Successful surgical closure of an atrial septal defect was first performed by Bailey1 in January, 1952, employing the method he terms atrio-septopexy. Cohn2 in 1947 had reported results of the first experimental dosure of defects in the atrial septum, and only a year later Murray3 reported the first attempt at repair in a 12-year-old child by approximating the anterior and posterior atrial wall...

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used as a lifesaving rescue treatment in refractory respiratory or cardiac failure. During venovenous (VV) ECMO, the presence of recirculation is known, but quantification and actions to minimize recirculation after measurement are to date not routinely practiced. In the current study, we investigated the effect of draining cannula design on recircu...

Under a new name (the ’one-and-half patch’ technique) [1], the authors describe an intermediate technique (between those described at 1 and 2, below) for the surgical treatment of complete atrio-ventricular canal (CAVC) or atrio-ventricular septal defect (AVSD)—with a patch under the superior bridging leaflet (SBL) and direct attachment to the ventricular crest of the defect under the inferior ...

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) decreases muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in patients with severe congestive heart failure (CHF) and cardiac asynchrony. Whether this affects equally patients who clinically respond or not to CRT is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that the favorable effects of CRT on MSNA disappear on CRT interruption only in those who respond to CRT. Twenty-th...

BACKGROUND Esophageal hematoma recently has been reported as a form of esophageal injury after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation, attributed to the use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). We sought to determine the incidence, clinical features, and sequelae of this form of esophageal injury. METHODS AND RESULTS This was a prospective series of 1110 AF ablation procedures performed unde...

as fetal compensation against hypoxemia progresses, the afterload on the heart and peripheral vascular resistance increases. eventually, the right heart fails, which is transmitted to the fetal venous system, causing decreased flow during late diastole or atrial contraction and increased resistance in the ductus venosus and inferior vena cava. the ductus has forward flow during atrial contracti...

Biventricular pacing or resynchronisation therapy is a non-pharmacological therapy for patients with chronic heart failure. Since being originally described in 1994, biventricular pacing has become a subject of intense interest and investigation. This review analyses the results reported in observational series and randomised trials, and seeks to answer two questions. If it works, why does it w...