Maria Fedchenko, Zacharias Mandalenakis, Helena Dellborg, Görel Hultsberg‐Olsson, Anna Björk, Peter Eriksson, Mikael Dellborg

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.4, pp. 549-558, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12785

Abstract Background: The aging patient with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) faces the risk of developing atherosclerotic disease. Patients with coarctation of the aorta (CoA) are especially vulnerable because of an inherent high risk of developing hy‐ pertension. However, data on the prevalence of other cardiovascular risk factors are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the prevalence of traditional cardio‐ vascular risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle) in adult patients with CoA.
Methods: Patients with CoA who were registered at the ACHD clinic in Gothenburg were asked to participate in a comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment. This… More >

Talha Niaz¹, Joseph T. Poterucha¹, Jonathan N. Johnson^1,2, Cecilia Craviari¹, Thomas Nienaber¹, Jared Palfreeman¹, Frank Cetta^1,2, Donald J. Hagler^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 261-269, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12429

Abstract Background: Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) occurs both as an isolated cardiac lesion and in association with congenital heart defects (CHD). Their aim was to identify the incidence and morphology of BAV in patients with coexisting CHD and compare their disease progression to patients with isolated BAV.
Methods: The Mayo Clinic echocardiography database was retrospectively analyzed to identify pediatric and young adult patients (≤22 years) who were diagnosed with BAV from 1990 to 2015. The morphology of BAV was determined from the echocardiographic studies before any intervention.
Results: Overall, 1010 patients with BAV were identified, 619 (61%) with isolated BAV and… More >

Haki Jashari¹, Katarina Lannering², Mats Mellander², Pranvera Ibrahimi¹, Annika Rydberg³, Michael Y. Henein¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.2, pp. 218-225, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12430

Abstract Background and aims: Patients with coarctation of the aorta (CoA) have increased left ventricular (LV) afterload that has been shown to impact the LV and ascending aortic function. We aimed to examine the effect of coarctation on LV function and aorto-septal angle (AoSA) before and after surgical repair.
Methods: We retrospectively studied 21 patients with surgically repaired CoA at a median age of 9 (2-53) days at three time points: (1) just before intervention, (2) at short-term follow-up, and (3) at medium-term follow-up after intervention. AoSA was measured from the parasternal long axis view, at three time points during the… More >

Marco Astengo^1,2*, Caroline Berntsson^3*, Åse A. Johnsson^3,4, Peter Eriksson^1,2, Mikael Dellborg^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.2, pp. 174-180, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12424

Abstract Objective: Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is a common condition. Adult patients with newly diagnosed CoA and patients with recurring or residual CoA require evaluation of the severity of aortic obstruction. Cardiac catheterization is considered the gold standard for the evaluation of hemodynamically significant CoA. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines for the management of grown-up congenital heart disease (GUCH) include noninvasive criteria for identifying significant CoA. Our aim was to investigate the ability of the Class I and Class IIa ESC recommendations to identify significant CoA at cardiac catheterization.
Design: Sixty-six adult patients with native or recurrent CoA… More >

Adam B. Christopher¹, Abraham Apfel², Tao Sun², Jackie Kreutzer¹, David S. Ezon³

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.5, pp. 713-720, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12637

Abstract Objective: The most accurate noninvasive parameter to predict whether a patient with aortic coarctation will meet interventional criteria at catheterization remains elusive. We aim to determine the best independent echocardiographic predictors of a coarctation peak‐to‐peak pressure gradient ≥20 mm Hg at catheterization, the ac‐ cepted threshold for intervention.
Design: Retrospective query of our catheterization database from 1/2007 to 7/2016 for the diagnostic code of aortic coarctation was performed. Multiple echocardio‐ graphic measurements and blood pressure gradients prior to cardiac catheterization were collected. Univariate correlation of variables with the continuous catheteriza‐ tion peak were calculated using Spearman’s rho. Univariate association with… More >

Gareth J. Morgan¹, Matteo Ciuffreda², Isabella Spadoni³, Joseph DeGiovanni⁴

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.3, pp. 458-462, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12596

Abstract Aim: To assess the acute results of the first human use of the Optimus covered stent in complex coarctation of the aorta.
Methods and Results: We successfully implanted the Optimus covered stent in eight cases in patients whose preprocedural anatomy looked challenging for currently available covered stents. Six of the patients had native coarctation with one recoarctation following surgical repair. There were no significant complications with reduction in the mean invasive gradient from 22 to 1 mm Hg. The length of stents used ranged from 33 to 57 mm with a median shortening after expansion of 13%. Postprocedural follow-up with… More >

Kristina K. Rauser‐Foltz¹, Lois J. Starr², Anji T. Yetman¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.5, pp. 864-867, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12824

Abstract Objectives: This study assessed the frequency and utility of echocardiographic examination in patients with all forms of Ehlers‐Danlos syndrome and sought to iden‐ tify clinical variables associated with an abnormal echocardiogram.
Design/setting: This was a retrospective study of all patients carrying a diagnosis of Ehlers‐Danlos syndrome of any type who were evaluated by a pediatrician or pediatric subspecialist at a single tertiary medical center with an affiliated children’s hospital during the period January 2013 to December 2018.
Patients: Chart review was performed on all patients carrying a diagnosis of Ehlers‐ Danlos syndrome in the electronic medical record.
Outcome Measures: Data… More >

Benjamin S. Frank¹, Tracy T. Urban², Karlise Lewis², Suhong Tong³, Courtney Cassidy⁴, Max B. Mitchell⁵, Christopher S. Nichols⁶, Jesse A. Davidson¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 446-453, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12744

Abstract Objective: Patients undergoing surgical repair of aortic coarctation have a 50% risk of pathologic left ventricular remodeling (increased left ventricular mass or relative wall thickness). Endothelin 1, ST2, galectin 3, norepinephrine and B‐natriuretic pep‐ tide are biomarkers that have been associated with pathologic LV change in adult populations but their predictive value following pediatric coarctation repair are not known.
Hypothesis: Biomarker levels at coarctation repair will predict persistent left ven‐ tricular remodeling at 1‐year follow up.
Design: Prospective, cohort study of 27 patients’ age 2 days‐12 years with coarcta‐ tion of the aorta undergoing surgical repair. Echocardiograms were performed pre‐… More >

Ali. E. Dabiri^1,2,*, Matthew Martin³, Ghassan S. Kassab¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.17, No.1, pp. 25-31, 2020, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07310

Abstract The world-wide impact of traumatic injury and associated hemorrhage on human health and well-being is significant. Methods to manage bleeding from sites within the torso, referred to as non-compressible torso hemorrhage (NCTH), remain largely limited to the use of conventional operative techniques. The overall mortality rate of patients with NCTH is approximately 50%. Studies from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have suggested that up to 80% of potentially survivable patients die as a result of uncontrolled exsanguinating hemorrhage. The commercially available resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is a percutaneous device for the rapid control of torso… More >

Stamatia Pagoulatou^1,*, Mauro Ferraro¹, Bram Trachet^1,2, Georgios Rovas¹, Vasiliki Bikia¹, Dionysios Adamopoulos³, Lindsey Crowe³, Jean-Paul Vallée³, Nikolaos Stergiopulos¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 148-149, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07346

Abstract This article has no abstract. More >