Background With modern medicine, many women after structural heart repair are deciding to experience pregnancy. There is a need for further study to identify normal echocardiographic parameters to better assess prosthetic valvular function in pregnancy. In addition, a multidisciplinary approach is essential in managing pregnant patients with complex cardiac conditions. Case A 22-year-old null...

The clinical and bacteriological findings in a case of prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae are presented. The patient died despite adequate medical therapy. This appears to be the first report of endocarditis caused by this species in a prosthetic aortic valve.

An effective anticoagulation is critical in pregnant patients with prosthetic heart valves. Inherited disorders may interfere with the coagulation cascade and may be associated with obstetrical complications as well as with prosthetic valve-derived complications. The patient in the present case had a history of recurrent prosthetic heart valve thrombosis (PHVT) despite an effective anticoagulat...

OBJECTIVES N-terminal B‑type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is an important biomarker for the detection of heart failure. Adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) and a prosthetic heart valve are at risk for heart failure. This study aimed to determine the value of NT-proBNP in ACHD patients with a prosthetic valve and investigate its relationship with cardiac function and exercise capacity...

BACKGROUND Trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has emerged as a novel therapeutic approach for patients with severe tricuspid aortic stenosis (AS) not suitable for aortic valve replacement. OBJECTIVES To describe our initial single-center experience with TAVI in patients with "off-label" indications. METHODS Between August 2008 and December 2011 we performed TAVI in 186 patients...

Prosthetic aortic valve replacement for aortic valve endocarditis remains a primary practice of most cardiac surgeons. Usually it cures endocarditis and restores cardiac function. However, in advanced aortic valve endocarditis with complex annular destruction, complications following prosthetic aortic valve replacement do occur and present a formidable challenge for reoperation. Herein, we desc...

AIM OF THE STUDY We retrospectively analyzed the results of operations conducted for aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis in a single center over 19 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS From February 1992 to January 2011, we performed operations on 27 patients with aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis. Seventeen patients (63.0%) were male, and the mean age was 39.1 ± 14.2 (16-67) years. Blood cultures...

Aortic valve replacement accounts for a significant portion of cardiac surgeries in the United States. Despite advances in prosthetic heart valve design, surgical technique, and postoperative care, complications after aortic valve replacement remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Routine surveillance of prosthetic heart valves with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), transesophag...

ST elevation acute myocardial infarction in patients with a mechanical prosthetic valve is rare and usually due to inadequate anticoagulation. We present a case of acute inferior myocardial infarction in a patient with a prosthetic aortic valve and high international normalized ratio, which has not been reported previously.

We present a 76-year-old woman with infective endocarditis of a prosthetic aortic valve. The course of her illness started with an ischaemic stroke and she was admitted with prolonged fever and an episode of loss of consciousness. Echocardiography revealed acute aortic regurgitation and dehiscence of the prosthetic valve with excessive "rocking motion", aortic abscesses and left ventricular out...