Cardiology Commons^™

Factors Associated With Neurodevelopment For Children With Single Ventricle Lesions., Caren S. Goldberg, Minmin Lu, Lynn A. Sleeper, William T. Mahle, J William Gaynor, Ismee A. Williams, Kathleen A. Mussatto, Richard G. Ohye, Eric M. Graham, Deborah U. Frank, Jeffrey P. Jacobs, Catherine Krawczeski, Linda Lambert, Alan Lewis, Victoria L. Pemberton, Renee Sananes, Erica Sood, Stephanie B. Wechsler, David C. Bellinger, Jane W. Newburger, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators, Girish S. Shirali

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: To measure neurodevelopment at 3 years of age in children with single right-ventricle anomalies and to assess its relationship to Norwood shunt type, neurodevelopment at 14 months of age, and patient and medical factors.

STUDY DESIGN: All subjects in the Single Ventricle Reconstruction Trial who were alive without cardiac transplant were eligible for inclusion. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ, n = 203) and other measures of behavior and quality of life were completed at age 3 years. Medical history, including measures of growth, feeding, and complications, was assessed through annual review of the records and phone interviews. The …

Quantification Of Left Atrial Strain And Strain Rate Using Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Myocardial Feature Tracking: A Feasibility Study., Johannes Tammo Kowallick, Shelby Kutty, Frank Edelmann, Amedeo Chiribiri, Adriana Villa, Michael Steinmetz, Jan Martin Sohns, Wieland Staab, Nuno Bettencourt, Christina Unterberg-Buchwald, Gerd Hasenfuß, Joachim Lotz, Andreas Schuster

Journal Articles: Cardiology

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance myocardial feature tracking (CMR-FT) is a quantitative technique tracking tissue voxel motion on standard steady-state free precession (SSFP) cine images to assess ventricular myocardial deformation. The importance of left atrial (LA) deformation assessment is increasingly recognized and can be assessed with echocardiographic speckle tracking. However atrial deformation quantification has never previously been demonstrated with CMR. We sought to determine the feasibility and reproducibility of CMR-FT for quantitative derivation of LA strain and strain rate (SR) myocardial mechanics.

METHODS: 10 healthy volunteers, 10 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and 10 patients with heart failure and preserved ejection …

Nontyphoidal Cardiac Salmonellosis: Two Case Reports And A Review Of The Literature, Daniel Ortiz, Eric M Siegal, Christopher Kramer, Bijoy K Khandheria, Ernesto Brauer

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Nontyphoidal Salmonella, especially Salmonella enterica, is a rare cause of endocarditis and pericarditis that carries a high mortality rate. Proposed predisposing conditions include immunodeficiency states, congenital heart defects, and cardiac valve diseases. We present 2 cases of cardiovascular salmonellosis. The first case is that of a 73-year-old woman with mechanical mitral and bioprosthetic aortic valves who died from sequelae of nontyphoidal Salmonella mitral valve vegetation, aortic valve abscess, and sepsis. The second case is that of a 62-year-old man with a recent systemic lupus erythematosus exacerbation treated with oral steroids, who presented with obstructive features of tamponade and sepsis secondary …

Use Of Oversized Injectable Valves In Growing Children For Total Repair Of Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Anomalies (Preliminary Results), Luca Deorsola, Pietro Angelo Abbruzzese

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Right ventricular outflow tract surgery was originally confined to transannular patching, in the belief that pulmonary regurgitation was well tolerated. Because follow-up evaluations revealed the deleterious effects of pulmonary regurgitation, surgery today aims to spare or replace the valve. Available replacement devices have short lifetimes, considering growth mismatch in children. We hypothesize that oversizing the right infundibulum anticipates growth and that a squeezed prosthesis can complete the expansion process.

The No-React® Injectable BioPulmonic Valve is designed for right infundibular surgery in adults, and hundreds of implants have shown promising results. We used this device for surgery in babies, with the …

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (Scad): New Insights Into This Not-So-Rare Condition, Sharonne N Hayes

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

Natural Progression Of Low-Gradient Severe Aortic Stenosis With Preserved Ejection Fraction, Antony Leslie Innasimuthu, Sanjay Kumar, Jason Lazar, William E Katz

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Because the natural progression of low-gradient aortic stenosis (LGAS) has not been well defined, we performed a retrospective study of 116 consecutive patients with aortic stenosis who had undergone follow-up echocardiography at a median interval of 698 days (range, 371–1,020 d). All patients had preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (>0.50) during and after follow-up.

At baseline, patients were classified by aortic valve area (AVA) as having mild stenosis (≥1.5 cm2), moderate stenosis (≥1 to <1.5 cm2), or severe stenosis (<1 cm2). Severe aortic stenosis was further classified by mean gradient (LGAS, mean <40 mmHg; high-gradient aortic stenosis [HGAS], mean ≥40 mmHg). We compared baseline and follow-up values among 4 groups: patients with mild stenosis, moderate stenosis, LGAS, and HGAS.

At baseline, 30 patients had mild stenosis, 54 had moderate stenosis, 24 had LGAS, and 8 had HGAS. Compared with the moderate group, the LGAS …

Exertional Dyspnea As A Symptom Of Infrarenal Aortic Occlusive Disease, Stacey L Schott, Fernanda Porto Carreiro, James R Harkness, Mahmoud B Malas, Stephen M Sozio, Sammy Zakaria

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Advanced atherosclerosis of the aorta can cause severe ischemia in the kidneys, refractory hypertension, and claudication. However, no previous reports have clearly associated infrarenal aortic stenosis with shortness of breath. A 77-year-old woman with hypertension and hyperlipidemia presented with exertional dyspnea. Despite extensive testing and observation, no apparent cause for this patient's dyspnea was found. Images revealed severe infrarenal aortic stenosis. After the patient underwent stenting of the aortic occlusion, she had immediate symptomatic improvement and complete resolution of her dyspnea within one month. Twelve months after vascular intervention, the patient remained asymptomatic. In view of the distinct and lasting …

Sex-Specific Biatrial Volumetric Measurements Obtained With Use Of Multidetector Computed Tomography In Subjects With And Without Coronary Artery Disease, Matthew J Budoff, Sandeep R Pagali, Yasmin S Hamirani, Andy Chen, Gordon Cheu, Yanlin Gao, Dong Li, Songshou Mao

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Atrial volumetric measurement has proven clinical implications. Advances in cardiac imaging, notably the precision enabled by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), herald the need for new criteria of what constitutes normal volumetric measurements. With use of 64-slice MDCT, we compared the atrial volumes in healthy individuals with those in individuals with coronary artery disease.

By means of manual segmentation, we measured biatrial volume in 686 participants who underwent retrospective electrocardiographic-gated MDCT angiographic evaluation. The study population included a control group of 203 persons with no cardiac abnormalities, and a study group of 483 patients with obstructive coronary artery disease. All variables …

Outpatient Management Of Heart Failure In The United States, 2006-2008, Kailash Mosalpuria, Sunil K Agarwal, Sirin Yaemsiri, Bredy Pierre-Louis, Samir Saba, Rene Alvarez, Stuart D Russell

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Better outpatient management of heart failure might improve outcomes and reduce the number of rehospitalizations. This study describes recent outpatient heart-failure management in the United States.

We analyzed data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey of 2006–2008, a multistage random sampling of non-Federal physician offices and hospital outpatient departments.

