Midterm outcomes and durability of sinus segment preservation compared with root replacement for acute type A aortic dissection.

OBJECTIVE: The durability of root repair for acute type A aortic dissection is not well studied in the context of aortic insufficiency and stability of the sinuses of Valsalva. We compared clinical and functional outcomes in patients undergoing root repair and replacement for acute type A aortic dissection. METHODS: Of 716 patients undergoing surgery for acute type A aortic dissection, 585 (81.7%) underwent root repair and 131 (18.3%) underwent root replacement. Survival, cumulative incidence of reoperation, aortic insufficiency, and sinuses of Valsalva dilation were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Survival at 1, 5, and 10 years was 84.1% versus 77.3%, 70.8% versus 69.2%, 57.6% versus 58.0% in the root repair and replacement groups, respectively (P = .69). Cumulative incidence of reoperation at 1, 5, and 10 years was 0.0% versus 0.8%, 1.4% versus 3.8%, and 3.4% versus 8.6% in the root repair and root replacement groups, respectively (P = .011). Multivariable Cox regression identified sinuses of Valsalva diameter 45 mm or more as a risk factor for proximal aortic reoperation (hazard ratio, 9.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.26-65.24). In a repeated-measures, linear, mixed-effects model, root replacement was associated with smaller follow-up of sinuses of Valsalva dimensions (ß = -0.66, P < .001). In an ordinal longitudinal mixed model, root replacement was associated with lower severity of postoperative aortic insufficiency (ß = -3.10, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Survival is similar, but the incidence of aortic insufficiency and root dilation may be greater after root repair compared with root replacement for acute type A aortic dissection.

Correlating possible predisposing demographics and systemic conditions with the aortic root.

Background: The aortic root is an aggregate of various components that connects the left ventricle to the aorta. The most predominant pathologies have been associated with the dilation of the aortic root leading to aneurysms. Aim: This study is designed to measure the role of systemic morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and body mass index (BMI) on the dimension of the aortic root. Materials and Methods: Participants were volunteers of African descent who were recruited during and after an organized health fair by the medical students' body from All Saints University, School of Medicine. 169 participants consisting of 62 males and 107 females with ages ranging from 9 to 84 years agreed to volunteer by signing the consent after which a questionnaire was administered and a preliminary clinical procedure was used to check for blood pressure (BP), blood glucose (BG), and BMI. The measurement of the aortic root was carried out by an experienced single investigator who was not aware of the purpose of measurements, using a DUS-5000 ultrasound machine (Miami, Florida, USA) at a low-frequency micro-convex transducer preset to "adult cardiac" with a default frequency of 4 MHz. Results: Among the participants, 35.03%, 47.80%, and 29.11% had normal BP, BG, and BMI readings, respectively. The Chi-squared analysis identified a significant correlation between the diameter of the aortic annulus (AA) and BMI. Diastolic BP is also correlated with the diameter of the AA. Sinus of Valsalva (SV) showed an unusual correlation with BG as opposed to BP and BMI. Conclusion: The disparity in how a systemic factor individually correlates with the AA and the SV is not clear. The study targets to provide educational concept in this regard.

RésuméContexte: La racine aortique est un agrégat de divers composants qui relie le ventricule gauche à l'aorte. Les pathologies les plus prédominantes ont été associées à la dilatation de la racine aortique conduisant à des anévrismes. But: Cette étude est conçue pour mesurer le rôle des morbidités systémiques telles que l'hypertension, le diabète et l'indice de masse corporelle (IMC) sur la dimension de la racine aortique. Matériel et méthodes: Les participants étaient des volontaires d'origine africaine qui ont été recrutés pendant et après une foire organisée de la santé par le corps des étudiants en médecine de l'école de médecine All Saints University. 169 participants, soit 62 hommes et 107 femmes âgés de 9 à 84 ans, ont accepté de faire du bénévolat en signant le consentement après l'administration du questionnaire et en utilisant une procédure clinique préliminaire pour vérifier la tension artérielle, la glycémie (glycémie), et BMI. La mesure de la racine aortique a été effectuée par un chercheur expérimenté qui ne connaissait pas le but des mesures, en utilisant une échographe DUS-5000 (Miami, Floride, USA) à un transducteur micro-convexe basse fréquence préréglé à "adultcardiac" avec une fréquence par défaut de 4 MHz. Résultats: Parmi les participants, 35,03%, 47,80% et 29,11% avaient respectivement des valeurs normales de BP, de BG et de BMI. L'analyse du khi carré a mis en évidence une corrélation significative entre le diamètre de l'anneau aortique (AA) et l'IMC. La pression artérielle diastolique est également corrélée avec le diamètre de l'AA.Sinus de Valsalva (SV) a montré une corrélation inhabituelle avec BG par opposition à BP et BMI. CONCLUSION: La disparité dans la façon dont un facteur systémique est individuellement corrélé avec l'AA et le SV n'est pas clair. L'étude vise à fournir un concept éducatif à cet égard.

