Case Report: Prothesis-patient mismatch after aortic valve replacement.

Valve replacement is the standard surgical treatment of diseased valves that cannot be repaired. The main goal of replacement is to exchange the diseased valve with one that has the engineering and hemodynamics as close as possible to the disease free native valve. However due to mechanical and fluid dynamic constraints all prosthetic heart valves (PHVs) are smaller than normal and thus are inherently stenotic. This represents a challenge when it comes time to replace a valve. The correct valve with the correct and matching profile has to be selected before the procedure to avoid possible complications. It is well recognized that patients are also prone to patient-prosthesis mismatch at long term which could have consequences in the clinical outcomes (1). The evaluation of patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) has not been sufficiently emphasized in common practice. Failure to recognize this fact may lead to significant hemodynamic impairment and worsening of the clinical status over the time. Making efforts to identifying patients at risk may decrease the prevalence of PPM, the economic impact to our health system, the morbidity and mortality involved in these cases as well as creates efforts to standardized pre-operative protocols to minimized risk of PPM. We present a case of a 78 years old male patient who underwent aortic valve replacement due severe aortic stenosis, afterwards his clinical course got complicated with several admissions for shortness of breath and decompensated congestive heart failure (CHF).

Prevalence of anemia in a Hispanic population with decompensated congestive heart failure.

UNLABELLED: Anemia in patients with heart failure (HF is a frequent event, commonly associated with worse prognosis. Despite the high incidence and adverse outcomes associated with anemia no studies have been conducted amongst Hispanics with HF. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to determine the prevalence, predictors and outcomes of anemia in Hispanics admitted to Veteran Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System with diagnosis of Decompensated Congestive Heart Failure (D-CHF). METHODS: Retrospective review of 617 patient medical charts that had been previously discharged with a diagnosis of HF as per International Classification of Diseases-9 code. The clinical, demographic, laboratory and echocardiographic data was assessed for a total of 148 male patient electronic medical records that met the study inclusion criteria. The re-hospitalization and mortality rates were determined from the admission date until April 2010. RESULTS: The burden of anemia with HF is substantial, with anemia present in 68.2% of patients. Anemia was associated with hypoalbuminemia, higher New York Heart Association classification, elevated pro-BNP level at discharge, renal insufficiency and diastolic dysfunction, all of which demonstrated statistical significance. Anemia had 2.18 and 2.95 times likelihood of any-cause mortality (p = 0.003) and cardiovascular deaths (p = 0.02) when compared with HF patients without anemia. CONCLUSIONS: Anemia is a very frequent and serious finding in patients with D-CHF. The study reveals a higher prevalence of anemia in HF patients among Hispanics in comparison with formerly reported studies covering non-Hispanic populations.