Radiographic, echocardiographic, fluoroscopic, and angiographic images from 2 dogs with severe congenital mitral valve stenosis that underwent cardiac catheterization and balloon valvuloplasty are presented. Both dogs displayed systolic doming of the mitral valve leaflets, increased diastolic pressure gradient across the left atrium and ventricle, and decreased mitral inflow E to ...

Background: Previously, we established the importance of the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 axis in the promotion of myeloid cell differentiation into neointimal smooth muscle-like cells (SMLC). Methods: In this study, acute (24 h) endothelial coverage and CX3CL1 expression as well as chronic (2 weeks) vascular remodeling was examined with respect to whether myeloid ...

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the histologic changes after stent graft oversizing in nonatherosclerotic aortas using an experimental porcine model. We previously reported that the diameter and angulation of the aorta in this model are similar to those in young individuals who undergo stent graft repair for blunt aortic injuries. The lack ...

We report a case of 62-year-old man with cardiac tamponade due to coronary artery injury after acupuncture into the substernum. After resuscitation of cardiac arrest, we performed emergent pericardiocentesis. Nevertheless, the cardiac arrest recurred, and the emergent operation on cardiopulmonary bypass was performed. We identified hemopericardium due to shredded acute ...

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia may contribute to the pathogenesis of various diseases of the vascular wall. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are nuclear transcriptional factors that regulate the transcription of genes that mediate cellular and tissue homeostatic responses to altered oxygenation. This article reviews the published literature on and discusses the role of the ...

Although tissue engineering approaches have led to significant progress in the quest of finding a viable substitute for dysfunctional myocardium, the vascularization of such bio-artificial constructs still remains a major challenge. Hence, there is a need for model-systems that allow us to study and better understand cardiac and vascular biology ...

ABSTRACT Background: Cigarette smoking may contribute to pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by resulting in pulmonary vascular remodeling that involves pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this process remains poorly understood. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the ...

Cardiac surgery can have severe neurologic complications. The noninvasive monitoring of intracranial circulation during heart surgery is usually performed with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. We present the case of a 66-year-old man who underwent elective cardiac surgery for aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass graft, in whom monitoring was performed ...

We present a rare case of spontaneous closure of a fistula between the left coronary artery and the right ventricle (RV) within a few days of newborn period. A 14-day-old male newborn was referred to our clinic for investigation of tachypnea and cardiac murmur. A color flow Doppler echocardiography revealed ...

An 81-year-old male presented with a soft mass on his neck noted in the supine position. After undergoing an operation for an inguinal hernia, the mass was noted to persist regardless of the patient's position. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed phlebectasia of the external jugular vein with an ...

Object Over the past 20 years, endovascular embolization has become the preferred method of treating cerebral aneurysms. While there are many embolic devices on the market, none is ideal. In this study the authors investigated the use of a liquid-to-solid gelling polymer system-that is, poly(propylene glycol) diacrylate and pentaerythritol tetrakis ...

An atrial septal defect is the most common type of congenital heart disease among adults. Surgical repair or percutaneous closure of the defect is the treatment options. Even though percutaneous closure seems to be less risky than surgical repair, it may result in fatal complications like device embolism, cardiac perforation ...

A 14-year-old female with mitral atresia, double outlet right ventricle, l-malposition of the great arteries, pulmonary valvular stenosis, bilateral superior vena cavae, and juxtaposed right atrial appendage had undergone a staged Fontan completion at 22 months of age. Ten years later, transthoracic echocardiography detected blood flow acceleration in the left ...

BackgroundAortic stenosis (AS) is the most frequent valvular heart disease, and patients who develop AS are at a high risk of sudden death. There is no medical cure available, and aortic valve replacement is the only effective treatment for advanced disease. Preoperative evaluation is the cornerstone of therapy and is ...

OBJECTIVE: Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a catechin gallate ester, is the major component of green tea and has been demonstrated to inhibit tumor growth as well as inhibit smooth muscle cell migration. We evaluated the effect of the phytochemicals resveratrol, allicin, sulforaphane (SFN), and EGCG on intimal hyperplasia in the carotid artery ...

BACKGROUND: Elucidating the histological characteristics of normal vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is important for understanding mechanisms of development, disease etiology and the remodeling and/or regeneration process of the vessel. However, knowledge regarding VSMCs is focused primarily on the artery. Although the characteristics of each great vessel are documented, few ...

A 76-year-old woman with malignant rheumatic arthritis developed dysphagia and hoarseness secondary to an aberrant right subclavian artery aneurysm. We performed a hybrid endovascular repair with concomitant surgical treatment for the aberrant right subclavian artery aneurysm. One month after discharge, she was emergently admitted to our hospital because of chest ...

