Exercise tolerance in asymptomatic patients with moderate-severe valvular heart disease and preserved ejection fraction.

Introduction: For asymptomatic patients with moderate-severe valvular heart disease, in whom symptoms may be obscured, objective exercise tolerance measures are warranted for decisions concerning physical activities and surgical treatment.

Material And Methods: We compared 61 patients (39 with aortic stenosis, 22 with aortic or mitral regurgitation) to 23 controls without valvular heart disease but with indications for stress testing. All participants underwent cardiopulmonary function testing and dobutamine stress echocardiography.

Aortic valve replacement in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Patients with moderate-severe aortic stenosis (AS) who maintain that they have no symptoms pose a decision-making dilemma. In order to determine whether or not preoperative symptoms were related to outcomes in these patients, results were compared after aortic valve replacement (AVR) in asymptomatic and symptomatic AS patients with a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Methods: Twenty asymptomatic and 18 symptomatic AS patients were investigated retrospectively, with clinical and echocardiographic studies being performed before and at 610 +/- 409 days after AVR.

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein A values in patients with stable cardiovascular disease: use of a new monoclonal antibody-based assay.

Background: PAPP-A is promising in improving risk stratification and invasive treatment decisions in stable cardiovascular patients. We evaluated the prognostic value of pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) measured by a novel assay in stable cardiovascular patients.

Methods: We investigated 228 stable cardiovascular outpatients.

Influence of acute and chronic myocardial loading conditions, function, structural changes and extracardiac factors on NT-proBNP in asymptomatic patients with preserved ejection fraction.

Background: We compared the effect of different loading conditions, parameters of structural heart disease and extracardiac confounders on NT-proBNP to validate the application of NT-proBNP for a characterisation of loading conditions and clinical course of patients with chronic heart diseases.

Methods: NT-proBNP was measured in 15 controls and 34 patients with preserved ejection fraction and chronic pressure (by aortic stenosis) or volume overload (by aortic or mitral regurgitation) before and after physical as well as dobutamine stress. Myocardial fibrosis was evaluated by contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

WITHDRAWN: Corrigendum to "High-sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnl) values in patients with stable cardiovascular disease: An initial foray" [Clinica Chimica Acta 411 (2010) 812--817].

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High-sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) values in patients with stable cardiovascular disease: an initial foray.

Background: How to use the information from novel high sensitivity troponin assays in stable cardiac patients is unclear. Preliminary data from randomized controlled trial analyses suggest it helps with risk stratification. We investigated the determinants, diagnostic impact and prognostic value of a novel high-sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assay in patients with stable cardiac disease.