[Beating heart surgical treatment of atrio-esophageal fistula after radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation].

Atrio-esophageal fistula (AEF) is a rare (0.02-0.1%) complication of radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation and is associated with high mortality.

Specific amino acid supplementation rescues the heart from lipid overload-induced insulin resistance and contractile dysfunction by targeting the endosomal mTOR-v-ATPase axis.

Objective: The diabetic heart is characterized by extensive lipid accumulation which often leads to cardiac contractile dysfunction. The underlying mechanism involves a pivotal role for vacuolar-type H-ATPase (v-ATPase, functioning as endosomal/lysosomal proton pump). Specifically, lipid oversupply to the heart causes disassembly of v-ATPase and endosomal deacidification.

Postangioplasty aneurysm of right coronary artery.

Background: Coronary artery aneurysms are an uncommon disease whose incidence ranges from 0.3% to 5.3%.

Pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis.

Chronic constrictive pericarditis results from inflammation and fibrosis of the pericardium. This situation eventually leads to impairment of diastolic filling and right heart failure. Once the diagnosis is made, because the disease is basically irreversible, a pericardiectomy is the mandatory treatment.

Glycolaldehyde-modified proteins cause adverse functional and structural aortic remodeling leading to cardiac pressure overload.

Growing evidence supports the role of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the development of diabetic vascular complications and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We have shown that high-molecular-weight AGEs (HMW-AGEs), present in our Western diet, impair cardiac function. Whether HMW-AGEs affect vascular function remains unknown.