Rationale: Hypoxia inducible factor-1αHIF-1α an oxygen (O2)-sensitive transcription factor, mediates transcriptional responses to low O2 tension states. While acute hypoxia causes pulmonary vasoconstriction and chronic hypoxia can cause vascular remodeling and pulmonary hypertension, conflicting data exists surrounding the role of HIF-1α in modulating pulmonary vascular tone. Objective: To investigate the ...

Intrathoracic infiltration of the inferior vena cava (IVC) is rare; mobilization and prosthetic replacement may increase the risk of cardiac arrest and postoperative complications. We report a case of a giant liposarcoma which elongated and grew around the IVC, invading both hemithoraces. The removal of this mass required a bypass ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Leptomeningeal artery abnormalities in Cerebral Autosomal-Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) have not been extensively characterized. We quantified substructure and diameter of leptomeningeal arteries in CADASIL compared with age-matched controls and the very old; in addition, we characterized intimal thickening in CADASIL using immunohistochemistry. METHODS: ...

Idiopathic cardiac rupture in the absence of coronary artery disease is rare. We describe a case of idiopathic left ventricular free wall rupture with successful surgical repair.

A 14-year old boy was admitted with an anomalous origin of the right coronary artery (RCA) from the left sinus of Valsalva, with an interarterial course of the narrow proximal segment. He underwent coronary ostial augmentation and main pulmonary artery translocation to the left pulmonary artery. In the post-cardiopulmonary bypass ...

BACKGROUND: The right gastroepiploic artery is useful as an in situ arterial graft for coronary artery bypass grafting. However, the gastroepiploic artery is more likely to cause vasospasms compared with the internal thoracic artery. We hypothesized that the cause of the spasms is the stimulation of the periarterial sympathetic nerve, ...

Sodium butyrate (BU) is a molecule acting as histone deacetylase inhibitor. Compared to its well-known antineoplastic/antiproliferative effects, little is known on the BU action on vascular cell dynamics. Unbalance of proliferation and migration in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) is essential in the onset and progression of pulmonary arterial ...

Anatomical congruence of peripheral nerves and blood vessels is well recognized in a variety of tissues. Their physical proximity and similar branching patterns suggest that the development of these networks might be a coordinated process. Here we show that large diameter coronary veins serve as an intermediate template for distal ...

BACKGROUND: Hypoplastic left heart syndrome with a highly restrictive or intact atrial septum (HLHS-RAS) has a very high mortality. Fetal left atrial (LA) hypertension results in abnormal lung development with lymphangiectasia and pulmonary vein muscularization. We report our initial experience with percutaneous ultrasound-guided stenting of the fetal atrial septum to ...

The mortality and morbidity of fetal aortic stenosis (AS) depend on the degree of the hemodynamic effects of the stenosis, and left ventricular (LV) adaptation, development and function during fetal life. In the case of critical AS, the development of hydrops and death in utero are well recognized entities. A ...

In contrast to the coronary arterial system, little attention has been paid to the coronary venous system in previous literature. We report a rare case of a combined anomaly of the coronary artery and the great cardiac vein (GCV). In this patient, the right coronary artery (RCA) arose from the ...

Chronic hypoxia attenuates soluble guanylate cyclase-induced vasorelaxation in serotonin (5-HT) contracted ovine carotid arteries. Because PKG mediates many effects of soluble guanylate cyclase activation through phosphorylation of multiple kinase targets in vascular smooth muscle we tested the hypothesis that chronic hypoxia reduces the ability of PKG to phosphorylate its target ...

A 39-year-old male, with a history of multiple suicidal attempts and psychiatric pathology, a professional lumberjack, was found dead at the meadow with his throat cut and a chainsaw beside him. Autopsy revealed that all physical injuries were confined to the head, neck and left shoulder. Two major (long and ...

Rationale: Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic modulation plays an important role in arterial stiffening associated with ageing. Serum response factor (SRF) is a major transcription factor regulating smooth muscle (SM) genes involved in maintenance of the contractile state of VSMCs. Objective: We investigated whether SRF and its target genes ...

Fatal events derived from coronary atherosclerosis are the major cause of mortality in the developed countries. Proteomic analysis of the atherosclerotic coronary artery has been mainly carried out with whole tissue extracts, making difficult to distinguish alterations present in every region of the plaque. For this reason, we have recently ...

Fibrous cap formation is a key aspect of preventing clinical events but animal models to study this are limited and cellular stress plays a fundamental role in fibrous cap formation. Aims: To characterise cellular stress markers in an established animal model to study coronary artery fibrous cap formation. Methods: Male ...

