuretics, β-blockers (BB) and isosorbide dinitrate the patient progressed to profile C and the transthoracic echocardiogram disclosed a reduced systolic function.

Advantages of a prospective multidisciplinary approach in transcatheter aortic valve implantation: Eight years of experience.

Introduction: Aortic stenosis is the most prevalent type of valvular disease in Europe. Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) is the standard therapy, while transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an alternative in patients at unacceptably high surgical risk. Assessment by a heart team is recommended by the guidelines but there is little published evidence on this subject.

Mechanical Thrombectomy for Stroke After Cardiac Surgery.

Stroke after cardiac surgery remains a devastating complication and its treatment options are limited. Systemic fibrinolysis is a relative contraindication, because it raises the risk of systemic hemorrhage. Endovascular therapy, mechanical thrombectomy, and intra-arterial fibrinolysis have emerged as safer options.

[Transapical aortic valve replacement: a 5-years experience].

Objectives: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) by transapical approach is accepted for severe aortic stenosis in patients with high risk for conventional surgical therapy. Herein is reported the initial clinical results of this technique in a reference center

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal prospective single center study including 54 consecutive patients (mean age 79 ± 7.5 years, 59% male) who underwent, between November 2008 and October 2013, TAVR with Edwards Sapien valves throught transapical approach.

[Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection: a 17-years experience of a single pediatric cardiology center].

Objective: We reviewed our patients who underwent surgical repair for total anomalous pulmonary venous connection at our hospital.

Material And Methods: All patients with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection who underwent correction from February 1995 to October 2012 were included in this retrospective analysis. Clinical data was collected on presentation,morphology, associated cardiac lesions, echocardiography and cardiac cathetherization results, surgical repair and postoperative course.

Multidetector CT of rare isolated partial anomalous pulmonary venous return.

A 16-year-old male was referred to our clinic for evaluation of pulmonary hypertension. An isolated anomalous pulmonary venous return of both left pulmonary veins to the innominate vein was diagnosed after echocardiographic and multidetector CT (MDCT) evaluation. Three-dimensional MDCT image reconstructions were used to better clarify this rare type of disease and adequate choice of surgical approach.

[DiGeorge syndrome and vascular ring. An unusual association with multidisciplinary approach].

Velo-cardio-facial syndrome/DiGeorge/CATCH 22 is a spectrum of association, characterized by unusual face, cleft or incompetent palate, congenital heart disease with defects of the outflow tracts, absence of the thymus and parathyroid glands, often associated with developmental and behavioral disorders. This association is caused by a microdeletion in chromosome band 22q11.2.

Atrial tachycardia ablation in a patient with double outlet right ventricle corrected by surgery.

The development of surgical and percutaneous techniques for treatment or palliation of congenital heart disease has prolonged survival in these patients and has increased late complications, particularly arrhythmias. Such arrhythmias are more frequently refractory to medical therapy, requiring percutaneous ablation. We present the clinical case of a 14-year-old child with complex congenital heart disease (double outlet right ventricle) who underwent two corrective surgeries (Rastelli operation and subsequent replacement of the homograft in the conduit connecting the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery; ventricular septal defect closure and tricuspid valve repair).

Nitric oxide in the management of pulmonary hypertension in the context of cardiac surgery in the adult.

Pulmonary hypertension is a significant problem to take into account in the post-operative management of cardiac patients, especially valvular patients. Inhaled nitric oxide allows more effective control of pulmonary pressure and other hemodynamic parameters, with better post-operative results. We present a clinical case of a patient with mitral stenosis and severe pulmonary hypertension, with post-operative hemodynamic instability, in which we used inhaled nitric oxide for better control of pulmonary pressures and to help ventilator weaning.

Atrial fibrillation and effective refractory period of the pulmonary vein ostia.

Background: The pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF) is not completely understood. The role of pulmonary veins (PV) in AF initiation is documented, and the recent demonstration of persistent fibrillatory activity in an isolated PV suggests that the PV play a role in the maintenance of AF.

Objective: Since AF is facilitated by multiple reentry circuits in atrial tissue with short effective refractory periods (ERP) and prolonged conduction times, we investigated whether PV have shorter ERP compared with the left atrium (LA).