BACKGROUND Diagnosis of prosthetic valve leakage by the transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) technique is more difficult. These limitations are diminished with the use of transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) techniques. CASE REPORT A 71 year old Caucasian male presented with symptoms and signs of congestive heart failure. Past medical history included a bio-prosthetic mitral valve replacement f...

BACKGROUND We evaluated the midterm outcomes of lifting posterior mitral annuloplasty for enhancing leaflet coaptation in mitral valve repair. METHODS Between October 2007 and December 2012, 341 consecutive patients with significant mitral regurgitation underwent lifting posterior mitral annuloplasty using a specially designed fabric annuloplasty strip that lifts the middle portion of the pos...

In selected patients, mitral valve repair using MitraClip® (Abbott, USA) is a relatively safe and well-tolerated treatment for significant mitral regurgitation [1–3]. We describe a 56-year-old female with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA) and dextrocardia (Fig. 1a) with recurrent episodes of heart failure caused by a combination of systemic (right) ventricular f...

Mitral Valve Aneurysm (MVA) is rarely reported and occurs most in association with infective endocarditis of the aortic valve. In our case, the 46-yr-old Chinese man was referred to our hospital with dyspnea and orthopnea. Transesophageal echocardiography during operation revealed a localized, thin-walled saccular structure in the anterior leaflet that bulged into the left atrium, and severe mi...

OBJECTIVE To compare the early and late outcomes of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting and coronary artery bypass graft + mitral valve repair in elderly patients with moderate chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation. METHODS One hundred and fifty elderly (age > 70 years) patients with moderate chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation who underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (n=...

Dear Sir, Timing of surgery in chronic mitral valve regurgitation has been a long term matter of debate. Data from European Society of Cardiology suggest that a number close to 36 % of surgical treatment in mitral valve regurgitation is performed too early or too late according to guidelines suggestions (Iung et al., 2003). Bileaflet mitral valve prolapse (Barlow’s disease) as correctly reporte...

BACKGROUND Functional mitral valve regurgitation plays a key role in the symptomatic severity and progression of heart failure. In an ovine model of dilated cardiomyopathy, we examined the chronic functional consequences of mitral regurgitation reduction using a recently developed novel percutaneous mitral annular reduction (PMAR) device. METHODS AND RESULTS Fourteen adult sheep were paced ri...

Disorders of the Pericardium Pericardial Effusion Pericarditis Acute Pericarditis Chronic Pericarditis With Effusion Constrictive Pericarditis Coronary Heart Disease Coronary Circulation Pathogenesis of Coronary Heart Disease Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease Stable Angina Variant Angina Silent Myocardial Ischemia Acute Coronary Syndromes Unstable Angina/Non–ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarct...

BACKGROUND This study was designed to evaluate the incidence and mechanisms of mitral regurgitation following mitral balloon valvotomy (MBV) in 40 consecutive patients with symptomatic tight pliable mitral stenosis. METHODS AND RESULTS Transthoracic echocardiography with color flow mapping was performed before and 24 hours after the procedure. Patients who developed significant mitral regurgi...