Annually, 1.7% of all outpatient visits were for heart failure (51% females and 77% non-Hispanic whites; mean age, 73 ± 0.5 yr). Typical comorbidities were hypertension (62%), hyperlipidemia (36%), diabetes mellitus (35%), and ischemic heart disease (29%). Body weight and blood pressure were recorded in about 80% of visits, and …

Functional Health Status In Children And Adolescents After Fontan: Comparison Of Generic And Disease-Specific Assessments., Brian W. Mccrindle, Victor Zak, Victoria L. Pemberton, Linda M. Lambert, Victoria L. Vetter, Wyman W. Lai, Karen Uzark, Renee Margossian, Andrew M. Atz, Amanda Cook, Jane W. Newburger, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators, Girish S. Shirali

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare associations between generic versus disease-specific functional health status assessments and patient and clinical characteristics for patients with severe congenital heart disease.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional observational study involving 325 single ventricle patients, aged 10-18 years, after Fontan procedure. Enrolled patients underwent a medical history review, laboratory testing, and assessment of the functional health status by completion of the generic Child Report Child Health Questionnaire and the disease-specific Congenital Heart Adolescent and Teenage questionnaire. Correlated conceptually equivalent domains from both questionnaires were identified and their associations with patient and clinical variables …

Lean Body Mass May Explain Apparent Racial Differences In Carotid Intima-Media Thickness In Obese Children., Shahryar M. Chowdhury, Melissa H. Henshaw, Brad Friedman, J Philip Saul, Girish S. Shirali, Janet Carter, Bryana M. Levitan, Tom Hulsey

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background: Racial differences in carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) have been suggested to be associated with the disproportionally high prevalence of cardiovascular disease in black adults. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of cardiovascular risk factors on the racial differences seen in cIMT in obese children.

Methods: Obese subjects aged 4 to 21 years were recruited prospectively. Height, weight, blood pressure, fasting insulin, glucose, lipid panel, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry were obtained. B-mode carotid imaging was analyzed by a single blinded physician.

Results: A total of 120 subjects (46 white, 74 …

Serum Levels Of Soluble Icam-1 In Children With Pulmonary Artery Hypertension, Melahat Melek Oguz, Ayse Deniz Oguz, Cihat Sanli, Ayhan Cevik

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

This prospective cross-sectional study attempted to determine both the usefulness of the serum intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) as a biomarker for pulmonary artery hypertension secondary to congenital heart disease and the nature of this marker's association with catheter angiographic findings.

Our study included a total of 70 male and female children, comprising 30 patients with both pulmonary artery hypertension and congenital heart disease, 20 patients with congenital heart disease alone, and 20 healthy control subjects. Levels of ICAM-1 in plasma samples from all groups were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Cardiac catheterization was also performed in all patients. …

Emergent Surgical Pulmonary Embolectomy In A Pregnant Woman: Case Report And Literature Review, Giovanni Saeed, Michael Möller, Jörg Neuzner, Rainer Gradaus, Werner Stein, Uwe Langebrake, Thomas Dimpfl, Meradjoddin Matin, Ali Peivandi

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Acute pulmonary embolism is a leading cause of death during pregnancy and delivery in the United States. We describe the case of a 25-year-old woman who presented in cardiogenic shock in week 38 of her first pregnancy. After the emergent cesarean delivery of a healthy male neonate, the mother underwent immediate surgical pulmonary embolectomy. We confirmed the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism intraoperatively by means of transesophageal echocardiography and removed large clots from the patient's pulmonary arteries. Mother and child were doing well, 27 months later. In addition to presenting our patient's case, we discuss the other relevant reports and the …

Variability Of M-Mode Versus Two-Dimensional Echocardiography Measurements In Children With Dilated Cardiomyopathy., Caroline K. Lee, Renee Margossian, Lynn A. Sleeper, Charles E. Canter, Shan Chen, Lloyd Y. Tani, Girish S. Shirali, Anita Szwast, Elif Seda Selamet Tierney, M Jay Campbell, Fraser Golding, Yanli Wang, Karen Altmann, Steven D. Colan, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

