BACKGROUND We performed the first quadruple valve replacement with mechanical valves, combined with the correction of complex congenital heart disease on November 17, 1999. We report here the 11-year follow-up study. METHODS A 47-year-old man with subacute rheumatic endocarditis, a ventricular septal defect, and an obstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract required replacement of the...

BACKGROUND Environmental endocrine disruptors (EEDs) are exogenous chemicals that mimic endogenous hormones such as estrogens. Previous studies using a zebrafish transgenic reporter demonstrated that the EEDs bisphenol A and genistein preferentially activate estrogen receptors (ERs) in the larval heart compared with the liver. However, it was not known whether the transgenic zebrafish reporter ...

A total of 14 cases of infective endocarditis (IE) in children aged 6 months to 10 years were seen from December 1987 to December 1992 at the pediatric unit of Ayatollah Taleghani Medical Center. The majority of patients (12 of 14) were between 5 and 10 years of age. Acyanotic congenital heart disease was known to preexist in 78.6% and rheumatic valvular heart disease in 21.4% of cases. Or...

Cardiovascular diseases are a worldwide problem being a significant cause of morbity and mortality every year. Patients requiring heart valve replacements include those exhibiting degenerative valvular diseases and rheumatic fever. The pathological processes include stenosis, fibrosis, myxoid change and calcification. The fibrosis causes a reaction to normal haemodynamic while the myxoid change...

Valvular heart disease (VHD) is common and it is essential that hospital pharmacists understand the disease and the role of pharmacotherapy in its treatment and prevention. The heart is composed of four chambers (two atria and two ventricles) and contains four valves (mitral and aortic valves on the left, tricuspid and pulmonary valves on the right). The valves prevent blood flowing backwards w...

OBJECTIVE Tissue engineering of heart valves represents a new experimental concept to improve current modes of therapy in valvular heart disease. Drawbacks of glutaraldehyde fixed tissue valves or mechanical valves include the short durability or the need for life-long anticoagulation, respectively. Both have in common the inability to grow, which makes valvular heart disease especially problem...

In Part I of this article, several aspects of valve structure and function and their possible clinical relevance were discussed. We now review the clinical evolution and application for various forms of valve repair and outline some of the factors relating to the timing and choice of particular types of repair or replacement and, whenever appropriate, repair versus replacement. In addition, fut...

BACKGROUND Mechanical prosthetic heart valves have been used for many decades to replace damaged native valves. Guidelines mandate the use of anticoagulant therapy in patients with mechanical prosthetic valves of any type, irrespective of the position in the heart. The rationale for this is to prevent valve thrombosis and thromboembolic complications without increasing the risk of excess bleedi...

One hundred patients who underwent heart valve replacement during the years 1977 to 1985 were reviewed an average of 57 months after surgery. The overall rate of reemployment after the operation was 78%. The most important factors influencing the return to work were the employment status before surgery, age at the time of surgery, the number and site of the diseased valve, the preoperative New ...