Preoperative Computed Tomography Virtual Simulation for HeartMate 3 Implantation in Small Children.

An implantable ventricular assist device became smaller and has been used for small body size patients. However, it is still challenging to determine whether it is implantable for pediatric patients. The preoperative computed tomography virtual simulation provided spatial information among the pump, intracardiac structures, and extracardiac structures, which was very useful to assess the implantability for borderline children.

The mid-term outcomes of aortic root replacement after surgical repair for CHD.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the mid-term outcomes of aortic root replacement after repair of CHDs.

Method: This is a single-institutional retrospective, cohort study with consecutive patients undergoing aortic root replacement after surgical repair of CHDs between 1999 and 2022. Operative indications included aortic root dilatation with/without aortic insufficiency, sinus of Valsalva rupture, or aortic dissection involving the root.

Tricuspid valve replacement provides better long-term survival and tricuspid valve function than repair in patients with systemic right ventricle.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare the long-term outcomes of 2 different tricuspid surgeries including valvuloplasty and replacement for significant tricuspid regurgitation in patients with systemic right ventricle.

Method: This is a retrospective study of 34 patients with dextro-transposition of the great arteries or levo-transposition of the great arteries with biventricular circulation and systemic right ventricle undergoing tricuspid valve surgery between April 1979 and April 2022. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the procedure: tricuspid valvuloplasty (n = 11) and tricuspid valve replacement (n = 23).

A Novel Template and Cylinder Bioprosthetic Atrioventricular Valve: An Ex Vivo Study.

Purpose: This ex vivo study aimed to develop and evaluate a novel cylinder bioprosthetic valve for mitral and tricuspid valve replacements, addressing concerns related to valve size, anticoagulation, and postoperative morbidity.

Description: Existing bioprosthetic valves lack annulus-papillary muscle continuity. In contrast, our valve, which is crafted from autologous pericardium, maintains annulus-papillary muscle continuity, maximizes the orifice area when open, and closes in response to rising ventricular pressure, thus preserving mitral valve complexity.

Favorable long-term outcomes in hospital survivors of a neonatal arterial switch operation.

Objectives: To assess long-term survival and reoperation-free survival after the arterial switch operation (ASO) and analyze the outcomes of reoperations after hospital discharge.

Methods: This was a single-institution retrospective study of 476 hospital survivors of ASO since August 1982. Preoperative diagnoses included 286 transpositions of the great arteries with intact septum, 143 transpositions with ventricular septal defect, and 47 double outlet right ventricles.

1-year outcomes of patients implanted with the Perceval sutureless valve: the Japanese post-marketing surveillance study.

Sutureless offers an alternative to standard valves in surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). We sought to confirm the efficacy and safety of the Perceval sutureless valve in Japanese patients. Prospective observational study of 204 patients who underwent SAVR with Perceval at 19 sites in Japan between March and December 2019.

Utility and safety of nafamostat mesilate for anticoagulation in dogs.

Background: Surgical interventions are recommended for cases of advanced mitral regurgitation, however, limited facilities are available. The most prominent complication in such procedures is heparin-derived bleeding. An alternative anticoagulant to heparin, nafamostat mesilate (NM), can reduce the occurrence of complications associated with heparin such as bleeding or shock.

Novel interventional technique for the treatment of an iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm of the brachial artery.

This report presents the successful repair of an iatrogenic brachial artery pseudoaneurysm in a 72-year-old man who had peripheral artery disease and received endovascular treatment. A novel interventional method for treating iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms with Perclose Proglide (Abbott Vascular Devices, Redwood City, CA, USA) has been reported; however, since a direct sheath insertion into the lumen of the pseudoaneurysm is initially required at the first step of this procedure, this strategy may prove limited in cases with small pseudoaneurysms. We describe the complete hemostasis of the pseudoaneurysm that was successfully achieved with endovascular treatment using the Perclose ProGlide suture-mediated closure system without using direct sheath insertion into the lumen of pseudoaneurysm.

Clinical outcomes of endovascular therapy with vascular stents for central venous obstruction in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Symptomatic central venous obstruction (CVO) is sometimes observed in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Angioplasty is generally performed for salvage purposes, and stent implantation is performed as a last resort to prevent permanent venous occlusion. However, published reports about the clinical outcomes of stenting for CVO have been limited by the small number of included patients and the relatively old generation of analyzed stents.

Surgical Outcomes in Children With Partial and Transitional Atrioventricular Septal Defect.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of partial and transitional atrioventricular septal defect repair, focusing on left atrioventricular valve reoperation.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 104 children who underwent partial or transitional atrioventricular septal defect repair between August 1983 and January 2021. The major outcomes included patient survival and left atrioventricular valve reoperation.

Long-term surgical results of transposition of the great arteries with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term surgical results of transposition of the great arteries with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients with transposition of the great arteries or double outlet right ventricle with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction undergoing biventricular repair between 1980 and 2017.

Results: One hundred and eleven patients were enrolled and classified into five groups: atrial switch (n = 20), arterial switch (n = 12), Nikaidoh (n = 7), Rastelli (n = 48), and REV operation groups (n = 24).

Evaluation method for cell-free in situ tissue-engineered vasculature monitoring: Proof of growth and development in a canine IVC model.

