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Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical utility of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for screening abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and to identify important TTE indices associated with AAA in a Japanese population.Methods: We prospectively studied 1912 patients who were referred for TTE. AAA was defined as ≥ 30 mm in size.Results: The abdominal aorta was visualized in 95.1% (1818/1912) by TTE. AAA was identified in 2.6% (47/1818). The aortic root size was significantly larger in patients with AAA than those without (36.0 ± 4.1 vs. 31.7 ± 4.2 mm, p < 0.001). The aortic root size had a fair correlation with abdominal aortic size (r = 0.31, p < 0.001). The aortic root size of ≥ 34 mm was predictive of AAA by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (area under the curve = 0.78, p < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that aortic root size (Hazard ratio 1.23, p < 0.001) and age (Hazard ratio 1.05, p = 0.013) were the independent predictors of AAA.Conclusions: The feasibility of the abdominal aortic visualization during TTE was excellent. The aortic root size measured by TTE was the independent predictor of AAA. Screening for AAA during TTE appeared to be useful especially in the older patients with a large (≥34 mm) aortic root. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on an article concerning the implantation of Guidant VIGOR cardiac dual chamber pacemakers with QC2. Loss of bipolar lead function exhibited by patients implanted with the pacemakers; Information on a similar data of patients who had implanted with VIGOR pacemakers from hospitals in the Hiroshima district, Japan.

Hemodialysis (HD) is one of the important risks for the development of cardiovascular disease, including aortic valve stenosis (AS). Although aortic valve replacement (AVR) is a beneficial treatment for AS, HD patients are known to show a high rate of mortality after AVR than non-HD patients.We retrospectively studied 109 patients who underwent AVR for severe AS, 18 of which were HD patients. Survival rate after AVR, preoperative clinical data, and surgical procedure were investigated.In preoperative clinical features, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was larger, intraventricular septum thickness (IVST) was thicker, left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was higher, left ventricular ejection fraction was lower, E/e' was higher, and pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PAWP) was higher in the HD group than in the non-HD group. During a follow-up period of 3.2 ± 2.3 years after AVR, patients receiving HD had a worse prognosis than those without HD treatment: the 3-year survival rate after surgery in the HD group was 36.2% and that in the non-HD group was 84.9%. With regard to prognostic factors in the whole cohort, significant differences were found in IVST, LVMI, E/e', PAWP, and HD. In patients receiving HD, abnormally high PAWP for their right atrial pressure (RAP) was observed, suggesting that PAWP and RAP were discordant, and univariate analysis revealed that high PAWP was the only predictor of mortality in HD patients after surgery.Preoperative PAWP with a discordant pattern in HD patients might be an important prognostic predictor after AVR.

Usefulness of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) during transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in women is uncertain. The aim of the present study was to clarify the clinical usefulness of screening for AAA during TTE and to identify important TTE indices associated with AAA in women in a routine clinical setting. We prospectively studied 1,495 women (≥50 years) referred for TTE. AAA was defined as ≥30 mm in size. The additional screening time for AAA was <1 minute. The abdominal aorta was visualized in 95.1 % (1,422 of 1,495) using the same TTE probe. AAA was identified in 1.9% (27 of 1422). The aortic root size was larger in patients with AAA than those without (33.3 ± 3.2 vs 30.5 ± 3.4 mm, p < 0.001). The aortic root size had a correlation with abdominal aortic size (r = 0.22, p < 0.001). The aortic root size of ≥30.3 mm was predictive of AAA (area under the curve = 0.74, p < 0.001) and all patients with AAA had the aortic root size of ≥28.0 mm. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the aortic root size (Odds ratio 1.17, p = 0.007) was a most independent TTE index of AAA. In conclusion, the visibility of the abdominal aorta using TTE probe was excellent. When the aortic root size is ≥28.0 mm during TTE in women ≥50 years of age, screening for AAA should be carried out., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Purpose: We performed box pulmonary vein isolation and the modified Maze procedure using cryoablation (cryo-maze) to eliminate chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) associated with mitral valve disease from 1999 to 2004. This article compares the elimination rate of chronic AF and the postoperative occurrence of new atrial tachycardia after both procedures over a follow-up period of >5 years., Methods: A total of 75 patients were enrolled in the study. Among them, 40 patients underwent box pulmonary vein isolation for chronic AF concomitant with solitary mitral valve surgery. Another 35 patients underwent the cryo-maze procedure for chronic AF concomitantly with both mitral and tricuspid valve surgeries. We evaluated the postoperative AF elimination rate and the occurrence of atrial tachycardia., Results: During a total of 622.5 patient-years of followup, AF disappeared in 26 of 40 (65%) patients after the box pulmonary vein isolation and in 26 of 35 (74%) patients after the cryo-maze procedure at 5 years. Common atrial flutter occurred in 2 of 40 (5.0%) patients after the pulmonary vein isolation procedure. Left atrial tachycardia occurred in 1 (2.9%) and right atrial tachycardia in 1 (2.9%) of 35 patients after the cryo-maze procedure., Conclusion: The cryo-maze procedure was rather effective for eliminating chronic AF associated with both mitral and tricuspid valve disease, but there were a few cases with new atrial tachycardia. The box pulmonary vein isolation was useful in solitary mitral valve cases.

Background: We postulated that chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) associated with mitral valve disease originated from the distended left atrium and is maintained by itself. We had performed a simple left atrial procedure for the elimination of chronic AF associated with mitral valve disease in patients from 1993 to 1998. This paper evaluated the long-term results of the simple left atrial procedure after more than 10 years, and discussed the late occurrence of atrial arrhythmias in relation to the left atrial procedure., Methods: Fifty-two patients were examined after the simple left atrial procedure concomitant with mitral valve surgery retrospectively. We divided the patients into two groups with or without the elimination of AF (AF group and non-AF group). The disappearance of AF was estimated by electrocardiography, and atrial function was estimated by transthoracic echocardiography. The elimination of chronic AF and the recovery of atrial systolic function after surgery were evaluated during more than 10 years of follow-up., Results: In a total of 702.5 patient-years of follow-up (range, 11.3 to 16.1 years; mean, 13.5 ± 3.5 years), AF disappeared in 73% of the patients (38 of 52) at 5 years and in 69% of the patients (36 of 52) at 10 years after the simple left atrial procedure. Among the preoperative and intraoperative variables, a long duration of AF was the only predictive factor for late recurrences of AF (p < 0.05). In the sinus rhythm group, 2 of 36 patients remained in left atrial tachycardia. The final success rate in elimination of AF and atrial tachycardia was 34 of 52 patients (65.3%) at 10 years. An atrial kick was detected in 60% of patients across the mitral valve and in 100% of patients across the tricuspid valve by transthoracic echocardiography., Conclusions: The simple left atrial procedure could terminate chronic AF associated with mitral valve disease and maintain sinus rhythm for more than 10 years in 65% of chronic AF patients. Left atrial tachycardia was a troublesome complication after cryoablation toward mitral valvular annulus. This study shows the long-term results and problems of the simple left atrial procedure for more than 10 years of follow-up., (Copyright © 2010 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)