Addition of the CSM to an MVR procedure can decrease the risk of stroke or death and high sinus rhythm at 1 year without increasing the operative risk. CSM is a safe and effective approach to treating AF associated with RMVD.

The success rate of catheter ablation in atrial fibrillation (AF) is known to be lower in females than in males. However, while the exact mechanism for this phenomenon remains to be elucidated, tissue fibrosis may play an important role in this regard. It has been shown that fibrosis promotes AF and its recurrence, thereby substantially reducing the efficacy of catheter ablation in AF patients. Thus, we hypothesized that fibrosis may contribute to gender differences in the outcomes of AF catheter ablation.Here we systematically assessed pulmonary vein sleeves obtained from 166 patients with and without long-standing persistent-AF (LSP-AF) in order to identify gender-specific mechanistic differences in fibrosis remodeling of AF patients.Histological analysis revealed that the female LSP-AF group, rather than its male counterpart, had a higher degree of fibrosis when compared to the NON-AF group. Further analysis using microarray, immunohistochemistry and Western Blot displayed that gender differences in fibrosis remodeling of LSP-AF were mainly due to the inherent differential expression of fibrosis-related genes (n=32) and proteins (n=6). Especially, those related to the TGFβ/Smad3 pathway appeared to be up-regulated in the female LSP-AF group thus promoting an aggravation of fibrosis remodeling. In summary, our data suggest that the aggravation of fibrosis remodeling in women may be an important reason for the low success rate of AF catheter ablation when compared to men. Therefore, inhibiting the TGFβ/Smad3 pathway-mediated fibrosis could represent an interesting target for future therapeutic concepts to improve the success rate of AF catheter ablation in women.

BackgroundWe retrospectively reported our 26-year experience with operative repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) with biventricular physiology.MethodsBetween December 1982 and December 2008, 122 TAPVC patients with biventricular heart underwent surgical repair in our department. Moderate or deep hypothermia was induced at the time of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Follow-up was conducted for 5 postoperative years. Surgical outcomes of early and intermediate deaths after TAPVC repair were retrospectively analyzed.ResultsSix deaths occurred operatively; and three deaths, during follow-up. The 5-year survival rates after TAPVC repair was 92.6 %, without gradient across the anastomosis. The survival rate of the patients who were younger was 78.8 %, significantly lower than those older than 1 year. It was also lower in those who were less than 6 kg in weight. Three patients died during follow-up. Three patients died of ventricular arrhythmia, right heart failure, and pneumonia, respectively, during follow-up. If the left atrium pressure was higher than 15 mm Hg, the snare of the vertical vein was loosened after CPB ceased in the patients with supracardiac connection. It decreased from 21 ± 5 to 13 ± 3 mm Hg. The vertical vein was ligated in 57 cases and left open in 20 cases. A patient with an intact vertical vein had a large shunt and was cured by intervention afterward. Supraventricular arrhythmia occurred in 19 patients with the supercardiac type repaired through a biatrial incision. One patient died of ventricular arrhythmia, and none of the remaining patients had arrhythmias.ConclusionSurgical treatment of TAPVC carried a low operative risk and had satisfactory immediate and intermediate results. Age younger than 1 year and weight less than 6 kg were risk factors. It was a good choice to leave the vertical vein open in the patients with a left atrial pressure higher than 15 mm Hg.

Pulsatile pulmonary blood flow plays an important role in regulating shear-stress-mediated release of endothelium-derived nitric oxide and endothelin-1, and it reduces pulmonary vascular resistance by passive capillary recruitment. The aim of this study was to demonstrate changes in pulmonary capillary structure and endothelial function induced by the chronic nonpulsatile flow of the Fontan circulation. A canine model with nonpulsatile flow in the right lung was established, and sacrificed 3 months later. Compared to the left lung, wall thickness of the pulmonary arterioles was thinner, endothelin-1 expression was weaker, endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity was stronger, and there was a good correlation between the histomorphometric and immunohistochemical findings. These data indicate that long-term nonpulsatile flow can lead to endothelial dysfunction, which may be involved in distention and vascular structure remodeling due to the increase in pulmonary vascular resistance; but it also can lead to increased patency of the arteriovenous shunt, which might be at least partly involved in pulmonary arteriovenous fistula development and exercise limitation after the Fontan operation.

Long-term survival after surgical correction of CA is good. Routine closure of a cleft in the mitral valve is very important for successful surgery.

BackgroundPostoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) remains the most common complication after cardiac surgery. Current guidelines recommend β-blockers to prevent POAF. Carvedilol is a non-selective β-adrenergic blocker with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and multiple cationic channel blocking properties. These unique properties of carvedilol have generated interest in its use as a prophylaxis for POAF.ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy of carvedilol in preventing POAF.MethodsPubMed from the inception to September 2013 was searched for studies assessing the effect of carvedilol on POAF occurrence. Pooled relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using random- or fixed-effect models when appropriate. Six comparative trials (three randomized controlled trials and three nonrandomized controlled trials) including 765 participants met the inclusion criteria.ResultsCarvedilol was associated with a significant reduction in POAF (relative risk [RR] 0.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.37 to 0.64, p<0.001). Subgroup analyses yielded similar results. In a subgroup analysis, carvedilol appeared to be superior to metoprolol for the prevention of POAF (RR 0.51, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.70, p<0.001). No evidence of heterogeneity was observed.ConclusionsIn conclusion, carvedilol may effectively reduce the incidence of POAF in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. It appeared to be superior to metoprolol. A large-scale, well-designed randomized controlled trial is needed to conclusively answer the question regarding the utility of carvedilol in the prevention of POAF.

RA is effective for the surgical treatment of long-standing AF associated with rheumatic valve disease. Though vagal denervation helped to maintain a stable sinus rhythm at an early stage, there was no additional benefit after the 1st year of follow-up.

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