An editorial discussion of the impressive 10-year benefits of CABG for ischemic cardiomyopathy as found in the STICH trial.
ALERT!
This site is not optimized for Internet Explorer 8 (or older).
Please upgrade to a newer version of Internet Explorer or use an alternate browser such as Chrome or Firefox.
Heart failure
March 31, 2016
A commentary and follow-up comment on last year's ERICCA and RIPHeart- related publications in the NEJM.
March 13, 2016
This Belgian study prospectively analyzed the predictors of long-term mortality in a group of 107 consecutive CABG patients with an LV EF < 35%. All patients underwent preoperative Cardiac MR to assess both LV and RV EF.
February 2, 2016
This randomized trial (NEAT-HFpEF) of 110 subjects (59 placebos) disproves, by clinical and biological markers, the utility of nitrates for exercise tolerance. This is a subset of cardiac failure patients we are likely to encounter in general cardiothoracic surgical practice.
January 28, 2016
In this Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN) trial 251 patients with ischemic mitral regurgitation were randomized to mitral-valve repair or mitral-valve replacement. The current publication reports the 2-year outcomes of the trial.
January 9, 2016
The authors performed a randomized control study of 178 patients with heart failure and systolic dyssynchrony who were accepted for CABG, randomizing the participants into two groups: CABG alone (n=87) and CABG + concomitant epicardial CRT (n=91). CRT was activated postoperatively.
November 5, 2015
This is a very intersting case review in which the authors describe a successful heart transplant from a 37 year old donor on VV ECMO to a 62 year old female recipeint. The authors postulate that this successful outcome may expand the available donor pool for heart transplantation.
October 8, 2015
The authors evaluated ventricular function after AR or MR in young patients with regurgitation and preoperative signs of ventricular dysfunction. Results at 18 mos were compared to a normal population. Persistent LV dysfunction was present in 85% after AR+MR and was more common than after either operation alone. Preoperative end-systolic volume pr
August 14, 2015
The Texas Heart Institute reports its experience with 27 patients with prior continuous flow LVADs who had undergone varying degrees of device explantation. Although the numbers are small, the explantation methods ranged from near-complete device removal to driveline transection and removal.
August 12, 2015
A single institution retrospectively reviewed the correlation of preoperative serum albumin level with outcomes after LVAD implantation from 2006 to 2014. A lower albumin level was associated with a significant increase in postop renal failure and prolonged hospitalization, but not overall short-term and long-term survival.