Percutaneous closure of a large ascending aortic pseudoaneurysm.

Pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta is a rare complication, usually after thoracic surgery or trauma. Since surgical repair is associated with very high morbidity and mortality, percutaneous closure has been described as an alternative. In this regard, we present a case in which a symptomatic large pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta was treated percutaneously due to the high surgical risk.

Prosthesis/annulus discongruence assessed by three-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography: a predictor of significant paravalvular aortic regurgitation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Aims: Paravalvular aortic regurgitation (AR) is common after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). This study aimed to assess the prosthesis/aortic annulus discongruence by three-dimensional (3D) transoesophageal (TOE) planimetry of aortic annulus and its impact on the occurrence of significant AR after TAVI.

Methods And Results: We included 33 patients who underwent TAVI with a balloon expandable device for severe aortic stenosis.

[Right atrial aneurysm after chest trauma: late presentation].

We report the case of a 59-year-old patient, with a history of severe chest trauma with rib fractures at the age of 20 and recent onset of fatigue and palpitations, who was diagnosed with atrial tachycardia, which was converted pharmacologically. Cor triatriatum or Ebstein's anomaly were suspected on initial imaging studies (transthoracic echocardiography and MRI). Due to recurrence of arrhythmia, he subsequently underwent repeat echocardiographic evaluation, which established a diagnosis of right atrial aneurysm.

Prognostic value of a new cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameter in chronic heart failure: oxygen uptake efficiency at peak exercise - comparison with oxygen uptake efficiency slope.

Introduction: A growing body of evidence shows the prognostic value of oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES), a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) parameter derived from the logarithmic relationship between O(2) consumption (VO(2)) and minute ventilation (VE) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic value of a new CPET parameter - peak oxygen uptake efficiency (POUE) - and to compare it with OUES in patients with CHF.

Methods: We prospectively studied 206 consecutive patients with stable CHF due to dilated cardiomyopathy - 153 male, aged 53.

[Thoracic fluid content - a possible determinant of ventilatory efficiency in patients with heart failure].

Unlabelled: Ventilatory efficiency, evaluated by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), has considerable prognostic value in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). Its determinants nevertheless remain controversial.

Aim: To investigate the possible correlation between parameters of ventilatory efficiency obtained by CPET and thoracic fluid content (TFC), assessed by thoracic electrical bioimpedance (TEB), in patients with CHF due to LVSD.