Italian heart journal : official journal of the Italian Federation of Cardiology
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Tricuspid valve dysplasia, other than Ebstein's anomaly, is a very rare congenital heart defect. During the prenatal and/or the neonatal periods the clinical picture is very critical. We here report on a newborn infant with severe tricuspid valve dysplasia and 4/4 tricuspid regurgitation, giant right atriomegaly, functional pulmonary atresia with ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow. The child was successfully submitted to implantation of a 15 mm pulmonary stentless heterograft valve using the top-hat technique.
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Comparative Study
Respiratory changes in transvalvular flow velocities versus two-dimensional echocardiographic findings in the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade.
The purpose of this study was to compare the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of the respiratory changes in the transvalvular flow velocities to those of right atrial collapse and right ventricular collapse in the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade. ⋯ In the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade: 1) right atrial collapse is the most sensitive sign but lacks any specificity; 2) except for the tricuspid valve, the respiratory variations in the transvalvular flow velocities have a reliability and a predictive value comparable with those of right ventricular collapse; 3) the predictive value is not very high, indicating that at both techniques false positive results are not negligible.
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Comparative Study
In-hospital clinical outcome in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty.
The aim of the present study was to assess the early clinical outcome following primary coronary angioplasty in elderly patients (aged > or = 75 years) compared to younger patients (< 75 years). ⋯ Our data suggest that in elderly patients with acute ST-elevation MI primary PCI yields positive results: successful reperfusion can be achieved in a high proportion of elderly patients and the mortality rates are lower, than those reported in non-PCI registries. A high Killip class and late reperfusion therapy predict an unfavorable outcome in elderly patients treated with primary PCI.
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Comparative Study
Noninvasive assessment of left and right internal mammary artery graft patency using transthoracic color Doppler echocardiography.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the patency of left and right internal mammary artery grafts respectively on the left anterior descending and right coronary artery by noninvasive transthoracic color Doppler echocardiography. ⋯ The echocardiographic evaluation of the mammary grafts is a simple, noninvasive method for the assessment of the graft patency and of the functional status of the vessel. The percent DPV increment and baseline DPV were independent determinants of mammary graft stenosis.