Patients with heart failure may benefit from implantation of a biventricular pacemaker. This article discusses the indications for biventricular pacemaker implantation and the assessment of patients with biventricular pacemakers. Biventricular pacemakers require more assessments than do traditional single- or dual-chamber pacemakers.

Sildenafil can be used for the management of right ventricular failure after left assist device (LVAD) implantation. However, usefulness sildenafil on subpulmonic morphological ventricle (pLV) has not been reported. This study reported haemodynamic effects pLV LVAD

Background: Regulation of gene expression in mammalian embryos is not completely known. Pre-implantation embryos need maternal RNA and proteins synthesized during oogenesis, to regulate development before mater-embryo transition, as the grown oocyte and the 1-cell zygote are transcriptionally silent. There are some oocyte-specific genes called maternal effect genes which may account for this ea...

Background: Clinical infertility is defined as the inability to become pregnant after 12 months of unprotected intercourse. Worldwide, more than 80 million couples suffer from infertility;the majority of this population are residents of developing countries. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most successful of the infertility treatments, and for many people is the last possibility for pregnan...

The last decade has seen considerable growth in the use of left ventricular assist devices (LVAD), in end-phase heart failure treatment. The indications, contraindications and implantation techniques are well-defined. However, information about mechanical support for right ventricular failure is lacking. The aim of this communication is to present alternative techniques for implantation of shor...

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is very frequently accompanied by coronary artery disease. Myocardial ischemia is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in AAA repair. Therapeutic strategy, in presence of ischemic heart failure and AAA, is not well established. Actually, AAA is considered as a contraindication to ventricular assist device (VAD) support. We report a unique case of concomit...

A 32-year-old man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) was admitted to the hospital because of worsening dyspnea and general fatigue. He had received medication therapy for cardiomyopathy with heart failure and home mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure. An electrocardiogram on admission showed intermittent third-degree atrioventricular block. Echocardiography showed global mild left...

A prospective cohort study has been performed to find out if the administration of an oxytocin antagonist (Atosiban) at the occasion of embryo transfer has an effect on the pregnancy rate in patients with repeated failure of implantation. A total of 52 women with repeated failure of implantation after IVF/ICSI were included in this study. The ongoing pregnancy rate (OPR) in the total group of p...

BACKGROUND Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) using the Medtronic CoreValve (MCV) system might represent an alternative to conventional redo surgery in older high-risk patients with a failing aortic valve bioprosthesis. METHODS AND RESULTS Symptomatic patients with failing aortic valve bioprosthesis, aged ≥65 years with a logistic EuroSCORE ≥10 % were considered for treatment. Loc...

OBJECTIVES Electrical spinal cord stimulators are routinely used in the thoracic spine for back and lower extremity pain. The anatomy of the cervical spine differs significantly from that of the thoracic spine and deserves special considerations if these implants are to be inserted safely in the neck. This paper explores the technical challenges of implanting paddle leads in the cervical spine ...