Reappraisal and new observations on atrial tachycardia ablated from the non-coronary aortic sinus of Valsalva.

Aims: The clinical characteristics of atrial tachycardias (AT) ablated from the non-coronary aortic sinus (NCS) are thus far described only in small series. We aimed to outline, in a large cohort of patients, the clinical, electrocardiographic, electrophysiological characteristics of this tachycardia. Methods and results: We analysed data pertaining to clinical, electrocardiographic, and electrophysiological characteristics of 43 consecutive patients from an overall cohort of 441 with AT who were successfully ablated from the NCS. The tachycardias ablated from the NCS were paroxysmal (98%) and adenosine sensitive (35/35). The patients were aged 54.6 ± 12.4 years, showing female preponderance (74%). No P wave pattern was predictive of the location of ablation. Electrophysiological findings suggested a possible micro-reentrant mechanism. During tachycardia, atrial electrograms recorded in the NCS preceded the A in the His region by 10.9 ± 7.4 ms. Fractionated atrial electrograms were noted at the site of ablation in 42 patients during the tachycardia. Radiofrequency ablation terminated the tachycardia within 5 s in 88%, with thermal automaticity seen only in 3 patients. The site of ablation at the base of the NCS was adjacent to the presumed site of the retroaortic node, a remnant of the initial atrio-ventricular canal musculature. Conclusions: AT ablated from the NCS is a paroxysmal arrhythmia in middle-aged women, with distinct electrocardiographic and electrophysiological characteristics. We suspect the retroaortic node to be involved in the tachycardia circuit.

Aborted sudden cardiac death associated with an anomalous right coronary artery.

Coronary artery anomalies arising from the opposite sinus of Valsalva and having an interarterial course between the aorta (AO) and pulmonary artery (PA) are the second most common cause of sudden cardiac death among young athletes, after hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The right coronary artery (RCA) originating from the AO above the left sinus of Valsalva (LSV) is an extremely rare anomaly. We report the first case of a RCA arising from the AO above the LSV that subsequently runs between the AO and the PA, discovered by a 64-slice multidetector coronary CT, in a patient who was successfully resuscitated from ventricular fibrillation (VF) cardiac arrest while running in a marathon race.

Cardiac impairment evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography and invasive measurements in rats undergoing sinoaortic denervation.

BACKGROUND: Sympathetic hyperactivity may be related to left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and baro- and chemoreflex impairment in hypertension. However, cardiac function, regarding the association of hypertension and baroreflex dysfunction, has not been previously evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) using intracardiac echocardiographic catheter. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated exercise tests, baroreflex sensitivity and cardiovascular autonomic control, cardiac function, and biventricular invasive pressures in rats 10 weeks after sinoaortic denervation (SAD). The rats (n = 32) were divided into 4 groups: 16 Wistar (W) with (n = 8) or without SAD (n = 8) and 16 spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with (n = 8) or without SAD (SHRSAD) (n = 8). Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) did not change between the groups with or without SAD; however, compared to W, SHR groups had higher BP levels and BP variability was increased. Exercise testing showed that SHR had better functional capacity compared to SAD and SHRSAD. Echocardiography showed left ventricular (LV) concentric hypertrophy; segmental systolic and diastolic biventricular dysfunction; indirect signals of pulmonary arterial hypertension, mostly evident in SHRSAD. The end-diastolic right ventricular (RV) pressure increased in all groups compared to W, and the end-diastolic LV pressure increased in SHR and SHRSAD groups compared to W, and in SHRSAD compared to SAD. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that baroreflex dysfunction impairs cardiac function, and increases pulmonary artery pressure, supporting a role for baroreflex dysfunction in the pathogenesis of hypertensive cardiac disease. Moreover, TEE is a useful and feasible noninvasive technique that allows the assessment of cardiac function, particularly RV indices in this model of cardiac disease.

Anatomic three-dimensional echocardiographic correlation of bicuspid aortic valve.

This study was undertaken to verify the echocardiographic characteristics of bicuspid aortic valve (AV) using 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography by comparing the findings with anatomic examination of autopsy specimens from carriers of this condition. Three-dimensional reconstructions of transesophageal echocardiograms were performed on 14 patients with bicuspid AV, and 20 autopsy specimens of bicuspid AVs were analyzed. Echocardiographic images and autopsy material were correlated. Two variants of bicuspid aorta were identified. In group I the AV had 2 leaflets. This group included 9 (9/14) 3-dimensional echocardiographic studies and 13 (13/20) necropsies. In group II 3 sigmoid leaflets had originally developed and 2 underwent dysplastic fusion, resulting in functionally bicuspid valves. Five (5/14) echocardiographic studies and 7 (7/20) anatomic specimens fell into this category. There was a clear correspondence between anatomic and echocardiographic findings, which leads to the conclusion that 3-dimensional echocardiography is a technique that reliably defines the morphological details of bicuspid AV with the precision of anatomopathologic examination.

