Correspondence to: Professor Christian Seiler, University Hospital, Swiss Cardiovascular Center Bern, Freiburgstrasse, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; christian. [email protected] _________________________ F or most haemodynamically relevant heart valve lesions, surgical therapy remains the treatment of choice. It has been consistently shown to provide long lasting relief of symptoms, and its s...

from may 1994 to december 1996 thirty patients received viable fresh aortic homografts. mean age was 55 years (13 to 70), male to female ratio was 2/1, 24 operations were elective whereas 6 were semiurgent. predominant lesions were aortic stenosis or regurgitation in lb patients, aortic valve endocarditis in 10, prosthetic valve dysfunction in 3, and aortic root pathology in one patient. from t...

Valvular heart disease is a major public health issue. The prevalence of valvular heart disease is expected to increase due to an aging population. Valve dysfunction manifests as valve stenosis, regurgitation, or both, due to various etiologies. Valve repair and replacement are the main treatment options for severe valve dysfunction. Valve replacement is achieved by using either a mechanical or...

BACKGROUND Minimal data exist on the long-term survival of dialysis patients after cardiac valve surgery. Current practice guidelines of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on the management of patients with valvular heart disease proscribe the use of bioprosthetic (tissue) valves in hemodialysis patients. METHODS AND RESULTS Dialysis patients hospitalized...

BACKGROUND The effect of adenosine postconditioning on myocardial protection in cardiac surgery remains uncertain. The present study evaluated the safety, feasibility, and beneficial effect of adenosine postconditioning as an adjunct to predominantly used cold-blood cardioplegic myocardial protection method in the setting of heart valve replacement operations. METHODS Sixty patients with rheu...

A non-invasive method using continuous wave Doppler shift ultrasound and spectral analysis was used as a screening test for severe carotid artery disease in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass operations. One hundred and eighty-eight patients were examined before cardiac surgery (91 for ischaemic heart disease, 17 for ischaemic heart disease and valve replacement, 66 for valve replacemen...

OBJECTIVES To describe the early and late outcomes of carcinoid patients undergoing surgical heart valve replacement. METHODS In a retrospective study, records of patients with symptomatic carcinoid heart disease referred for valve surgery between 1993 and 2010 at two academic centres were reviewed. The perioperative and postoperative outcomes were analysed. RESULTS Nineteen patients, with ...

introduction: despite advances in cardiac surgery, many patients might still encounter some post-surgical complications and difficulties. to overcome such difficulties, they should receive the required education. in view of the fact that determining the educational needs is the first step in educational planning, the present study aims to determine the educational needs of patients undergoing h...

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of coronary artery disease in patients undergoing valve surgery at a tertiary care cardiac centre. METHODS The medical records of 144 consecutive patients who underwent mitral, aortic or dual (mitral and aortic) valve replacement surgery at the Tabba Heart Institue between January 2006 to December 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent...