the patient was a 19 year-old woman with the diagnosis of resistant hypertension, although she was under treatment of three classes of anti-hypertensive drugs (beta blocker, angiotensin receptor blocker, diuretic) for more than one year. in physical examination there was only a significant difference between the systolic blood pressure of upper and lower extremities (200 vs. 120 mmhg), without ...

BACKGROUND Histopathological analyses of debris captured by a cerebral protection system during transcatheter aortic valve replacement have been reported, but the origin of the captured debris was not determined and risk factors were not defined. METHODS AND RESULTS Embolic debris was analyzed from 322 filters used in a dual-cerebral-filter protection system implemented during transcatheter a...

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) can provide important structural information in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Although CMR is considered the standard of reference for measuring ventricular volumes and mass, the relationship between CMR findings of right ventricular (RV) function and outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation has not ...

BACKGROUND Cardiac valve procedures are commonly performed concurrently during implantation of left ventricular assist devices, but the added procedural risk has not been studied in detail. METHODS AND RESULTS Data from patients receiving the HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device in the ADVANCE bridge to transplant (BTT) trial and continued access protocol were reviewed. Of 382 consecutive pati...

Organic disease of the tricuspid valve required surgery in 18% of all patients undergoing valve replacement over a five-year period. Differentiation of organic from functional disease is difficult and may be made only at open-heart surgery. The results of a series of 56 patients who underwent tricuspid valve replacement are presented; of these, 53 had organic disease. Operative mortality at the...

BACKGROUND Calcification and dysfunction of aortic and mitral valves are frequently found in chronic dialysis patients, but their influence on the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is not well defined. METHODS Conventional echocardiography and Doppler measurement of trans-aortic flow velocity were performed in 135 chronic haemodialysis patients, and left ventricular mass index...

Pressure control valve (PCV) is implemented in internal combustion engine to regulate crankcase pressure. In this study, the performance of a diaphragm PCV valve is investigated numerically and experimentally. Firstly, numerical simulation is carried out using commercial code to predict the flow and pressure distribution inside the valve. Furthermore, downstream and upstream pressure of the val...

BACKGROUND No agreement has been reached for the best surgical treatment for patients with chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Our objective was to meta-analyze the clinical outcomes of repair and replacement. METHODS A computerized search was performed using Pubmed, Embase, Ovid medline and Cochrane Library. The search terms "ischemi...

This paper presents a failure analysis on a failed intake valve in a gasoline engine. During an endurance test, an intake valve was broken and caused some damages on the piston. Material examinations (by a light microscope and also a scanning electron microscope) were conducted on the fracture surface of the intake valve shaft. Results showed that no pores or defects could be observed and the m...