Heart transplantation surgery in children and young adults with congenital heart disease.

Background: Pediatric cardiac transplantation remains a surgical challenge as a variety of cardiac and vessel malformation are present in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Despite limited availability and acceptability of donor hearts, the number of heart transplantations remains on a stable level with improved survival and quality of life.

Observation: As treatment options for CHD continue to improve and the chances of survival increase, more adult CHD patients are listed for transplantation.

Postoperative Complications and Long-Term Results after Primary Cardiac Sarcoma Resection.

Background: Primary malignant cardiac tumors rarely occur in clinical care. Little is known about the impact of a parameter on postoperative survival.

Methods: From May 1991 to May 2014, a total of 24 patients underwent surgical treatment of a primary cardiac sarcoma in our center.

Utilisation of blood components in cardiac surgery: a single-centre retrospective analysis with regard to diagnosis-related procedures.

Background: More blood components are required in cardiac surgery than in most other medical disciplines. The overall blood demand may increase as a function of the total number of cardiothoracic and vascular surgical interventions and their level of complexity, and also when considering the demographic ageing. Awareness has grown with respect to adverse events, such as transfusion-related immunomodulation by allogeneic blood supply, which can contribute to morbidity and mortality.

Compliance Within Medical Information and the Emergence of a Medical Information-Dedicated Compliance Person: A Benchmarking Survey.

In light of the increasing scrutiny by governing authorities, compliance requirements for medical information (MI) departments have increased over the past few years. In response to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) draft guidance for industry, entitled Responding to Unsolicited Requests for Off-label Information About Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices, MI groups may be changing their policies and procedures to further ensure compliance. The primary objective of this study was to benchmark industry-specific practices related to maintaining compliance in MI, particularly whether there is an emergence of a dedicated compliance person working within the MI department, whom we refer to as the MI-dedicated compliance person hereafter.

Need for psychosocial assistance in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery evaluated by a seven-item questionnaire.

Background: Cardiothoracic surgery can have adverse effects on the patients' psychosocial well-being which may influence the overall prognosis. In this study, we tested the use of a seven-item screening instrument for the preoperative identification of need for psychosocial assistance in cardiothoracic patients. Methods and

Results: A total of 297 consecutive patients (69% male) with a median age of 70 years (59;75) completed the seven-item Hornheide Screening Instrument (HSI) on the day of admission.

Cardiac tumors--diagnosis and surgical treatment.

Background: Primary tumors of the heart are rare even in major cardiac surgery centers. Because of the low case numbers, there is an insufficient evidence base to determine the optimal treatment, particularly for malignant tumors.

Method: The authors review the pertinent literature retrieved by a selective PubMed search on the terms "cardiac tumor," "heart tumor," "cardiac myxoma," and "cardiac sarcoma.

Initial clinical experience with the HeartWare left ventricular assist system: a single-center report.

Background: The HeartWare ventricular assist device (HVAD) system (HeartWare International Inc, Framingham, MA) is a new centrifugal continuous-flow ventricular assist device. The aim of the present study is to review our institutional experience with this novel device.

Methods: We reviewed the files of 50 patients (39 men, 11 women) with a mean age of 50.

Drug-eluting stents and perioperative risk - more than matters of the heart?

The introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES) to interventional cardiology has been a breakthrough in the treatment of in-stent restenosis. However, the downside of reduced restenosis is a significantly prolonged and practically incalculable time to reendothelialization of thrombogenic stent-surfaces with an increased risk for coronary thrombosis. As the use of DES in non-coronary arteries (e.

Cardiopulmonary bypass during cardiac surgery modulates systemic inflammation by affecting different steps of the leukocyte recruitment cascade.

Background: It is known that the use of a cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) during cardiac surgery leads to leukocyte activation and may, among other causes, induce organ dysfunction due to increased leukocyte recruitment into different organs. Leukocyte extravasation occurs in a cascade-like fashion, including capturing, rolling, adhesion, and transmigration. However, the molecular mechanisms of increased leukocyte recruitment caused by CPB are not known.

Longitudinal left ventricular 2D strain is superior to ejection fraction in predicting myocardial recovery and symptomatic improvement after aortic valve implantation.

Background: Predicting improvement of myocardial function after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic stenosis (AS) remains a challenge. As ejection fraction (EF) may be of limited value in detecting early myocardial dysfunction and predicting outcome, we assessed the potential of echocardiographic longitudinal function in this setting.

Materials And Methods: Left ventricular (LV) function was assessed using EF, mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE), peak longitudinal 2D strain (LS) and strain rate (SR) in101consecutive patients with severe symptomatic AS (age 81 ± 11 years) undergoing TAVI.

Impact of transcatheter aortic valve implantation or surgical aortic valve replacement on right ventricular function.

Objective: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become an alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement (sAVR) in selected high risk patients. While improvement in left ventricular function after TAVI has been demonstrated, little is known about the impact on right ventricular (RV) function. Since postoperative RV dysfunction is linked to adverse outcomes, the authors sought to investigate the effect of TAVI and aortic valve replacement (AVR) on RV function using speckle tracking echocardiography.

Trends in cardiovascular risk factors among patients with coronary heart disease: results from the EUROASPIRE I, II, and III surveys in the Münster region.

Background: Target values for cardiovascular risk factors in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) are stated in guidelines for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. We studied secular trends in risk factors over a 12-year period among CHD patients in the region of Münster, Germany.

Methods: The cross-sectional EUROASPIRE I, II and III surveys were performed in multiple centers across Europe.

Differentiation of malignant and benign cardiac tumors using 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Unlabelled: In the diagnostic algorithm of cardiac tumors, the noninvasive determination of malignancy and metastatic spread is of major interest to stratify patients and to select and monitor therapies. In the diagnostic work-up, morphologic imaging modalities such as echocardiography or magnetic resonance tomography offer information on, for example, size, invasiveness, and vascularization. However, preoperative assessment of malignancy may be unsatisfactory.

Left ventricular dilation and functional impairment assessed by gated SPECT are indicators of cardiac allograft vasculopathy in heart transplant recipients.

Background: Coronary angiography (CA) is the standard method for diagnosis of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Little is known about the value of measuring left ventricular function over time, which can be derived from gated myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We evaluated the potential of measuring myocardial perfusion and left ventricular function with gated SPECT, as compared with CA, to detect CAV in the follow-up of heart transplantation.

Systematic analysis of gene expression differences between left and right atria in different mouse strains and in human atrial tissue.

Background: Normal development of the atria requires left-right differentiation during embryonic development. Reduced expression of Pitx2c (paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2, isoform c), a key regulator of left-right asymmetry, has recently been linked to atrial fibrillation. We therefore systematically studied the molecular composition of left and right atrial tissue in adult murine and human atria.

Role of implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy in patients with acquired long QT syndrome: a long-term follow-up.

Aims: The use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) in patients with torsade de pointes (TdP) and ventricular fibrillation in the presence of acquired long QT syndrome (aLQTS) is under debate, partly due to the fact that aLQTS is potentially reversible and currently no long-term follow-up data are available. We aimed to evaluate the long-term follow-up of patients with acquired long QT syndrome (aLQTS) who had received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for secondary prevention of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

Method And Results: Over a 10 year period, 43 patients with an ICD after survived cardiac arrest (SCA) due to an aLQTS were included [female n= 27 (63%); mean age 61 ± 16 years].