No abstract

3D imaging techniques should be used to evaluate aortic annulus diameters, as 2D imaging techniques, providing only a sagittal view, underestimate them. 3D TEE provides measurements of aortic annulus diameters similar to those obtained by DSCT.

Multicenter analysis confirms that a history of multiple previous percutaneous coronary interventions increases in-hospital mortality and the incidence of major adverse cardiac events after subsequent coronary artery bypass grafting. Critical discussion of the treatment strategy in these patients is warranted.

No abstract

In the field of tissue engineering, there is a growing need for quantitative methods to analyze in situ and in real time the tissue development in three-dimensional scaffolds. To evaluate the performance of cell-gel constructs in terms of extracellular matrix synthesis, we are still restricted to time-consuming histological and biochemical assays that are not able, as a destructive method, to monitor the tissue formation online. Ultrasound is a well-known noninvasive and nondestructive imaging method. Therefore, the potential of ultrasound for the quantitative in vitro evaluation of tissue development in fibrin-based tissue-engineered structures was evaluated in this study. As simplified parameter, the gray-scale values of ultrasound scans of cell-embedded fibrin gels were correlated with the hydroxyproline content and the histological and immunohistological images of the same gels at different culturing time points. The gray-scale value of the ultrasound demonstrated a good correlation with the hydroxyproline content (Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.98) as marker of collagen formation and with the histological findings. In conclusion, the described simple ultrasound method is a good tool to evaluate the collagen formation of fibrin-based tissue-engineered constructs and facilitates the broad use to monitor tissue development and remodeling in bioreactor systems.

No abstract

Mainly longitudinal mechanics respond to unloading of the left ventricle after TAVI for severe aortic stenosis while radial and circumferential deformation is substantially unchanged. Pacemaker implantation or onset of left bundle brunch block after TAVI do not influence early myocardial deformation parameters.

Chronic parasympathetic stimulation can be achieved via a cardiac neurostimulator. The approach is safe, effective, and well tolerated in the long term. The atrioventricular nodal selectivity and the opportunity to adjust the negative dromotropic effect within seconds may represent an advantage over pharmacological rate control.