OBJECTIVE The focus of this study is to share the experience and outcomes of Contegra graft implantation in the paediatric and adult population in Pakistan. METHODS Between May 2007 and July 2011, 16 patients, underwent implantation of a Contegra valved conduit. All operations were performed through a median sternotomy with cardiopulmonary bypass. Indications included: Pulmonary atresia with ...

This case report describes a percutaneous aortic valve implantation with the Medtronic CoreValve selfexpanding valve prosthesis in a patient with severe aortic stenosis. The approach was made via the left subclavian artery because of the lack of femoral vessel access. The patient was a 78-year-old female with breathlessness on minimal effort, a recent hospitalisation due to pulmonary oedema, an...

BACKGROUND A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is normally contraindicated in significant aortic regurgitation (AR) and requires intraoperative valve repair or exclusion. Nevertheless, AR can coexist with an LVAD, so a valid question when asked might still be of clinical significance. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of valve regurgitation on the pumping efficacy of conti...

A case of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary trunk is reported. The patient, a 64-year-old woman, presented with a history of angina and cardiac failure. She was known to have had a mitral systolic murmur since school age. Echocardiography showed clinically significant mitral regurgitation and highly unusual extensive calcification of the mitral valve chordae, papil...

BACKGROUND patients with mitral valve disease can progress to having pulmonary congestion, which increases the work the respiratory muscles. This overload can change the breathing pattern with a predominance of rib cage displacement or presence of paradoxical movements. OBJECTIVE a) to study the breathing pattern and thoracoabdominal movement of patients with mitral valve disease; b) to study...

Correspondence to: Dr Rajdeep S Khattar, Manchester Heart Centre, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL, UK; rskhattar@ hotmail.com _________________________ T ricuspid and pulmonary valve regurgitation usually occurs as a secondary phenomenon caused by dilatation of the valve ring secondary to right ventricular failure or pulmonary hypertension, respectively. Primary dise...

Mitral and aortic valve regurgitation both lead to left ventricle volume overload, but have different pathophysiology. Preload is increased in mitral regurgitation whereas afterload is normal since part of the ejection flow goes to the left atrium; however, both preand afterload are increased in aortic regurgitation. When the regurgitations are chronic, the ventricle adapts by increasing the vo...

In a 57-year-old woman who was referred as refractory diastolic heart failure, dobutamine stress echocardiography facilitated the diagnosis of acute worsening of mitral regurgitation accompanied with latent left ventricular outflow tract obstruction as a cause of recurrent flash pulmonary edema. Echocardiography revealed the presence of sigmoid septum and concentric left ventricular hypertrophy...

Introduction Tricuspid valve disease is rarely an isolated condition. Most cases are associated with other valvular or myocardial disease, pulmonary hypertension or systemic disorders. The tricuspid valve is located in the outflow tract of the right ventricle, and is the largest heart valve with an area of approximately 11cm2. The valvular apparatus includes the fibrous annulus, the leaflets (a...

Left ventricular (LV) to right atrial (RA) communication, also known as Gerbode defect, is very rare, usually congenital but sometimes also acquired. Cases of Gerbode defect have been reported after left valve surgery, usually valve replacement. We describe the first case of LV-RA communication following a tricuspid annuloplasty not combined to a left valve surgery. The case we report concerns ...