Pregnancy After Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Implantation.

Transcatheter pulmonary valve implantation (TPVI) is a relatively new method of treating patients with significant pulmonary regurgitation or pulmonary stenosis, or both, after reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract. It is an attractive alternative to conduit replacement in this group of patients, who are typically young and active. This report includes 4 young women who after successful TPVI became pregnant and gave birth. Transthoracic echocardiography, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging were performed in all patients. The results suggest that pregnancy and delivery after successful TPVI is safe when the appropriate precautions have been taken.

Influence of percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation on exercise capacity: Which group of patients benefits most from the intervention?

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters in assessing exercise capacity improvement after percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI). Additionally, it aimed to determine if there are any baseline characteristics influencing that change. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study comprised 32 patients (mean age 26 ± 9); 53% males; diagnosis: tetralogy of Fallot (n = 18), pulmonary atresia (n = 6), Ross procedure (n = 4), other (transposition of great arteries, pulmonary stenosis, double outlet right ventricle, common arterial trunk type II--n = 4) who underwent successful PPVI due to right ventricular out-flow tract dysfunction (predominant pulmonary regurgitation--n = 17, predominant pulmonary stenosis--n = 15). Treadmill CPET was performed before and a year after PPVI along with clinical evaluation, cardiac magnetic resonance and transthoracic echocardiography. Twelve months post successful PPVI (pulmonary valve competence restoration and pulmonary gradient reduction from 58.8 ± 47.1 to 26.6 ± 10.8 mm Hg) there was a significant decrease in the ventilatory equivalent for CO2 at peak exercise (EQCO2) (25.3 ± 3.3 to 24.3 ± 3.0, p = 0.04) and oxygen consumption at peak exercise (pVO2) (20.4 ± 5.0 to 22.6 ± 5.3 mL/kg/min, p = 0.04). Improved EQCO2 correlated with an increase in right and left ventricular ejection fraction (respectively R = -0.57, p = 0.002; R = -0.56, p = 0.002). In this study, no baseline factors that might affect improvement in exercise function were found. CONCLUSIONS: Successful PPVI leads to an improvement in exercise capacity and hemodynamic response to exercise. The correlation between the improvement in EQCO2 or peak VO2 and baseline characteristics was too weak to reliably identify the group of patients that will benefit from the procedure.

[Isolated noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium]. / Izolowane niescalenie miesnia komór serca.

Isolated left ventricular noncompaction is a primary, genetic cardiomyopathy thought to be caused by arrest of normal embryogenesis of endocardium and myocardium, characterised by a pattern of excessively prominent trabecular meshwork and deep intertrabecular recesses with to-and-from flow in continuity with the ventricular flow and the absence of other structural heart diseases. Isolated noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium is considered to predominantly affect the left ventricle. Our earlier observations suggest that both ventricles may be involved. We present another case of isolated noncompaction of both ventricles.