Incisional atrial tachycardias have been described most frequently in patients with previous corrective surgery for congenital heart defects and mitral valve disease. Less information is available on atrial tachycardias appearing late after isolated aortic valve surgery. We report the case of a patient who developed a left figure-8 tachycardia after undergoing aortic valve replacement. During e...

Percutaneous valve therapy developed initially with aortic valve replacement, described by Andersen et al3 in 1992 in a swine model. These investigators fabricated a stent-mounted bioprosthetic valve and demonstrated that percutaneous implantation is feasible. Bonhoeffer et al4 reported the use of a stent-mounted bioprosthesis for pulmonic valve replacement in 2000. This achievement clearly mar...

OBJECTIVE Transcatheter aortic valve implantation has recently been used in the treatment of severe aortic valve stenosis, particularly in patients with high mortality and morbidity rates for open surgery. The purpose of this study was to compare quality of life in patients over 70 years of age undergoing surgical or transcatheter aortic valve implantation, before the procedure and in the early...

Introduction Transcatheter valve-in-valve replacement is an attractive alternative to redo open-heart surgery for failing bioprosthetic valves and is increasingly being performed in patients with high surgical risk. Unlike the robust data on aortic valve-in-valve replacement, limited experience with tricuspid valve-in-valve replacement has been reported. Moreover, the feasibility and safety of ...

The aim of this randomized, prospective, study was to evaluate postoperative hospital mortality and morbidity after mitral valve repair by comparing two surgical techniques for resolving mitral valve insufficiency in elderly patients. In comparison were: mitral valve repair vs. mitral valve replacement in patients older than 70 years. In period from January 1st 2006 until August 30th 2009. Eigh...

OBJECTIVES N-terminal B‑type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is an important biomarker for the detection of heart failure. Adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) and a prosthetic heart valve are at risk for heart failure. This study aimed to determine the value of NT-proBNP in ACHD patients with a prosthetic valve and investigate its relationship with cardiac function and exercise capacity...

OBJECTIVE The optimal diameter at which replacement of the ascending aorta should be performed in patients with bicuspid aortic valve disease is not known. METHODS We reviewed all patients with bicuspid aortic valves undergoing aortic valve replacement at our institution from 1979 through 1993 (n = 201). Patients undergoing concomitant replacement of the ascending aorta were excluded. RESUL...

BACKGROUND Forty-nine consecutive patients undergoing partial left ventriculectomy (Batista) surgery between January 1995 and June 1998 were studied. METHODS Patient ages ranged from 12 to 85 years, and all patients were in New York Heart Association functional Class III or IV. Thirty-three patients had ischemic cardiomyopathy, and 16 had idiopathic myopathy. Inclusion criteria were left vent...

Objective: The purpose of this consensus conference was to determine whether stentless bioprosthetic valves improve clinical and resource outcomes compared with stented valves in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement, and to outline evidence-based recommendations for the use of stentless and stented bioprosthetic valves in adult aortic valve replacement. Methods: Before the consensus con...