Search results for "Heart Valve"
showing 10 items of 138 documents
The presence of infection-related antiphospholipid antibodies in infective endocarditis determines a major risk factor for embolic events.
1999
Abstract OBJECTIVES The impact of infection-associated antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) on endothelial cell activation, blood coagulation and fibrinolysis was evaluated in patients with infective endocarditis with and without major embolic events. BACKGROUND An embolic event is a common and severe complication of infective endocarditis. Despite the fact that APAs are known to be associated with infectious diseases, their pathogenic role in infective endocarditis has not been clearly defined. METHODS The relationship among the occurrence of major embolic events, echocardiographic vegetation size, endothelial cell activation, thrombin generation, fibrinolysis and APA was examined in 91 patie…
Assessment of successful valve reconstruction by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)
1986
In 17 patients (10 patients with mitral insufficiency, 5 patients with tricuspid regurgitation, 2 patients with mitral stenosis) the result of valve reconstruction was evaluated by intraoperative two-dimensional transesophageal contrast-echocardiography (TEE). Therefore, 1–2 cc of an agitated contrast-medium (GelifundolR) were injected into the left or right ventricle. The result of reconstruction was assessed by the extent of regurgitant microbubbles into the left or right atrium. A successful valve repair could be demonstrated in 15 patients without or with only minimal regurgitation of contrast-fluid. In one patient residual severe mitral insufficiency after valve reconstruction could on…
Lipoprotein(a) and aortic valve stenosis: A casual or causal association?
2022
Abstract Aims This review aims to provide an update of available methods for imaging calcification activity and potential therapeutic options. Data Synthesis: Aortic valve calcification represents the most common heart valve condition requiring treatment among adults in Western societies. No medical therapies are proven to be effective in treating symptoms or reducing disease progression. Therefore, surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement remains the only available treatment option. Elevated circulating concentrations of lipoprotein(a) is strongly associated with degenerative aortic stenosis. This relationship was first observed in prospective observational studies, and the causa…
Mitral valve aneurysm revealed by cross-sectional echocardiography in a patient with mitral valve prolapse
1984
We report a cerebral ischemia in a 23-year-old woman, in whom a mitral valve aneurysm with thrombotic masses was diagnosed by cross-sectional echocardiography. A prolapsing mitral leaflet was also visualized.
Cardiac manifestations of Anderson-Fabry disease in heterozygous females.
2002
AbstractObjectivesWe sought to define the prevalence of cardiac involvement in female patients with Anderson–Fabry disease (AFD).BackgroundAnderson–Fabry disease is a rare inborn X-linked lysosomal storage disorder. Globotriaosylceramide (Gb3), the major substrate of the deficient α-galactosidase A enzyme, accumulates progressively in vulnerable cells, including the cardiovascular system. It has been believed that heterozygous females have less cardiac involvement than hemizygous males with AFD.MethodsWe performed two-dimensional echocardiographic examinations of female patients heterozygous for AFD.ResultsSince 1997, a total of 55 female patients (mean age, 39.6 years; range, 6.1 to 70.8 y…
Comparison of hemodynamic and structural indices of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm as predicted by 2-way FSI, CFD rigid wall simulation and patie…
2018
Patient-specific computational modeling is increasingly being used to predict structural and hemodynamic parameters, especially when current clinical tools are not accessible. Indeed, pathophysiology of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA) has been simulated to quantify the risk of complications by novel prognostic parameters and thus to improve the clinical decision-making process related to the intervention of ATAAs. In this study, the relevance of aneurysmal wall elasticity in determining parameters of clinical importance, such as the wall shear stress (WSS), is discussed together with the significance of applying realistic boundary conditions to consider the aortic stretch and twis…
Regurgitant flow in apparently normal valve prostheses: improved detection and semiquantitative analysis by transesophageal two-dimensional color-cod…
1990
In 128 patients with apparently normally functioning prosthetic valves ( n = 136) in the aortic position ( n = 79) and the mitral position ( n = 57), the prevalence of transprosthetic regurgitant flow was studied by use of transthoracic and transesophageal two-dimensional color-coded Doppler echocardiography. With the transthoracic approach, regurgitant flow was detected in early systole or diastole for 28% of the mitral prostheses and for 29% of the aortic prostheses. With transesophageal color-coded Doppler echocardiography, regurgitant jets were visualized for 95% of the mitral prostheses and for 44% of the aortic prostheses. In 40% of the Bjork-Shiley prostheses and 88% of the St. Jude …
Heart Valve Abnormalities in Systemic Sclerosis Patients; A Multicenter Cohort Study and Review of the Literature
2020
Background Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune disease that is characterized by vasculopathy and fibrosis of the skin and visceral organs. Heart valve diseases are poorly described and generally not considered typical of SSc. We aimed to describe valvular abnormalities in a multicenter cohort of SSc patients and to investigate their correlation with SSc features. Methods We recruited 118 consecutive SSc patients (male/female, 14/104; mean age, 55.2 ± 12.1 years) in 3 rheumatology centers in Sicily, Italy, from January to October 2019. Results Mitral and tricuspid valve insufficiency was found in 85% and 91% of patients, respectively; regurgitations were generally mild and never…
Heart valve tissue engineering: how far is the bedside from the bench?
2015
Heart disease, including valve pathologies, is the leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the progress made thanks to improving transplantation techniques, a perfect valve substitute has not yet been developed: once a diseased valve is replaced with current technologies, the newly implanted valve still needs to be changed some time in the future. This situation is particularly dramatic in the case of children and young adults, because of the necessity of valve growth during the patient's life. Our review focuses on the current status of heart valve (HV) therapy and the challenges that must be solved in the development of new approaches based on tissue engineering. Scientists and physicia…
In Silico Shear and Intramural Stresses are Linked to Aortic Valve Morphology in Dilated Ascending Aorta
2017
Objective/Background: The development of ascending aortic dilatation in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is highly variable, and this makes surgical decision strategies particularly challenging. The purpose of this study was to identify new predictors, other than the well established aortic size, that may help to stratify the risk of aortic dilatation in BAV patients.Methods: Using fluid-structure interaction analysis, both haemodynamic and structural parameters exerted on the ascending aortic wall of patients with either BAV ( n = 21) or tricuspid aortic valve (TAV; n = 13) with comparable age and aortic diameter (42.7 +/- 5.3 mm for BAV and 45.4 +/- 10.0 mm for TAV) were compared…