Thoracic Key

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen After recovery from an initial episode of rheumatic fever, approximately 60 to 65% of patients will develop heart valve disease (rheumatic heart disease, RHD) and possibly…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is a complication of ischemic or dilated cardiomyopathy, occurring secondary to left ventricular (LV) geometrical distortion from tenting, inferobasilar migration, apical displacement,…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Advances in computed tomography (CT) technology have revolutionized the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. CT has dramatically reduced, and for some clinical scenarios eliminated, the need for…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The aortic valve (AV) is a semilunar valve positioned at the end of the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) between the left ventricle and aorta. Proper…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The most common heart valve affected by infective endocarditis (IE) is the aortic valve. Fortunately, significant progress has been made in our understanding and management of…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The history of percutaneous treatment of aortic valve disease began with the work of Danish researcher, H.R. Andersen, who in the late 1980s experimented in an…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Coronary artery reoperations are more complicated than primary operations. Patients undergoing reoperations have distinct, more dangerous pathologies; reoperations are technically more difficult to perform; and the…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Despite the increased prevalence of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to treat coronary disease, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) will continue to have a major role, particularly…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen At its height, the success of surgical coronary revascularization spurred improvement in catheter-based technology—first for imaging quality, and later for attempted therapy. In 1974, Andreas Gruentzig…

INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the single largest killer of Americans, accounting for almost half a million deaths per year. It imposes a particular burden on…