OBJECTIVES This study investigated the feasibility, accuracy and clinical potential of creating polymer hard copies of echocardiographic data using stereolithography. BACKGROUND Three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography has so far been limited by the need to display reconstructed 3D objects on a two-dimensional screen. Thus, tangible stereolithographic polymer models created from echocardiograp...

A 56-year-old female with history of mitral valve replacement and automated implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placement presented with dyspnea on exertion for two years and recurrent ascites. Imaging studies, including transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiograms as well as 64-slice computed tomography (CT) angiogram revealed a large mass encasing the entire heart consistent with lipo...

The use of beta-blockers in general pathology increased so much, that there is almost no therapy domain with any interference of these substances. This paper describes the use and the action of the betablockers in the following pathologies: pheochromocitoma, Tetralogy of Fallot, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, aorta dissecting aneurysm, mitral valve prolapse, thyrotoxicosis, orthostati...

A large blood-filled cyst formed from a fibrous tissue tag of a right ventricular septal aneurysm was successfully resected. This cyst, which was causing subaortic stenosis, was attached to the margin of the closed ventricular septal defect and not to the mitral valve itself nor the papillary muscle of the left ventricle.

An early systolic closure of the aortic valve was recorded in the echocardiogram in two patients with aortic root dissection. This sign, initially described in discrete subaortic stenosis and occasionally observed in mitral regurgitation and interventricular septal defect, has not so far been described in dissecting aneurysm of the aorta.

BACKGROUND There is no current acceptable approach for intracardiac beating-heart interventions. We have adapted real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography with specialized instrumentation to facilitate beating-heart repair of atrial septal defects and mitral valve plasty to investigate the feasibility of real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography-guided cardiac surgery. METHODS In experiment I a...

The evolution of echocardiography from 2-Dimensional Transthoracic Echo through to real time 3-Dimensional Transoesophageal Echo has enabled more accurate visualisation and quantification of valvular disorders especially prosthetic mitral valve paravalvular regurgitation. However, validation of accuracy is rarely confirmed by surgical or post-mortem specimens. We present a case directly compari...

A 54-year-old man with a medical history of diabetes, dyslipidemia, and abdominal aneurysm was seen for fever of 1 month’s evolution with no attributable focus. The physical examination was notable for high-pitched IV/VI systolic murmur at the mitral valve; the remaining examination was unremarkable. Laboratory findings included anemia (hemoglobin, 10.6), erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 80; and...

INTRODUCTION Ischemic mitral regurgitation can be defined as moderate to severe mitral leak precipitated by acute myocardial infarction. Valve repair is now the procedure of choice, but some cases can pose difficult anatomy. This review will illustrate current techniques for repairing complex ischemic mitral regurgitation. METHODS Most patients with ischemic mitral regurgitation have predomin...

BACKGROUND Analysis of procedural effects in patients undergoing percutaneous mitral valve repair (PMVR) using the edge-to-edge technique is complex, and common methods to define mitral regurgitation severity based on 2-dimensional (2D) echocardiography are not validated for postprocedural double-orifice mitral valve. This study used 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to determine the fu...