Introduction: Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is the most common esophageal disorder, which occurs at all ages. GER is defined as the passage of gastric contents into the esophagus. GER disease (GERD), which is a long-term complication, is a common pediatric problem. Clinical manifestations of GERD in infants include regurgitation, irritability, choking, gagging, vomiting, poor weight gain, and r...

BACKGROUND Human tissue valves for aortic valve replacement have a limited durability that is influenced by interrelated determinants. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze the relation between these determinants of durability and valve regurgitation measured by serial echocardiography. METHODS AND RESULTS In adult patients, 218 cryopreserved aortic allografts were implanted with t...

In this issue of JASE, Magne et al continue their previous work using echocardiography to analyze outcomes of mitral valve repair for ischemic mitral regurgitation, demonstrating that continued adverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling may not be a prerequisite for recurrent mitral valve regurgitation in patients who had undergone initially successful repairs. They observed a group of 26 patient...

Mitral and aortic valve regurgitation both lead to left ventricle volume overload, but have different pathophysiology. Preload is increased in mitral regurgitation whereas afterload is normal since part of the ejection flow goes to the left atrium; however, both preand afterload are increased in aortic regurgitation. When the regurgitations are chronic, the ventricle adapts by increasing the vo...

blunt injury to the chest can affect any one or all components of the chest wall and thoracic cavity. the clinical presentation of patients with blunt chest trauma varies widely and ranges from minor reports of pain to florid shock. traumatic tricuspid valve regurgitation is a rare cardiovascular complication of blunt chest trauma. tricuspid valve regurgitation is usually begotten by disorders ...

BACKGROUND Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a chronic condition affecting up to one-quarter of the Western population. GORD is characterized by heartburn and acid regurgitation, but is reported to be associated with a spectrum of extra-oesophageal symptoms. OBJECTIVE The aim of this systematic review was to critically evaluate postulated extra-oesophageal symptoms of GORD. METHOD...

Background—Proponents of flexible annuloplasty rings have hypothesized that such devices maintain annular dynamics. This hypothesis is based on the supposition that annular motion is relatively normal in patients undergoing mitral valve repair. We hypothesized that mitral annular dynamics are impaired in ischemic mitral regurgitation and myxomatous mitral regurgitation. Methods and Results—A Ph...

Pulsed Doppler echocardiography was used to determine prospectively the prevalence of mitral, aortic, tricuspid and pulmonary regurgitation in 80 consecutive patients with mitral valve prolapse and 85 normal subjects with similar age and sex distribution. Mitral valve prolapse was defined by posterior systolic displacement of the mitral valve on M-mode echocardiography of 3 mm or more (40 patie...