Echocardiography
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Multicenter Study
Echocardiographic characteristics in Fontan patients before the onset of protein-losing enteropathy or plastic bronchitis.
It was this study's objective to evaluate the echocardiographic characteristics and flow patterns in abdominal arteries of Fontan patients before the onset of protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) or plastic bronchitis (PB). ⋯ An elevated flow resistance in the celiac artery may prevail in Fontan patients before the clinical manifestation of PLE or PB.
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We present a case of a 68-year-old man with calciphylaxis, who was found to have a floating thrombus in the descending aorta on a transesophageal echocardiogram. The use of 3D echocardiography demonstrated nicely the free motion of the thrombus, emerging from an atherosclerotic plaque in the descending aorta. Anticoagulation was started for thromboembolism prevention.
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Mitral stenosis is a uncommon valvular lesion in the developed countries. Noninvasive evaluation is the first-line modality for assessment of mitral stenosis, however the noninvasive methods may have limitations in certain cases. Invasive hemodynamics can be used as adjunct tool for assessment of mitral stenosis in such difficult cases. Mitral valve using three-dimensional planimetry is a promising technique for assessment of mitral stenosis.
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Right ventricular (RV) function has great impact on the survival of heart transplantation recipients; therefore, careful evaluation is of high clinical importance. However, there is no standard conventional echocardiographic parameter to assess RV systolic function. Herein, we evaluated the correlation between echocardiographic parameters of RV systolic function and ejection fraction assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI RVEF) in heart transplantation recipients. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first prospective study to evaluate the correlation between the echocardiographic parameters for RV systolic function and MRI RVEF in heart transplantation recipients. RV FAC is the only parameter to correlate well with MRI RVEF, and its routine use in the follow-up of heart transplantation recipients should be considered.
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Left atrial appendage (LAA) closure prevents thromboembolic risk and avoids lifelong anticoagulation due to atrial fibrillation (AF). Nowadays, AtriClip, a modern epicardial device approved in June 2010, allows external and safe closure of LAA in patients undergoing cardiac surgery during other open-chest cardiac surgical procedures. Such a surgical approach and its epicardial deployment differentiates LAA closure with AtriClip from percutaneous closure techniques such as Watchman (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA, USA), Lariat (SentreHEART Inc., Redwood City, CA, USA), and Amplatzer Amulet (St. ⋯ Paul, MN, USA) device procedures. AtriClip positioning must consider perioperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to confirm LAA anatomical features, to explore the links with neighboring structures, and finally to assess its successful closure. We report a sequence of images to document the role of intraoperative TEE during an elective aortic valve replacement and LAA external closure with AtriClip.