M-mode and 2-dimensional (2D) echocardiographic imaging are routinely used to quantify left-ventricular (LV) size and function in pediatric patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The reproducibility of and correlation between these techniques are unknown. This analysis sought to compare interreader, intrareader, and interacquisition reproducibility of M-mode versus 2D measurements in pediatric DCM patients. The Ventricular Volume Variability study of the Pediatric Heart Network is a multicenter, prospective, observational study assessing the course of chronic DCM in children. Two sonographers performed baseline image acquisitions locally, and two readers performed measurements at the echocardiographic core laboratory. One reader repeated measurements 1 month later. …

Papillary Muscle Repositioning As A Subvalvular Apparatus Preservation Technique In Mitral Stenosis Patients With Normal Left Ventricular Systolic Function, Imthiaz Manoly, Dimos Karangelis, Nicola Viola, Marcus Haw

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Surgically repairing Bland-White-Garland syndrome (anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery) is a challenge if there are variations in the origin of the anomalous artery. We report the successful repair of this congenital abnormality in a 19-year-old woman who presented with an acute anterior myocardial infarction. The anomalous artery originated from the anterior-facing sinus of the pulmonary artery, which precluded typical repair by direct reimplantation or fashioning an intrapulmonary tunnel. We created an extrapulmonary tunnel, using a strip of pulmonary artery anteriorly and an aortic flap posteriorly. Three years postoperatively, the anastomosis was patent and the …

Systemic Effects Of Intracoronary Nitroglycerin During Coronary Angiography In Children After Heart Transplantation, Diego A Lara, Mary K Olive, James F George, Robert N Brown, Waldemar F Carlo, Edward V Colvin, Brad L Steenwyck, F Bennett Pearce

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Coronary spasm during coronary angiography for vasculopathy in children can be prevented by the intracoronary administration of nitroglycerin. We reviewed the anesthesia and catheterization reports and charts for pediatric transplant recipients who underwent angiography from 2005 through 2010. Correlation analysis was used to study the relation of post-injection systolic blood pressure (SBP) to nitroglycerin dose. Forty-one angiographic evaluations were performed on 25 patients (13 male and 12 female). Mean age was 9.9 ± 3.2 years (range, 3.3–16.1 yr). The mean total dose of nitroglycerin was 2.93 ± 1.60 µg/kg (range, 1–8 µg/kg).

There was a significant drop between the baseline …

Variation In Feeding Practices Following The Norwood Procedure., Linda M. Lambert, Nancy A. Pike, Barbara Medoff-Cooper, Victor Zak, Victoria L. Pemberton, Lisa Young-Borkowski, Martha L. Clabby, Kathryn N. Nelson, Richard G. Ohye, Bethany Trainor, Karen Uzark, Nancy Rudd, Louise Bannister, Rosalind Korsin, David S. Cooper, Christian Pizarro, Sinai C. Zyblewski, Bronwyn H. Bartle, Richard V. Williams, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators, Girish S. Shirali

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVES: To assess variation in feeding practice at hospital discharge after the Norwood procedure, factors associated with tube feeding, and associations among site, feeding mode, and growth before stage II.

STUDY DESIGN: From May 2005 to July 2008, 555 subjects from 15 centers were enrolled in the Pediatric Heart Network Single Ventricle Reconstruction Trial; 432 survivors with feeding data at hospital discharge after the Norwood procedure were analyzed.

RESULTS: Demographic and clinical variables were compared among 4 feeding modes: oral only (n = 140), oral/tube (n = 195), nasogastric tube (N-tube) only (n = 40), and gastrostomy tube (G-tube) only …

Papillary Muscle Repositioning As A Subvalvular Apparatus Preservation Technique In Mitral Stenosis Patients With Normal Left Ventricular Systolic Function, Gokhan Lafci, Kerim Cagli, Omer Faruk Cicek, Kemal Korkmaz, Osman Turak, Alper Uzun, Adnan Yalcinkaya, Adem Diken, Eren Gunertem, Kumral Cagli

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Subvalvular apparatus preservation is an important concept in mitral valve replacement (MVR) surgery that is performed to remedy mitral regurgitation. In this study, we sought to determine the effects of papillary muscle repositioning (PMR) on clinical outcomes and echocardiographic left ventricular function in rheumatic mitral stenosis patients who had normal left ventricular systolic function.

