Complications of transcatheter paravalvular leak device closure of mitral valve: An updated review of the literature and a rare case presentation.

Paravalvular leak (PVL) is an uncommon complication of prosthetic valve implantation, which can lead to infective endocarditis, heart failure, and hemolytic anemia. Surgical reintervention of PVLs is associated with high mortality rates. Transcatheter PVL closure (TPVLc) has emerged as an alternative to surgical reoperation. This method provides a high success rate with a low rate of complications. This article reviews the pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, diagnosis, and management of PVL and complications following TPVLc. Besides, we presented a case of a patient with severe PVL following mitral valve replacement, who experienced complete heart block (CHB) during TPVLc. The first TPVLc procedure failed in our patient due to possible AV-node insult during catheterization. After 1 week of persistent CHB, a permanent pacemaker was implanted. The defect was successfully passed using the previous attempt. Considering the advantages of TPVLc, procedure failure should be regarded as a concern. TPVLc should be performed by experienced medical teams in carefully selected patients.

The Association Between Hematologic Indices With TIMI Flow In STEMI Patients Who Undergo primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: The Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) is the preferred therapeutic strategy for patients who experienced ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the association of hematological indices, including hemoglobin level, platelets, White Blood Cells (WBCs) count, and MPV before PPCI with the TIMI grade flow after PPCI. METHODS: STEMI patients who experienced PPCI were included in the present retrospective crosssectional study. Then participants were divided into three groups based on their post-procedural TIMI flow grades. Demographic data and hematologic indices of patients before PPCI were collected and their association with the TIMI grade flow after PPCI was evaluated. To compare the quantitative and qualitative variables, chi-square and t-tests were performed, respectively. RESULTS: We found that elevated levels of hemoglobin and decreased levels of MPV had a significant association with an advanced grade of TIMI flow. Interestingly, in the normal range, there was a significant association between higher platelet count and TIMI-flow grade 1. Besides, TIMI flow grades 2 and 3 had a significant association with low and moderate platelets count, respectively. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, evaluating MPV, platelets, and hemoglobin levels before PPCI as easy and accessible parameters may be able to identify high-risk STEMI patients undergoing PPCI.

The association between QTc, QTd, TPE, and fragmented QRS before and after PPCI with hospital mortality in STEMI patients.

INTRODUCTION: ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is known to be associated with significant arrhythmia and consequent mortality. QT prolongation is a risk factor for arrhythmia in STEMI patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the association of corrected QT interval (QTc), QT dispersion (QTd), T-wave peak to end (TPE), and fragmented QRS with mortality in these patients. METHODS: Eligible patients with the characteristic symptoms of STEMI who underwent PPCI were included. QTc, QTd, TPE, and fragmented QRS were measured before and after the PPCI. These predictors were compared between patients who died during hospitalization and discharged patients. RESULTS: After coronary angiography, 10 patients (4%) died during the hospitalization after PPCI. Comparing the non-survivers and discharged patients in terms of arrhythmia predictors showed that the mean QT dispersion and TPE before intervention were significantly higher in the non-survivors. Also, the number of patients who experienced fragmented QRS both before and after the intervention was significantly higher in the non-survivors. CONCLUSION: These data suggested that evaluating such arrhythmia predictors, especially before PPCI, could be used as a predictor of mortality in STEMI patients who underwent PPCI.

Evaluation of right atrial function by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography in patients with right ventricular myocardial infarction.

Right ventricular myocardial infarction (RVMI) damages the systolic and diastolic functions of the RV, so the right atrium interacts with the RV with an acutely altered function. The aim of our study was to compare right atrial function as evaluated by 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) between patients with inferior wall myocardial infarction (INFMI) and patients affected by both inferior myocardial infarction and right ventricular myocardial infarction (INFMI + RVMI). Our study recruited 70 consecutive patients with INFMI (43 patients without RVMI and 27 patients with RVMI). Right atrial function was evaluated by 2DSTE. Early diastolic strain, systolic strain rate, absolute value of early diastolic strain rate, expansion index, and diastolic emptying index of the right atrium were reduced in the patients with INFMI + RVMI compared to the patients with INFMI. The area under the curve for early diastolic strain for INFMI diagnosis was 0.682 (p value = 0.011, 95 % CI 0.550-0.815). Right atrial early diastolic longitudinal strain <27.5 % had 59.3 % sensitivity and 79.1 % specificity for the discrimination of INFMI + RVMI from INFMI. Our results demonstrated that right atrial reservoir and conduit functions were impaired in the patients with INFMI + RVMI compared with the patients with INFMI.

Automatic assessment of mitral regurgitation severity based on extensive textural features on 2D echocardiography videos.

Heart disease is the major cause of death as well as a leading cause of disability in the developed countries. Mitral Regurgitation (MR) is a common heart disease which does not cause symptoms until its end stage. Therefore, early diagnosis of the disease is of crucial importance in the treatment process. Echocardiography is a common method of diagnosis in the severity of MR. Hence, a method which is based on echocardiography videos, image processing techniques and artificial intelligence could be helpful for clinicians, especially in borderline cases. In this paper, we introduce novel features to detect micro-patterns of echocardiography images in order to determine the severity of MR. Extensive Local Binary Pattern (ELBP) and Extensive Volume Local Binary Pattern (EVLBP) are presented as image descriptors which include details from different viewpoints of the heart in feature vectors. Support Vector Machine (SVM), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Template Matching techniques are used as classifiers to determine the severity of MR based on textural descriptors. The SVM classifier with Extensive Uniform Local Binary Pattern (ELBPU) and Extensive Volume Local Binary Pattern (EVLBP) have the best accuracy with 99.52%, 99.38%, 99.31% and 99.59%, respectively, for the detection of Normal, Mild MR, Moderate MR and Severe MR subjects among echocardiography videos. The proposed method achieves 99.38% sensitivity and 99.63% specificity for the detection of the severity of MR and normal subjects.