BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) is considered the potential curative treatment for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). We analysed the results of the PTE application in our institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS From February 1996 to December 2007, 30 patients with CTEPH underwent video-assisted PTE. Preoperative hemodynamic data were: systolic pu...

In patients with heart failure, exercise echocardiography can help in risk stratification and decision making. The prognostic significance of exercise pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation (MR) remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to assess the prognostic value of exercise PH in patients with secondary MR and narrow QRS intervals. From 2005 to ...

BACKGROUND The quantification of hypoxia based on resting partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) may underestimate hypoxia related to activities of daily living or sleep and thus not accurately reflect pulmonary hypertension (PH). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of resting PaO2 with percent time of SpO2 below 90% (T90) and 88% (T88) in 24 hours. We also evalu...

Members of the antigen I/II family of cell surface proteins are highly conserved, multifunctional adhesins that mediate interactions of oral streptococci with other oral bacteria, with cell matrix proteins (e.g., type I collagen), and with salivary glycoproteins, e.g., gp340. The interaction of gp340 (formerly designated salivary agglutinin) with Streptococcus mutans requires an alanine-rich re...

THE 5=-ECTONUCLEOTIDASES FOUND on the surface of most mammalian cells and in blood serum serve as a source of adenosine derived from extracellular nucleotide degradation (11). The 5=-ectonucleotidases are phosphatases whose substrate is extracellular adenosine 5=-monophosphate (AMP) generated from adenosine 5=-triand diphosphates (ATP and ADP) released from injured tissues to stimulate cellular...

Different patterns of left-ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction were reported in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PHT). There are no data regarding the relationship between the severity of PHT and LV diastolic dysfunction. In order to determine the severity of PHT at which LV diastolic dysfunction occurs and to identify its pattern, we studied by Doppler echocardiography 120 patients wit...

Aortic stenosis (AS) leads to pulmonary hypertension (PH) and right ventricle (RV) failure. Our goal was to describe mortality related to postoperative complications in PH patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Ninety-three TAVR patients were analyzed (controls, sPAP < 50 mmHg; cases, sPAP ≥ 50 mmHg). Significant findings in cases included increased mortality (365 da...

BACKGROUND Rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) is still a common disease in developing countries with high morbidity and mortality rates. The purpose of the study was to evaluate arterial stiffness in severe MS before and after percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty (PMBV). METHODS Thirty patients with MS in sinus rhythm requiring PMBV and 20 age-gender matched healthy volunteers. The analyze o...