The cardiac surgical procedures are increasingly performed each year up to a number >700000 (data in 1997 in US) per year, of which >600000 are coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures. After 1997, there has been a gradual decrease in CABG procedures as percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) grow. In 2005, a total of 699000 cardiac surgical procedures were reported, including 469000...

Ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is associated with reduced cardiac output, but the mechanisms involved are controversial. Possible explanations include increased intrathoracic pressure, reflex changes in myocardial inotropism, pulmonary vascular obstruction and abnormal ventricular interaction. Three types of conscious canine preparations were developed to examine simul...

In 1977, Goldman stated that elective surgery should not be performed in patients with signs of heart failure.1 Things have changed considerably in the more than 30 years since the publication of his well-known index. Today, heart failure is no longer necessarily considered a contra-indication to surgical intervention, although it should be carefully evaluated as a risk factor for complications...

BACKGROUND In patients undergoing cardiac surgery, a reduced preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is common and is associated with a worse outcome. Available outcome data for these patients address specific surgical procedures, mainly coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Aim of our study was to investigate perioperative outcome of surgery on patients with low pre-operative LVE...

this study briefly reviews the heart abnormalities in diverse intracranial pathologies, including strokes, spontaneous and traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage and intracranial hemorrhage, and presents the results of a one-year prospective study of heart abnormalities in patients with moderate to severe head injuries and subarachnoid hemorrhage. different abnormalities such as: qt -interval, t -wa...

Recognition of the significant advantages of minimizing surgical trauma has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of minimally invasive (MI) cardiac surgical procedures being performed. Synchronously, technological advances in optics, instrumentation and perfusion technology have facilitated routine totally endoscopic robotic cardiac surgery using the da Vinci((R)) telemanipulation s...

Objective: Cardiac tamponade is a life-threatening clinical entity that requires an emergency treatment. Cardiac tamponade can be caused both by benign and malignant diseases. A variety of methods have been described for the treatment of these cases from needle-guided pericardiocentesis, balloon-based techniques to surgical pericardiotomy. The Authors report their experience in...

All cardiac surgical procedures performed in 79 German cardiac surgical units throughout the year 2010 are presented in this report, based on a voluntary registry which is organized by the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. In 2010 a total of 95,734 cardiac surgical procedures (ICD and pacemaker procedures excluded) have been collected in this registry. More than 12.4% of t...