OBJECTIVES Cell therapy may offer novel therapeutic options for chronic ischemic heart disease. In a clinical trial, we first assessed the feasibility and safety of intramyocardial CD133+ bone marrow cell injection together with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We then tested the hypothesis that CABG plus CD133+ cell injection would result in better contractile function than CABG alone. ...

Coexistent carotid artery stenosis (CS) and multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) is not infrequent. One in 5 patients with multivessel CAD has a severe CS, and CAD incidence reaches 80% in those referred for carotid revascularization. We reviewed treatment strategies for concomitant severe CS and CAD. We performed a literature search (MEDLINE) with terms including carotid artery stenting (...

Cerebral oximetry has been shown to effectively identify declining regional cerebral oxygen saturations (rSO2) in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Prolonged intraoperative cerebral desaturations have been significantly associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline after CABG surgery. We compared conventional CABG to minimally invasive robotic coronary artery bypass surgery ...

BACKGROUND Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is increasingly being offered to patients with coronary artery disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of this change in coronary revascularization strategy on PCI and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) utilization across Canada. METHODS All cases of PCI and isolated CABG between years 1994 and 2005 were identified...

Background: Post operative complications after CABG are a major source of morbidity & mortality& increases hospital stay. Pain level which is experienced with an activity after CABG reduces the functional capacity & QOL. In this study we aimed to effectively reduce post CABG pain and improve respiratory functions in phase 1 post CABG patients with the help of Respiratory Muscle Stretch Gymnasti...

BACKGROUND An increasing number of patients who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG) have a history of coronary stent implantation. This study aims to assess perioperative and medium-term follow-up outcomes in patients in whom CABG was preceded by coronary stent implantation within two years before operation. METHODS One hundred and sixty two patients undergoing CABG after previous s...

BACKGROUND To assess the influence of therapy crossovers on treatment comparisons and mortality at 5 years in patients with ischemic heart disease and heart failure randomly assigned to medical therapy alone (MED) or to MED and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in the Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure (STICH) trial. METHODS AND RESULTS The influence of early crossover (w...

INTRODUCTION Ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) is associated with increased mortality. Even after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), IMR reduces survival. Several studies have shown increased perioperative mortality for mitral valve replacement (MVR) in this situation, but the subject remains controversial. OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of MVR on immediate outcomes in patients wi...

INTRODUCTION Adverse neurocognitive outcomes are still an important cause of morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery. The most common neurocognitive disorders after conventional cardiac surgery are postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), stroke and delirium. Minimal invasive cardiac procedures have recently been introduced into practice. Endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (End...

OBJECTIVES This prespecified subgroup analysis examined the effect of diabetes on left main coronary disease (LM) and/or three-vessel disease (3VD) in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in the SYNTAX trial. METHODS Patients (n = 1800) with LM and/or 3VD were randomized to receive either PCI with TAXUS Express paclitaxel-elu...