T his picture shows the chest of a 51 year old man recently admitted to a district general hospital where a diagnosis of myocardial infarction was made. The patient received thrombolysis in the form of streptokinase and subsequently underwent angioplasty and stenting of his right coronary artery. He was informed that the use of streptokinase should not be repeated. Concerned that he would forge...

We report a rare case of a hemodialysis patient with a calcified amorphous tumor (CAT) on both sides of the atrioventricular valve annulus. A 70-year-old female who had received hemodialysis for 23 years because of chronic glomerulonephritis presented to our hospital with acute heart failure. Echocardiography indicated the presence of mobile cardiac masses on the mitral valve and tricuspid valv...

Thirty cases were evaluated in order to study the etiology of prosthetic valvular dehiscence in view of its continued occurrence in a small percentage of cases. The clinical course, management, initial valvular pathology, as well as findings at reoperation and necropsy were the main basis of this study. Factors in the genesis of prosthetic valvular dehiscence in the early and late groups seemed...

The aetiology of sudden cardiac arrest can often be identified to underlying cardiac pathology. Mitral valve prolapse is a relatively common valvular pathology with symptoms manifesting with increasing severity of mitral regurgitation (MR). It is unusual for severe MR to be present without symptoms, and there is growing evidence that this subset of patients may be at increased risk of sudden ca...

INTRODUCTION Being a unique diagnostic technique, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has influenced many different aspects of cardiac surgery including valve repair surgery. The cost-effectiveness of this method however is questioned considering the conditions of every region and country. In this study we aimed at answering the question if utilizing TEE throughout valve repair surgery could...

BACKGROUND Specialist clinics are recommended for the assessment and follow-up of patients with heart valve disease. We sought to identify the current provision of specialist valve clinics in UK. METHODS A database of all UK National Health Service hospitals was created. An online survey was distributed to each hospital to examine the model of heart valve clinic, patient population, provision...

Eleven of 138 patients with infective endocarditis (IE) who underwent cardiac valve replacement for IE during a 12 1/2-year period had active IE. Eight of the 11 (all with aortic IE) had positive blood cultures within 48 hours preoperatively; six of the eight had positive Gram stains and cultures of the excised cardiac tissue. All 11 patients had Class IV cardiac functional disability (New York...

Carcinoid heart disease is a rare but important cause of intrinsic right heart valve disorders leading to right heart failure. Occasionally, left-sided heart valves may also be involved. The characteristic cardiac pathological findings of carcinoid heart disease are endocardial thickening as a result of fibrous deposits on the endocardium. Echocardiographic examination and right heart catheteri...

Considerable progress has been made in recent years toward elucidating a conceptual framework that integrates the dynamic functional structure, mechanical properties, and pathobiological behavior of the cardiac valves. This communication reviews the evolving paradigm of a continuum of heart valve structure, function, and pathobiology and explores its implications. Specifically, we discuss (1) t...