Predictors of Mortality in Patients with Cardiac Device-Related Infective Endocarditis.

Infective endocarditis (IE) associated with implantable cardiac devices (ICD) is a serious disease with high mortality rates. The increased number of ICD implants has led to increased ICD infection rates. The aim of this study was to characterize clinical, laboratory profiles and the prognosis of cardiac-device-related endocarditis (CDIE), as well as to identify predictors of in-hospital death.

Assessment of the left atrial volume and function following percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty: Insights into acute and late impact of atrial fibrillation on atrial remodeling.

Background: Rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) leads to LA remodeling with disordered electrical activation that may revert with valve intervention. This study aimed to assess the acute and late impact of percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty (PMBV) on LA volume and function in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with sinus rhythm.

Methods: A total of 167 patients with severe MS undergoing PMBV were prospectively enrolled.

Prevalence and factors associated with impaired left ventricular global longitudinal strain in patients with Chagas disease: SaMi-Trop cohort study.

Cardiomyopathy is a major cause of death in Chagas disease and early detection of cardiac involvement is essential. Myocardial strain is a reliable technique for assessment of subtle left ventricular (LV) contractility alterations. This study assessed LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) in a large Chagas disease population living in remote areas.

Challenge in the management of infective endocarditis with multiple valvular involvement.

We describe the case of a 41-year-old man with congenital heart disease and infective endocarditis (IE), who presented multiple vegetations attached to the pulmonary, mitral, and aortic valves. Three valve replacements were performed, but the patient developed an abscess at the mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa and died due to sepsis. We briefly discuss the indications for surgery in IE, emphasizing its role in the treatment of uncontrolled infection.

Imaging techniques in the evaluation of morbidity in schistosomiasis mansoni.

Over the last 20 years a great advance has been observed in many aspects of medicine, and the advent of novel imaging techniques is certainly amongst the most important. In schistosomiasis these new methods caused a revolution in the definition of the clinical forms of the disease and in the evaluation of its complications, such as, liver fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension and neuroschistosomiasis, as never before. Herein we present an overview of the image methods used to diagnose schistosomiasis mansoni nowadays.

Six-minute walk test in patients with permanent cardiac pacemakers.

Purpose: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is a simple and reliable method routinely used in the evaluation of many conditions including cardiac diseases. However, it is rarely performed in patients with pacemakers (PMs), and the applicability and safety in this group is not established. The purpose of this study was to verify the applicability and safety of the 6MWT in the evaluation of functional capacity of patients with PMs, considering the ergometry test (ET) as the criterion standard.