Transcoronary sinus delivery of autologous bone marrow and angiogenesis in pig models with myocardial injury.

PURPOSE: The aim of the investigation is to study myocardial injury on pig model with two objectives: (1) feasibility of stimulating angiogenesis with fresh autologous bone marrow; (2) administration of the same fresh autologous bone marrow via coronary sinus with transitory occlusion. METHODS: A controlled study was done in animal model with three phases, in a study group of 12 pigs (bone marrow administration) as well as in control group of 4 pigs (saline administration). Phase 1-production of coronary stenosis and myocardial injury; Phase 2-two weeks later, administration of bone marrow through coronary sinus with 10 min occlusion in the study group and saline solution in the control group. Phase 3-two weeks later, histological staining with hematoxylin-eosin and inmunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibody for smooth muscle alpha-actin were conducted on both study and control groups. RESULTS: The percentage of angionenesis observed in the study group was 91% and 0% in control group. Counting of positive actin in affected and control areas showed statistically significant differences in relation to both groups: study group (1.37 vs. 0.79) and control group (0.47 vs. 0.51). The percentage of mononuclear immature cells observed in the myocardium in the study group was 25% and in the control group was 0%. There was no increment in the coronary collateral circulation when comparing coronary angiography. CONCLUSIONS: Autologous bone marrow in animal model with experimental myocardial injury enhances angiogenesis, as well as vessels with smooth muscles. The transitory occlusion of the coronary sinus might be an effective way to administer cells as those from the bone marrow.

Sudden cardiac death caused by coronary ostial compression by an aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva.

A 22-year-old man was asymptomatic until he died suddenly after being startled. Post-mortem examination was normal except for aneurysmal dilatation of the left Sinus of Valsalva, the upper margin of which formed a flap-like ridge, partially occluding the ostium of the left main coronary artery which arose immediately above it. Further compression of this "slit-like" orifice by aneurysmal distention was the proposed cause of myocardial ischaemia and arrhythmic death.

Sudden cardiac death caused by coronary ostial compression by an aneurysm of the sinus of valsalva

A 22-year-old man was asymptomatic until he died suddenly after being starled. Post-mortem examination was normal except for aneurysmal dilatation of the left Sinus of Valsalva, the upper margin fo which formed a flap-like ridge, partially occluding the ostium of the left main coronary artery which arose immediately above it. Further compression of this "slit-like" orifice by aneurysmal distention was the proposed cause of myocardial ischaemia and arrhythimic death

Sudden cardiac death caused by coronary ostial compression by an aneurysm of the sinus of valsalva

A 22-year-old man was asymptomatic until he died suddenly after being startled. Post-mortem examination was normal except for aneurysmal dilation of the left Sinus of Valsalva, the upper margin of which formed a flap-like ridge, partially occluding the ostium of the left main coronary artery which arose immediately above it. Further compression of this "slit-like" orifice by aneurysmal distention was the proposed cause of myocardial ischaemia and arrhythmic death (AU)

Alteration in baroreceptor function in rats produces typical pressure changes during sleep.

We have shown previously that both sinoaortic denervation (SAD) and high renin hypertension in the rat produce a pronounced alteration in the pattern of pressure change during sleep, namely from unchanged to a rise in pressure during synchronized sleep (SS) and from a slight rise to a marked fall during desynchronized sleep (DS). Since acute SAD also produces overactivity of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), we investigated if this overactivity is essential for the development of the alterations. In rats studied 1 day after SAD (138 +/- 1.0 mm Hg) the MAP rose during SS (+14 +/- 0.7 vs. +1.0 +/- 0.16 mm Hg in the controls) and fell during DS (-27.2 +/- 1.5 vs. 4.9 +/- 0.6 mm Hg in the controls). Captopril-treated rats, studied 1 day after SAD (89 +/- 1.2 mm Hg), also exhibited rise in pressure during SS (+12.3 +/- 0.6 mm Hg) and fall during DS (-12.8 +/- 1.7 mm Hg). Similar alterations were observed in rats studied 10 days after SAD (116 +/- 0.7 mm Hg) when RAS activity was normal (PRA: 1.3 +/- 0.2 vs. 10.4 +/- 2.7 ng AI/ml/h for SAD-1 day); the MAP rose during SS (+6.5 +/- 0.3 mm Hg) and fell during DS (-5.0 +/- 0.9 mm Hg). These data indicate that impairment of the baroreceptor function per se determines the typical alteration in the pattern of pressure change during sleep in the rat.