Thrombosis of mechanical heart valve prosthesis is a rare fatal complication after heart valve replacement. This report describes an old female patient with aortic prosthetic valve thrombosis who had a successful fibrinolytic treatment.

Aortic valve replacement in the setting of critical aortic valve stenosis with cardiogenic shock is associated with high mortality, yet surgery is the only definitive treatment. We present the case of a patient with critical aortic valve stenosis and cardiogenic shock who received a short period of percutaneous mechanical support and balloon aortic valvuloplasty that resulted in rapid clinical ...

This report describes a patient's self-substitution of nattokinase for the vitamin K antagonist warfarin after aortic valve replacement with a mechanical prosthesis. Nattokinase is an enzyme derived from a popular fermented soybean preparation in Japan (natto), which has fibrinolytic properties and is gaining popularity in nontraditional health journals and nonmedical health websites as an over...

St. Luke’s Hospital is a 436 bed community teaching hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA, performing an average of 750 open heart surgeries yearly by four cardiothoracic surgeons. The type of prosthesis for aortic valve replacement (AVR) chosen is based on durability, safety of postoperative anticoagulation, ease of implantation, and postoperative haemodynamic performance. Surgeons at St Lu...

https://e-kcj.org A 40-year-old male was admitted to the cardiac care unit (CCU) due to severe pneumonia associated with unstable hemodynamics. Meanwhile, a grade 3–4 systolic murmur was heard at the left lower sternal border. Tracing his history back, he had undergone mitral valve replacement with a Björk-Shiley convexoconcave prosthetic valve (single tilting disc mechanical valve) 25 years be...

BACKGROUND Several centers favor replacing a diseased native heart valve with a tissue rather than a mechanical prosthesis, even in younger adult patients. However, long-term data supporting this approach are lacking. We examined the survival implications of selecting a tissue versus a mechanical prosthesis at initial left-heart valve replacement in a cohort of adults <60 years of age who were ...

BACKGROUND Surgical treatment methods are still controversial in children with congenital or acquired aortic valve dysfunction. AIM To evaluate treatment results in children after mechanical or biological valve implantation. METHODS We analysed a group of 55 children after mechanical valve implantation (group A) and a group of 8 children after Freestyle biological valve implantation (group ...

BACKGROUND The choice of the best conduit for root/ascending disease and its impact on longevity remain controversial in quinquagenarians. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 205 patients (men=155) between 50 and 60 years (mean, 55.7 ± 2.9 years) received either a stentless porcine xenoroot (n=78) or a mechanically valved composite prosthesis (n=127) between February 1998 and July 2011. Of these, ...

The classic case of aortic stenosis is a healthy middle-aged patient with/without symptoms, but in practical life, patients with severe calcific aortic valve come with several and severe comorbidities such as advanced age, coronary artery disease, atherosclerotic aorta, significant left ventricular dysfunction. Aortic valve replacement (AVR) is the only options in these patients, and it require...

BACKGROUND There is controversy regarding the choice of prosthetic valves in patients with cardiac valve disease and dialysis-dependent patients. This review assesses a 12-year experience and outcomes after valve replacement in patients on chronic preoperative renal dialysis, comparing survival and valve-related outcomes following valve replacement with bioprostheses versus mechanical prosthese...