We report the case of a rare association of a congenital Gerbode defect with severe mitral regurgitation due to abnormal linear structure of mitral valve, diagnosed in an adult patient. The case highlights the importance of a thorough examination interpreting the echocardiographic findings on a pathophysiological basis. It also underlines the complementary role of different imaging techniques w...

DOI: 10.5935/abc.20160007 A 41-year-old man with history of surgical replacement of the aortic valve with a 21mm-Mitroflow bioprosthesis (1A), presented with functional class IV heart failure. Transesophageal echocardiography confirmed severe bioprosthesis obstruction (1B). We implanted a 23mmCoreValve® EvolutTM R (Medtronic, Minneapolis, USA) in the aortic bioprosthesis, by transfemoral approa...

background: percutaneous transcatheter closure has been proposed as an alternative to surgical closure or long-term anticoagulation in patients with presumed paradoxical embolism and patent foramen ovale (pfo). methods: there were two symptomatic patients (29 and 47 years old) who underwent percutaneous transcatheter closure of pfo after at least two events of cerebral ischemia; one embolic eve...

Abstract Introduction Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA) is a rare cardiac malformation characterized by ‘double’ discordance atrioventricular and ventriculo–arterial connections, resulting in systemic tricuspid valve right ventricle. Clinical case We describe report 54 years–old male patient with ccTGA, diagnosed when he was 3 years–old. Patient performed regula...

BACKGROUND Transesophageal echocardiography is superior to transthoracic echocardiography in detecting left-sided valvular vegetations. There are no data on the value of transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of infected transvenous permanent pacemakers. METHODS AND RESULTS Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography was performed in 10 patients for whom there was clinical s...

We report the case of a man 67-years-old with right-to-left shunt through a patent foramen ovale in absence of pulmonary hypertension. The contrast and transesophageal echocardiography showed significant right-to-left shunt and provided insight about the mechanisms that cause it. The aortic root was enlarged compressing the right atrium. Surgical repair was performed, the foramen ovale was clos...

A 76-year old female, was admitted in our cardiac surgery clinic to perform surgical aortic valve replacement due to a severe aortic regurgitation with symptoms of congestive heart failure. Her past medical history included moderately impaired renal function (GFR 48 mL/min) and arterial hypertension.  The thoracic-CT scan revealed a serious calcification of the entire thoracic aorta (Figure 1)...

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is widely used in the management of patients in intensive care units. The present study assesses the specific value of this technique in various categories of these patients. We reviewed 113 studies performed in 100 such patients for: suspected aortic dissection (25), suspected endocarditis (33), source of emboli assessment (19), hemodynamic instability (1...