AIMS The Thebesian valve (TV) can be a significant obstacle to coronary sinus (CS) cannulation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristic features of the CS valve--TV anatomy. In particular, emphasis was placed on identifying specific structures of the TV that could potentially complicate CS cannulation. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined 273 autopsied human hearts. The height of ...

To assess the concentrations of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) in cardiac lymph compared with coronary sinus (CS) blood and to measure cardiac lymph flow before and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). In 21 pigs, the main cardiac lymph trunk was cannulated before institution of standardized CPB. Lymph flow, cTnI and TNFa in cardiac lymph and CS blood were m...

a 56 year old man was admitted to our center for further evaluation of typical chest pain of ten months' duration. selective coronary angiography was done and showed a sewing needle-like foreign body which was lying in very close proximity to the anatomic location of the right coronary artery. at operation two pieces of sewing needles were removed, one from the coronary sinus and the other...

AIMS The aim of this study was to assess the requirement for coronary sinus (CS) lead intervention after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and to evaluate the effectiveness of endovascular replacement. METHODS AND RESULTS All patients receiving a CRT device with CS lead in the Leiden University Medical Center in the period from 1999 to 2007 were prospectively evaluated and followed. Fiv...

His bundle recordings were studied in four patients with short P-R and A-H intervals, and narrow QRS complexes, who had experienced several episodes of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. The heart was paced from the high right atrium (HRA) and the coronary sinus (CS). In three patients the A-H Wenckebach phenomenon occurred at higher rates (greater than 200 pacing beats/min) when the CS was pac...

METHODS Catheterization of the coronary sinus (CS) from the femoral vein is widely used during electrophysiologic procedures. Access to the CS may be difficult. To address this problem we explored the utility of a long pre-formed (SAFL) sheath in a cohort of consecutive patients requiring CS cannulation in the electrophysiology laboratory. This unique sheath has distal curvatures in 2 planes, p...

Percutaneous transvenous mitral annuloplasty (PTMA) has evolved as a latest procedure for the treatment of functional mitral regurgitation. It reduces mitral valve annulus (MVA) size and increases valve leaflet coaptation via compression of coronary sinus (CS). Anatomical considerations for this procedure were elucidated in the present study. In 40 formalin fixed adult cadaveric human hearts, r...

INTRODUCTION Anomalous origin of coronary arteries from opposite sinus of Valsalva is rare finding. The incidence of anomalous origination of the left coronary artery from right sinus is 0.15% and the right coronary artery from the left sinus is 0.92%. The ectopic origin of left coronary artery or right coronary artery from opposite sinus depending on pathways and considering atherosclerotic ch...

The electrophysiological properties of the atrioventricular conduction system were compared in 16 patients using stimulation of the high right atrium (HRA) and a site within the coronary sinus (CS). The site of atrial stimulation significantly altered A-V nodal conduction time and refractoriness in eight patients (Group A) and did not change A-V nodal properties in the remaining patients. His-P...

The electrophysiological properties of the atrioventricular conduction system were compared in 16 patients using stimulation of the high right atrium (HRA) and a site within the coronary sinus (CS). The site of atrial stimulation significantly altered A-V nodal conduction time and refractoriness in eight patients (Group A) and did not change A-V nodal properties in the remaining patients. His-P...