A standard approach in the surgical treatment of severe aortic regurgitation and/or aortic root dilatation is Bentall procedure, it means replacement of the aortic valve and ascending aorta with a composite graft including mechanical or biological valve. The original technique described by Bentall and De Bono in 1968 (5). This is a „safe“ method with low mortality, but patients have to accept t...

Bicuspid aortic valve is the most common form of congenital heart disease. It is associated with both valvular pathology and aortic disease. Aortic regurgitation caused by a bicuspid aortic valve can be corrected by surgical valve repair, which has good short-term results. However, the significant rate of aortic regurgitation recurrence found on long-term follow-up remains a problem, partly bec...

Background. The pathogenesis of ascending aortic di-latation in the presence of a bicuspid valve is discussed controversially. Recent experimental evidence suggests that the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) may have an influence on aortic valve anatomy and aneurysmal dilatation of the aorta. We investigated the relationship among eNOS expression, valve anatomy, and aortic ...

Achievement of optimal valve geometry in valve-sparing aortic root repairs is a prerequisite for favorable valve function and, therefore, the simplification of these procedures is of utmost importance. The aim of the study was to determine the feasibility of the new vascular graft for aortic valve reimplantation technique and evaluate the early and intermediate functional results. Five patients...

INTRODUCTION Transcatheter aortic valve implantation for severe symptomatic aortic stenosis in patients with a previous mitral valve prosthesis is technically challenging, and pre-procedural comprehensive assessment of these patients before transcatheter aortic valve implantation is vital for an uncomplicated and successful procedure. AIM We want to share our experience with transcatheter aor...

AIMS Secondary involvement of the mitral valve is well documented in primary aortic valve endocarditis. A poorly considered, but probably important causative mechanism, involving both left-sided valves, is 'mitral kissing vegetation'. This results from large aortic vegetations prolapsing into the left ventricular outflow tract and making contact with the ventricular aspect of the anterior mitra...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the presence of myocardial fibrosis determined by fragmented QRS in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Eighty-seven consecutive patients with severe aortic valve stenosis and 83 age- and gender-matched control subjects were enrolled into this study. Severe aortic valve stenosis was defined as an aortic valve area <1 cm(2), a Vmax >4 m/s, ...

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation is being established as an alternative treatment for some patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis who are not considered suitable for surgical aortic valve replacement because of prohibitive surgical risk.1–3 One of the potential complications is complete atrioventricular block requiring definitive pacemaker implantation. This complication occurs...

BACKGROUND The typical cardiac manifestations of Marfan syndrome are aortic regurgitation with progressive dilatation of the aortic root, which may cause dissection and rupture of the ascending aorta, mitral valve prolapse and mitral valve regurgitation. In this study, we aimed to show echocardiographic findings in 11 patients with Marfan syndrome. METHODS Diagnosis of Marfan syndrome was bas...

Bicuspid aortic valve configuration and aortopathy pattern might represent different pathophysiologic sub-strates. A, Byers PH et al. The bicuspid aortic valve: an integrated phenotypic classification of leaflet morphology and aortic root shape. Association of Bicuspid aortic valve morphology and aortic root dimensions: a sub-study of the aortic stenosis progression observation measuring effect...