BACKGROUND Septic shock is a pathologic condition caused by endotoxin-producing bacteria, and often associated with severe pulmonary hypertension. Inflammation is a major systemic response to endotoxin; however, it is unknown whether endotoxin has a direct impact on pulmonary arteries that contributes to pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. MATERIAL AND METHODS Rat pulmonary arteries and pri...

BACKGROUND Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) is a promising intervention to treat atrial fibrillation. However, pulmonary vein (PV) stenosis after RFCA has been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and time course of pulmonary vein stenosis after RFCA within a period of 3 months. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was used to visualize pulmo...

BACKGROUND Radiofrequency catheter ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is well established but not drawback free. Pulmonary vein stenosis is one of the complications and usually treated with stenting with the disadvantages of high re-stenosis rate and anticoagulant dependence. CASE PRESENTATION Herein, we present the case of a 47 year-old lady, who suffered from fever and hemoptysis d...

There is a conspicuous lack of agreement as to what lesions or clinical conditions should be included in the term “cor pulmonale.” Varied and conflicting views prevail throughout the literature, current and old)’8 Historically, the first use of the term cor pulmonale appears to #{149}have been in 1931 by Paul Whmte;i prior to this time “emphysema heart” was in common use. In the first edition o...

OBJECTIVES To determine the accuracy of prenatal diagnosis of pulmonary atresia and intact ventricular septum (PAIVS), and pulmonary stenosis, including prenatal detection of ventriculocoronary connections, to evaluate heart size during the prenatal period, and to evaluate the outcome. DESIGN AND PATIENTS Medical records of 20 cases with prenatally diagnosed PAIVS and pulmonary stenosis were ...

SURGICAL treatment of pulmonary stenosis has advanced to the point where a choice of several operative technics is available. This study constitutes a comparative review of the late recatheterization results in the open versus closed method of pulmonary valvuloplasty. Doyen reported an unsuccessful attempt to relieve pulmonary stenosis by transventricular valvulotomy in 1913.1 In 1948, Sellors ...

Flash pulmonary edema is characteristically sudden in onset with rapid resolution once appropriate therapy has been instituted (Messerli et al., 2011). Acute increase of left ventricular (LV) end diastolic pressure is the usual cause of sudden decompensated cardiac failure in this patient population. Presence of bilateral renal artery stenosis or unilateral stenosis in combination with a single...

BACKGROUND Although plasma endothelin concentrations are elevated in patients with pulmonary hypertension, the precise sites of endothelin production have not been defined. We investigated the endothelin production in the pulmonary circulation of patients with mitral stenosis and its effects on pulmonary vascular tone. METHODS AND RESULTS We measured plasma concentrations of endothelin-1, ang...