We prospectively assigned 115 patients who were scheduled for MVR surgery with mechanical prosthesis to either PMR or MVR-only groups. Functional class and echocardiographic variables were evaluated at baseline and at early and late postoperative follow-up examinations. All values were compared between the 2 groups.

The …

Aortic Aneurysms In Loeys-Dietz Syndrome - A Tale Of Two Pathways?, Frank Davis, Debra L. Rateri, Alan Daugherty

Saha Cardiovascular Research Center Faculty Publications

Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a connective tissue disorder that is characterized by skeletal abnormalities, craniofacial malformations, and a high predisposition for aortic aneurysm. In this issue of the JCI, Gallo et al. developed transgenic mouse strains harboring missense mutations in the genes encoding type I or II TGF-β receptors. These mice exhibited several LDS-associated phenotypes. Despite being functionally defective, the mutated receptors enhanced TGF-β signaling in vivo, inferred by detection of increased levels of phosphorylated Smad2. Aortic aneurysms in these LDS mice were ablated by treatment with the Ang II type 1 (AT1) receptor antagonist losartan. The results from this …

Aspirin Use And Knowledge In The Community: A Population- And Health Facility Based Survey For Measuring Local Health System Performance., Gregory A Roth, Catherine W. Gillespie, Ali A Mokdad, Danny D Shen, David W Fleming, Andy Stergachis, Christopher J L Murray, Ali H Mokdad

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the relationship between cardiovascular risk, disease and actual use of aspirin in the community.

METHODS: The Measuring Disparities in Chronic Conditions (MDCC) study is a community and health facility-based survey designed to track disparities in the delivery of health interventions for common chronic diseases. MDCC includes a survey instrument designed to collect detailed information about aspirin use. In King County, WA between 2011 and 2012, we surveyed 4633 white, African American, or Hispanic adults (45% home address-based sample, 55% health facility sample). We examined self-reported counseling on, frequency of use and risks of aspirin for …

Primary Stroke In A Woman With Sickle Cell Anemia Responsive To Hydroxyurea Therapy., Samir K. Ballas, Ubaldo E. Martinez-Outshoorn, Michael P. Savage

Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research

The most common cause of stroke in children with sickle cell anemia is infarction due to ischemia. In adults, however, stroke is most commonly hemorrhagic in nature. Other causes of stroke in patients with sickle cell disease are very rare. In this short communication, we describe a woman with sickle cell anemia responsive to hydroxyurea (HU) therapy who had primary stroke due to paradoxical embolization caused by a large atrial septal defect. Successful management of the stroke included surgical closure of the defect with trans-esophageal echocardiographic guidance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first patient with sickle …

Multicenter Study Comparing Shunt Type In The Norwood Procedure For Single-Ventricle Lesions: Three-Dimensional Echocardiographic Analysis., Gerald R. Marx, Girish S. Shirali, Jami C. Levine, Lin T. Guey, James F. Cnota, Jeanne M. Baffa, William L. Border, Steve Colan, Gregory Ensing, Mark K. Friedberg, David J. Goldberg, Salim F. Idriss, J Blaine John, Wyman W. Lai, Minmin Lu, Shaji C. Menon, Richard G. Ohye, David Saudek, Pierre C. Wong, Gail D. Pearson, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: The Pediatric Heart Network's Single Ventricle Reconstruction (SVR) trial randomized infants with single right ventricles (RVs) undergoing a Norwood procedure to a modified Blalock-Taussig or RV-to-pulmonary artery shunt. This report compares RV parameters in the 2 groups using 3-dimensional echocardiography.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Three-dimensional echocardiography studies were obtained at 10 of 15 SVR centers. Of the 549 subjects, 314 underwent 3-dimensional echocardiography studies at 1 to 4 time points (pre-Norwood, post-Norwood, pre-stage II, and 14 months) for a total of 757 3-dimensional echocardiography studies. Of these, 565 (75%) were acceptable for analysis. RV volume, mass, mass:volume ratio, ejection fraction, …