We previously developed a non-cell-dependent biodegradable scaffold to create in situ tissue-engineered vasculature (iTEV) and tested it in a canine inferior vena cava (IVC) model. As iTEV features change dramatically during tissue generation, practical, simple, and accurate methods to evaluate iTEV are needed. The present study examined the usefulness of a novel method to evaluate iTEV growth and remodeling according to a simple formula using angiography: hepatic vein (HV) index = (IVC-HV junction angle) ÷ (π × [minimal internal iTEV diameter ÷ 2]2).

A novel optimized adaptive servo-ventilation setting for a patient with severe heart failure based on the echocardiogram: a case report.

Background: Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) is a non-invasive positive-pressure ventilation therapy considered beneficial for treating heart failure (HF) in patients with central sleep apnoea. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no evidence indicating that this therapy increases the mortality in HF patients. We hypothesized that ASV settings are important for HF patients with reduced ejection fraction.

Elevated Cystatin-C Levels Are Associated with Increased Mortality in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients: An HIJ-PROPER Sub-Analysis.

Background And Aims: We investigated the association between serum cystatin-C (Cys-C) levels and cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: Data of 1,100 patients from the prospective parent study were included. Patients hospitalized for ACS were divided into 4 groups based on quartiles (Q) of Cys-C levels (mg/L) within 24 h of admission: Q1, ≤0.

Surgical outcomes of reoperation after Fontan completion.

Objectives: Patients who have achieved Fontan circulation may require reoperation. We reviewed the outcomes of reoperation after Fontan completion and assessed the risk factors for poor outcomes.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of 106 patients undergoing open-heart reoperations after Fontan completion in 2003 at a single institution.

Outcome of Pulmonary Autograft After the Ross Procedure.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess autograft function after the Ross procedure and to review surgical outcomes associated with autograft reoperations.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients undergoing the Ross procedure since 1993. Autograft function and autograft reoperation were studied.

Baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol predicts the benefit of adding ezetimibe on statin in statin-naïve acute coronary syndrome.

We aimed to evaluate the effect of baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) on the outcomes of patients with the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) receiving pitavastatin monotherapy or the combination of pitavastatin + ezetimibe. In the HIJ-PROPER study, 1734 ACS patients with dyslipidemia were randomly assigned to receive pitavastatin or pitavastatin + ezetimibe therapy. Statin-naïve participants (n = 1429) were divided into two groups based on the median LDL-C level (131 mg/dL) at enrollment.

Greater Change in the Eicosapentaenoic Acid to Arachidonic Acid Ratio Is Associated With Decreased Incidence of Cardiovascular Events in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients With Elevated Triglyceride Levels.

Background: This study investigated whether the percentage change (%Δ) in the eicosapentaenoic acid to arachidonic acid (EPA/AA) ratio is associated with cardiovascular event rates among acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients receiving contemporary lipid-lowering therapy other than polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

Methods and results: This post hoc subanalysis of the HIJ-PROPER study included PUFA-naïve patients for whom EPA/AA ratio data were available at baseline and after 3 months. Patients were categorized into 2 groups based on the median %ΔEPA/AA ratio: Group 1, change less than the median; and Group 2, change greater than or equal to the median.

Utility of the minimum-incision transsubclavian approach for transcatheter aortic valve replacement on clinical outcomes in patients with small vessel anatomy.

Background: The optimal approach for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), who are contraindicated for a transfemoral (TF) approach, is still controversial. The present study aimed to evaluate the utility of the TAVR via a subclavian artery with a small diameter, by minimal incision and a double Z suture hemostasis technique using 18 Fr DrySeal Flex sheath, namely minimum-incision transsubclavian TAVR (MITS-TAVR), in patients contraindicated for the TF approach.

Methods: We included consecutive patients who underwent the MITS-TAVR (MITS group; n = 21) and TF-TAVR (TF group; n = 81) using the CoreValve Evolut R/PRO valves and examined the incidence of in-hospital adverse events and post-discharge mortality between the two groups.

Clinical outcomes after balloon angioplasty with Crosser device for heavily calcified common femoral and popliteal artery disease.

Data on the mid-term clinical outcomes after endovascular treatment (EVT) using a Crosser catheter (C. R. Bard, Inc.

Relation of Adiponectin to Cardiovascular Events and Mortality in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome.

The association between serum adiponectin levels and cardiovascular events, particularly how adiponectin predicts the development of cardiovascular events and mortality in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients remains unresolved. Hence, we aimed to determine whether higher adiponectin levels predict cardiovascular events and mortality in these patients. Regression analyses were performed to clarify adiponectin's ability to predict cardiovascular events and mortality among 1,641 ACS patients.

Rate Pressure Products Affect the Relationship between the Fractional Flow Reserve and Instantaneous Wave-Free Ratio.

The rate pressure product (RPP) is an index of myocardial metabolism that correlates closely with myocardial hemodynamics. The relationship between the RPP and the fractional flow reserve (FFR) and instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) is not known. In this study, we investigated the effects of the RPP on the FFR and iFR.

Effect of Ezetimibe + Pitavastatin on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (from the HIJ-PROPER Study).

Lipid-lowering therapy is necessary to reduce cardiovascular event rates in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of intensive lipid-lowering therapy, which comprised pitavastatin and ezetimibe, on patients with STEMI. We therefore undertook a post hoc subanalysis of the HIJ-PROPER study's data that examined the clinical outcomes of the patients with dyslipidemia and STEMI (n = 880) who received pitavastatin and ezetimibe therapy (intensive lipid-lowering therapy group) or pitavastatin monotherapy (standard lipid-lowering therapy group), and we evaluated their cardiovascular events.