INTRODUCTION Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection is an uncommon congenital heart disease. Four types are described based on the site of pulmonary venous drainage: supracardiac, cardiac, infradiaphragmathic, and mixed connection. In most cases of supracardiac type, the common venous confluence drains through an ascending left vertical vein into the brachiocephalic vein, right superior ve...

AIMS The parasympathetic nervous system is thought to play a key role in atrial fibrillation (AF). Since parasympathetic signalling is primarily mediated by the heterotrimeric G-protein, Galpha(i)betagamma, we hypothesized that targeted inhibition of Galpha(i) interactions in the posterior left atrium (PLA) would modify the substrate for vagal AF. METHODS AND RESULTS Cell-penetrating(cp)-Galp...

Cardiac chamber rupture in blunt trauma is uncommon and is associated with a high mortality rate. We report a patient involved in a motor vehicle collision with an isolated right atrial injury resulting in a pericardial effusion associated with hemodynamic compromise. A 20 year-old intoxicated female was transported after sustaining a collision in her vehicle. The patient remained mildly hypote...

Consistent differences in K+ currents in left and right atria of adult mouse hearts have been identified by the application of current- and voltage-clamp protocols to isolated single myocytes. Left atrial myocytes had a significantly (P < 0.05) larger peak outward K+ current density than myocytes from the right atrium. Detailed analysis revealed that this difference was due to the rapidly activ...

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS This study examines postnatal development of action potential duration (APD) and voltage-dependent K(+) currents in mouse atrial myocytes and compares the expression levels of corresponding K(+) channels between adult and neonatal mouse atrial tissues. APD and K(+) currents were compared between atrial myocytes isolated from postnatal Day-1, Day-7, Day-20, and adult mice....

Abstract We report a unique presentation of isolated congenital cleft mitral valve complicating cardiogenic shock from acute myocardial infarction. Isolated is an uncommon diagnosis that can have significant clinical implications, especially if not recognized in patients presenting to the catheterization lab with infarction and shock. A review this rare including options timing therapeutic inte...

Major congenital defects of the hepatic veins are readily detectable at autopsy but they have been described rarely. In the case reported here an anomalous disposition of these veins brought venous blood from the left half of the liver into the left atrium and blood from the right half of the liver into the right atrium. We have traced only two other similar cases (Arnold, 1868; Epstein, 1886)....

The effects of the site used for atrial pacing on atrial and atrioventricular nodal conduction were assesed in 16 patients. In 13 patients, three atrial pacing sites were used: high right atrium, low lateral right atrium, and midcoronary sinus. Two recording sites were used: low septal right atrium, including His electrogram, and high right atrium. Stimulus (S) to high right atrium interval was...

OBJECTIVES Interventional treatment of tricuspid valve disease has so far received little attention due to the anatomical challenges in a thrombogenic surrounding. In the present study, we present an imaging-based, personalized interventional approach to the therapy of tricuspid regurgitation. METHODS In our porcine model, we used rapid prototyping to build a matrix reproducing the geometry o...