Predictors Of Disease Progression In Pediatric Dilated Cardiomyopathy., Kimberly M. Molina, Peter Shrader, Steven D. Colan, Seema Mital, Renee Margossian, Lynn A. Sleeper, Girish S. Shirali, Piers Barker, Charles E. Canter, Karen Altmann, Elizabeth Radojewski, Elif Seda Selamet Tierney, Jack Rychik, Lloyd Y. Tani, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background: Despite medical advances, children with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) remain at high risk of death or need for cardiac transplantation. We sought to identify predictors of disease progression in pediatric DCM.

Methods and results: The Pediatric Heart Network evaluated chronic DCM patients with prospective echocardiographic and clinical data collection during an 18-month follow-up. Inclusion criteria were age <22 years and DCM disease duration >2 months. Patients requiring intravenous inotropic/mechanical support or listed status 1A/1B for transplant were excluded. Disease progression was defined as an increase in transplant listing status, hospitalization for heart failure, intravenous inotropes, mechanical support, or death. Predictors of disease progression were identified using …

New Oral Anticoagulants Are Not Superior To Warfarin In Secondary Prevention Of Stroke Or Transient Ischemic Attacks, But Lower The Risk Of Intracranial Bleeding: Insights From A Meta-Analysis And Indirect Treatment Comparisons, Partha Sardar, Saurav Chatterjee, Wen-Chih Wu, Edgar Lichstein, Joydeep Ghosh, Shamik Aikat, Debabrata Mukherjee

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

PURPOSE: Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and prior stroke are classified as high risk in all risk stratification schemes. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to compare the efficacy and safety of New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs) to warfarin in patients with AF and previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA).

METHODS: Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs), including total 14527 patients, comparing NOACs (apixaban, dabigatran and rivaroxaban) with warfarin were included in the analysis. Primary efficacy endpoint was ischemic stroke, and primary safety endpoint was intracranial bleeding. Random-effects models were used to pool efficacy and safety data across RCTs. RevMan …

Factors Impacting Echocardiographic Imaging After The Fontan Procedure: A Report From The Pediatric Heart Network Fontan Cross-Sectional Study., Richard V. Williams, Renee Margossian, Minmin Lu, Andrew M. Atz, Timothy J. Bradley, Michael Jay Campbell, Steven D. Colan, Dianne Gallagher, Wyman W. Lai, Gail D. Pearson, Ashwin Prakash, Girish S. Shirali, Meryl S. Cohen, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Echocardiographic image quality in Fontan survivors may be limited by a variety of factors. We sought to describe echocardiographic quality and factors associated with study quality in subjects participating in the Pediatric Heart Network Fontan Cross-Sectional Study. Echocardiograms were obtained at 7 clinical sites using a standard protocol. Quality grading and analysis were performed by a core laboratory. Univariate and multivariable modeling were performed to assess factors associated with quality and ability to obtain images sufficient for prespecified quantitative analysis. A total of 543 echocardiograms were obtained. The quality of echocardiograms improved over the duration of the study. The great …

Early Echocardiographic Changes After Percutaneous Implantation Of The Edwards Sapien Transcatheter Heart Valve In The Pulmonary Position., Shahryar M. Chowdhury, Ziyad M. Hijazi, John Rhodes, Saibal Kar, Raj Makkar, Michael Mullen, Qi-Ling Cao, Lydia King, Jodi Akin, Girish S. Shirali

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate echocardiographic changes after SAPIEN valve implantation in the pulmonary position.

