Structural Heart Disease

Structural heart diseases include any issues preventing normal cardiovascular function due to damage or alteration to the anatomical components of the heart. This is caused by aging, advanced atherosclerosis, calcification, tissue degeneration, congenital heart defects and heart failure. The most commonly treated areas are the heart valves, in particular the mitral and aortic valves. These can be replaced through open heart surgery or using cath lab-based transcatheter valves or repairs to eliminate regurgitation due to faulty valve leaflets. This includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Other common procedures include left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion and closing congenital holes in the heart, such as PFO and ASD. A growing area includes transcatheter mitral repair or replacement and transcatheter tricuspid valve repair and replacement.

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Newborns with congenital heart disease at increased risk for neurodevelopmental disabilities

Infants born with congenital heart disease (CHD) could be at increased risk for neurodevelopmental disabilities even before undergoing initial open-heart surgery, a new study published in NeuroImage: Clinical states.

Long-term survival rates after Ross procedure positive 25 years later

Adults who underwent the Ross procedure saw overwhelmingly “excellent” long-term outcomes 25 years later, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Percutaneous mitral valve repair safe, effective in frail patients

Patients classified as frail who undergo percutaneous mitral valve repair (PMVR) demonstrate greater short-term improvement in quality of life than their nonfrail counterparts and similar improvements in six-minute walking distance and functional status, a new study found.

Study finds hope in penicillin treatment for children with latent rheumatic heart disease

Penicillin prophylaxis could have a positive, regressive effect on young patients diagnosed with latent rheumatic heart disease (RHD), one study of Ugandan children has found.

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Research finds longitudinal durability of TAVR is 'excellent'

Longitudinal durability of transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVR) is “excellent,” according to a recent study published in JAMA Cardiology, and is similar to surgical bioprostheses used to treat severe aortic stenosis.

Cardiac patients supported by ECMO as infants report good health, but lower quality of life years later

Adults who struggled with heart disease as infants and had to be supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation reported positive health outcomes but lower quality of life 18 years later, according to a study published in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.

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Is 70% good enough?

Not exactly. A recent study, the largest of its kind that tracked more than 1,000 children, found a 70 percent success rate using balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) to treat isolated congenital aortic stenosis (AS).

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Damage done to bodies after years of smoking could be reversed, ACS states

Some of the body’s negative reactions to smoking—a risk factor for six of the world’s eight leading causes of death—could be reversible, new research from the American Chemical Society states.

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Around the web

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