An 86-year-old male patient was admitted in our cardiology ward with signs of congestive biventricular heart failure. The patient presented with deteriorating dyspnea on mild exertion and at rest the last days, compatible with class NYHA III-IV heart failure, bilateral peripheral oedema, increased NT-proBNP (9198 pg/mL), mildly elevated Troponin (TnT 64 pg/mL), interstitial pulmonary oedema and...

factor to be considered when determining patient suitability for transcatheter implantation. Variables such as calcium quantity and distribution, the width of the sinuses of Valsalva, outflow tract diameter or computed tomography-measured annulus diameter (maximum annulus diameter was 23.9 mm) must also be analyzed. Since percutaneous implantation techniques began to be used for aortic valves, ...

To investigate complementarity and competitiveness between the intrinsic and extrinsic components of the total left ventricular systolic load, hemodynamic data from 18 elderly subjects with severe aortic stenosis were analyzed before and after balloon dilation of the stenosed aortic valve. Multisensor micromanometric pressure measurements allowed calculation (simplified Bernoulli equation) of t...

BACKGROUND Percutaneous balloon aortic valvuloplasty has been used as a therapeutic option for relief of valvular stenosis. This study describes patients undergoing initial percutaneous aortic balloon valvuloplasty enrolled in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Balloon Valvuloplasty Registry. METHODS AND RESULTS Extensive baseline procedural and postprocedural data were tab...

Balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) has been a highly successful therapy for children and young adults with aortic valve stenosis, resulting in both symptomatic improvement and durable increases in the aortic valve area. Despite enthusiasm for BAV in older adult patients with aortic valve stenosis in the mid-1980s, the therapy has had disappointing medium- and long-term outcomes. Survival of pat...