BACKGROUND: The feasibility of the SAPIEN transcatheter pulmonary valve (TPV) has recently been demonstrated. We evaluated changes in pulmonary valve function and the right ventricle after SAPIEN TPV placement.

METHODS: We evaluated echocardiograms at baseline, discharge, 1 and 6 months after TPV placement in 33 patients from 4 centers. Pulmonary insufficiency severity was graded 0-4. TPV peak and mean gradients were measured. Right ventricular (RV) size and function were quantified using routine measures derived from color, spectral, and tissue Doppler indices and two-dimensional echocardiography.

RESULTS: At baseline, …

Nutrition Intervention To Decrease Symptoms In Patients With Advanced Heart Failure, Terry A. Lennie, Debra K. Moser, Martha J. Biddle, Darlene Welsh, Geza G. Bruckner, D. Travis Thomas, Mary Kay Rayens, Alison L. Bailey

Nursing Faculty Publications

For a majority of patients with advanced heart failure, there is a need for complementary, non-pharmacologic interventions that could be easily implemented by health care providers to provide palliative care. Three major pathologic pathways underlying heart failure symptoms have been identified: fluid overload, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Prior research has demonstrated that three nutrients-sodium, omega-3 fatty acids, and lycopene-can alter these pathologic pathways. Therefore, the purposes of this study are to test the effects of a 6-month nutrition intervention of dietary sodium reduction combined with supplementation of lycopene and omega-3 fatty acids on heart failure symptoms, health-related quality of life, …

Association Of Impaired Linear Growth And Worse Neurodevelopmental Outcome In Infants With Single Ventricle Physiology: A Report From The Pediatric Heart Network Infant Single Ventricle Trial., Chitra Ravishankar, Victor Zak, Ismee A. Williams, David C. Bellinger, J William Gaynor, Nancy S. Ghanayem, Catherine D. Krawczeski, Daniel J. Licht, Lynn Mahony, Jane W. Newburger, Victoria L. Pemberton, Richard V. Williams, Renee Sananes, Amanda L. Cook, Teresa Atz, Svetlana Khaikin, Daphne T. Hsu, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators, Girish S. Shirali

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVES: To describe neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants with single ventricle (SV) physiology and determine factors associated with worse outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN: Neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants with SV enrolled in a multicenter drug trial were assessed at 14 months of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II. Multivariable regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with worse outcomes.

RESULTS: Neurodevelopmental testing was performed at 14 ± 1 months in 170/185 subjects in the trial. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome was present in 59% and 75% had undergone the Norwood operation. Mean Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) and mental developmental index (MDI) …

Distribution Of Dyssynchrony In Subjects With No Known Cardiac Disease And Comparison Of Velocity Vector Imaging To Color-Coded Tissue Doppler Imaging., Anoop C Parameswaran, Bhaskar Purushottam, Aman Amanullah, Vincent M. Figueredo, M.D.

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Data on the distribution of dyssynchrony in subjects with normal ejection fraction (EF) and normal QRS are scarce. We studied 100 subjects with no known cardiac disease (52% male, mean age 60 ± 17 years) using velocity vector imaging (VVI). Seventeen percent had septal to lateral (S-L) wall longitudinal delay >75 msec, 63% of subjects had S-L wall radial delay >75 msec, and 25% had a circumferential opposing wall delay >100 msec. Those with circumferential opposing wall delay of >100 msec had a lower EF (57 ± 5% vs. 62 ± 5%, P < 0.05). In an additional group of 33 patients, we compared the longitudinal dyssynchrony parameters as assessed by VVI and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and found them to be comparable. In conclusion, we find significant variation in time to peak velocities in subjects with no known cardiac disease, who had a normal left ventricular ejection fraction and QRS duration. VVI is comparable to TDI.

Surgical Pulmonary Embolectomy: The Resurrection Of An Almost Discarded Operation, Samuel Z Goldhaber

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.