Aortic valve disease is a fatal disease with but a single cure. Removal of the mechanical obstruction in aortic stenosis (surgery or TAVI) and replacement of an incompetent valve (so far only surgery) are the only treatment options. While aortic valve replacement in patients with isolated valve disease and normal pumpfunction of the heart has become a routine procedure and is performed with exc...

supravalvar mitral ring is a rare congenital heart defect of surgical importance. the condition is characterized by an abnormal ridge of the connective tissue on the atrial side of the mitral valve. it often substantially obstructs the mitral valve inflow. we herein introduce a case of a supravalvar mitral ring in a 17-year-old male, who was admitted to our hospital with cardiac syncope. he had...

this research is a field study designed to-investigate the complication of patients, who underwent heart valve   surgery and were hospitalized in intensive care unit.   in this research, the field files of those patient who had undergone surgical heart valve operation and were   hospitalized in intensive care units in 1992, have been selected as general research documents.   from the point of t...

BACKGROUND Pannus formation may disturb the leaflet movement of the prosthetic valve. CASE PRESENTATION A 61-year-old woman presented with exertional dyspnea. She had undergone mitral valve replacement with a bioprosthetic valve 31 years ago, which was replaced with a tilting disc valve 22 years ago. The present laboratory findings revealed hemolytic anemia. Echocardiography showed an increas...

AIMS Data regarding pregnancy outcome in women with congenital heart disease (CHD) are limited. METHODS AND RESULTS In 1802 women with CHD, 1302 completed pregnancies were observed. Independent predictors of cardiac, obstetric, and neonatal complications were calculated using logistic regression. The most prevalent cardiac complications during pregnancy were arrhythmias (4.7%) and heart failu...

The clinical and pathological features of four patients with intractable heart failure, due to myxomatous change in the mitral valve, are described. It is suggested that this change may represent a response of ageing connective tissue to mechanical stress.

BACKGROUND The long-term benefits of the maze procedure in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation undergoing mechanical valve replacement who already require lifelong anticoagulation remain unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated adverse outcomes (death; thromboembolic events; composite of death, heart failure, or valve-related complications) in 569 patients with atrial fibrillation-asso...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to compare two different intensities of vitamin K antagonists (VKA) among patients with mechanical heart valves using meta-analytic techniques. BACKGROUND Patients with mechanical heart valves are at increased risk for valve thrombosis and systemic embolism, which can be reduced by VKA. The range of optimal intensity of VKA is still a matter of debate....

BACKGROUND Exposing the developing tissue to flow and pressure in a bioreactor has been shown to enhance tissue formation in tissue-engineered heart valves. Animal studies showed excellent functionality in these valves in the pulmonary position. However, they lack the mechanical strength for implantation in the high-pressure aortic position. Improving the in vitro conditioning protocol is an im...