BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to describe the epicardial percutaneous ablation experience of 6 European high-volume ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation centers. METHODS AND RESULTS Data from 218 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD, n=85 [39.0%]), idiopathic dilated of patients with idiopathic VT cardiomyopathy (IDCM, n=67 [30.7%]), arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasi...

Although left ventricular thrombi that form acutely after myocardial infarction frequently resolve spontaneously or with anticoagulant therapy, the fate of left ventricular thrombi in patients with remote myocardial infarction or with idiopathic cardiomyopathy remains unknown. To determine the natural history of such chronic left ventricular thrombi, we performed serial echocardiograms on 51 pa...

BACKGROUND Recent trials have indicated a beneficial effect of pentoxifylline on measures of inflammation and markers of cardiac dysfunction in people with heart failure. However, it is uncertain whether pentoxifylline should be used routinely in the management of heart failure. OBJECTIVE To determine the effectiveness of pentoxifylline in heart failure. DESIGN Systematic review of randomis...

BACKGROUND Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is an important predictor of impaired prognosis in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. AIMS To determine the prognostic role of RV dysfunction, independent of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. METHODS A total of 136 consecutive patients (73% men; mean age 59.0±13.2 years) with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (LV ejection fraction ≤ 45%) were e...

Methods Twenty-two patients with left ventricular noncompaction detected by echocardiography between July 2004 and April 2009 were analyzed. Electrocardiogram and transthoracic Doppler echocardiography was performed to all the patients, and 12 patients underwent 24-hour Holter monitoring. Weight, height and body mass index were calculated and compared with 66 patients distributed into three gro...

Two siblings from a family in which neurofibromatosis was inherited as an autosomal dominant had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and neurofibromatosis. Idiopathic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may have occurred by chance in two first degree relatives with neurofibromatosis. An alternative explantation is that these diseases are both manifestations of a common hereditary defect of neural crest tissue....