BACKGROUND: Thoracic artificial lungs have been proposed as a bridge to transplant in patients with end-stage lung disease. Systemic embolic complications can occur after thoracic artificial lung attachment in the pulmonary artery to left atrium configuration. Therefore, we evaluated the function of a compliant thoracic artificial lung attached via the ...

Quadrangular resection is the gold standard technique for correction of the posterior leaflet prolapse in mitral valve disease. Prompted by the idea that the anterior leaflet of the tricuspid valve corresponds to the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve in its structure and function, we conducted a quadrangular resection of ...

We report a case of a 19-year-old woman who developed a persistent uterine hemorrhage after spontaneous delivery of a healthy child. Emergency laparotomy was indicated and then begun under stable circulatory conditions. Cardiac arrest occurred during the course of massive manual compression and packing of the uterus. After successful resuscitation, ...

Aim: Atherosclerosis with its cardiovascular events including cardiac and peripheral ischemia represents the main cause of death in the developed countries. Although interventional treatments like percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) or stents are increasingly applied for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease, they are not always technically applicable or durable and ...

A 67-year-old man who had undergone substernal gastric tube interposition due to esophageal cancer showed ST changes on electrocardiography. Diagnosis was severe stenosis of the left anterior descending branch that required emergency coronary artery bypass grafting. Preoperative computed tomography (CT) showed the feeding arteries of the gastric tube were in ...

Purpose: Intimal thickening, which results from the response to arterial damage caused by therapeutic interventions or other reasons, is usually called as neointima. Neointimal hyperplasia is a main step in the pathogenesis of late-term restenosis, which is developed after vascular interventions. Reduction in nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signaling ...

The optimal therapy for in-stent restenosis (ISR) is controversial. We evaluated three different strategies for the treatment of in-stent restenosis: cutting balloon angioplasty (CBA), paclitaxel-eluting balloon angioplasty (PEBA) and cutting balloon followed by paclitaxel-eluting balloon angioplasty (CB+PEBA). Forty-five coronary arteries in 45 mini-pigs underwent oversized bare-metal stent (stent-to-artery ratio, 1.2:1) ...

Bullet emboli to the heart as a result of penetrating trauma are rare. We report a case of a 19-year old male who suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, resulting in an aorto-caval fistula and subsequent venous embolization of the bullet to the right ventricle. Successful surgical removal of ...

PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the coronary venous system and its variations by using dual source computed tomography (CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective assessment was carried out on 339 patients who underwent coronary CT angiography using 128-slice dual source CT for suspected coronary artery disease. The examinations were performed according ...

Membranous ventricular septum aneurysm (MVSA) is an uncommon cardiac abnormality primarily associated with the spontaneous closure of a small membranous ventricular septal defect in childhood. Diagnosis of an idiopathic MVSA in an adult is exceedingly rare. We report on a man, aged 38 years, with a bilobed MVSA diagnosed by ...

Chronic hypoxia induces vascular remodeling through mechanisms that remain poorly understood. Because hypoxia potently increases production of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), which we have recently shown can modulate smooth muscle phenotype, the present study explores the hypothesis that VEGF contributes to hypoxic vascular remodeling through changes in the abundance, ...

Outflow tract defects, including cardiac neural crest defects (so-called conotruncal defects) and transposition of the great arteries, are due to an abnormal rotation of the outflow tract during cardiac development. Coronary orifices are often abnormal in outflow tract defects, particularly in common arterial trunk (CAT). A recent study indicates that ...

Noninvasive cardiac imagines are rapidly evolving in recent years. In this patient with Vieussens' arterial ring aneurysm, multimodality noninvasive cardiac imaging provided sufficient information for diagnosis and surgical decision making. This report no only provides unique information leading to better understanding on aneurysms of Vieussens' arterial ring, but also highlights ...

Aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva is an uncommon cardiac abnormality; however, the most common complication is rupture into the right heart chambers or rarely towards the left chambers. A ruptured aneurysm typically leads to an aortocardiac shunt and progressively worsening heart failure. We report a case of a 21-year-old ...

We narrate the case of a term baby who presented at 30 h of age in congestive cardiac failure due to vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation. A successful interventional radiology embolisation of the feeding vessels to the aneurysm was performed on day 5. Twenty hours following the procedure, the baby ...

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common disease among elderly individuals. However, the precise pathophysiology of AAA remains unknown. In AAA, an intraluminal thrombus prevents luminal perfusion of oxygen, allowing only the adventitial vaso vasorum (VV) to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the aortic wall. In this study, we examined ...

Pulmonary calcification is uncommon in children. It is rarely described following cardiac surgery. Here, the authors describe the case of an infant who developed extensive pulmonary calcification following the repair of truncus arteriosus.