BACKGROUND The long-term benefits of the maze procedure in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation undergoing mechanical valve replacement who already require lifelong anticoagulation remain unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated adverse outcomes (death; thromboembolic events; composite of death, heart failure, or valve-related complications) in 569 patients with atrial fibrillation-asso...

BACKGROUND AND AIM Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) increases the risk of aortic valve dysfunction and ascending aorta aneurysm and, consequently, the need for aortic valve replacement and/or aortic repair. However, there is no universal consensus about the surgical criteria and the predictors for surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate related factors to the need for surgery in the settin...

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to determine whether sex and biochemical markers of inflammation have a role in left ventricular (LV) remodelling after aortic valve replacement in elderly patients with aortic valve stenosis. METHODS We studied 52 elderly patients with aortic valve stenosis (32 men, mean age 65 +/- 11 years and 20 women, mean age 68 +/- 9 years). Body surface area did n...

Methods Consecutive patients with moderate or severe AS (aortic valve area <1.5cm), normal coronary arteries and no other significant valve lesion or cardiomyopathy were scanned by 1.5T magnetic resonance and compared with contemporary ageand sex-matched healthy, control subjects. The extent and patterns of hypertrophy were assessed from volumetric cine images. Valve severity was assessed by pl...

quadricuspid aortic valve (qav) is an uncommon congenital anomaly which was an incidental finding during surgery or autopsy in the past. we present the case of a 44-year-old woman with moderately severe aortic regurgitation due to unequal cusp size qav diagnosed via transesophageal echocardiography. due to echocardiographic imaging improvement, the diagnosis of qav is now easier and earlier tha...

BACKGROUND The ideal aortic valve substitute in young and middle-aged adults remains unknown. We sought to compare the long-term outcomes of patients undergoing the Ross procedure and those receiving a mechanical aortic valve replacement (AVR). METHODS From 1990 to 2014, 258 patients underwent a Ross procedure and 1444 had a mechanical AVR at a single institution. Patients were matched into 2...

Surgical treatment for aortic stenosis includes aortic valve replacement, which alleviates symptoms and increases longevity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction after aortic valve replacement. Left ventricular function was assessed by a retrospective review of preoperative and postoperative ejection fractions (EF) using echocardiography. The ...

INTRODUCTION The ultrastructure of venous valves and walls in chronic venous disease was investigated. METHODS Consecutive patients were categorised into one of three groups (group A: patients with C1 venous disease in accordance with CEAP (Clinical severity, Etiology, Anatomy, Pathophysiology); group B: C2 and C3; group C: C4, C5 and C6). The terminal or preterminal valve and adjacent vessel...

This paper aims to research the position control of the hydraulic cylinder controlled by the high-speed on-off valve to realize the precise position control. The strategy combining the pulse width modulation with pulse frequency modulation is proposed to compensate the dead and saturated zones of the high-speed on-off valve, which is on the groundwork of the analysis of the flow characteristic ...