Aortic Valve Stenosis
A pathological constriction that can occur above (supravalvular stenosis), below (subvalvular stenosis), or at the AORTIC VALVE. It is characterized by restricted outflow from the LEFT VENTRICLE into the AORTA.
Aortic Valve
The valve between the left ventricle and the ascending aorta which prevents backflow into the left ventricle.
Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation
Surgical insertion of synthetic material to repair injured or diseased heart valves.
Heart Valve Prosthesis
A device that substitutes for a heart valve. It may be composed of biological material (BIOPROSTHESIS) and/or synthetic material.
Cardiac Catheterization
Aortic Valve Insufficiency
Pathological condition characterized by the backflow of blood from the ASCENDING AORTA back into the LEFT VENTRICLE, leading to regurgitation. It is caused by diseases of the AORTIC VALVE or its surrounding tissue (aortic root).
Bloodless Medical and Surgical Procedures
Heart Valve Diseases
Pathological conditions involving any of the various HEART VALVES and the associated structures (PAPILLARY MUSCLES and CHORDAE TENDINEAE).
Bioprosthesis
Prosthesis, usually heart valve, composed of biological material and whose durability depends upon the stability of the material after pretreatment, rather than regeneration by host cell ingrowth. Durability is achieved 1, mechanically by the interposition of a cloth, usually polytetrafluoroethylene, between the host and the graft, and 2, chemically by stabilization of the tissue by intermolecular linking, usually with glutaraldehyde, after removal of antigenic components, or the use of reconstituted and restructured biopolymers.
Severity of Illness Index
Treatment Outcome
Pulmonary Valve Stenosis
The pathologic narrowing of the orifice of the PULMONARY VALVE. This lesion restricts blood outflow from the RIGHT VENTRICLE to the PULMONARY ARTERY. When the trileaflet valve is fused into an imperforate membrane, the blockage is complete.
Mitral Valve Stenosis
Narrowing of the passage through the MITRAL VALVE due to FIBROSIS, and CALCINOSIS in the leaflets and chordal areas. This elevates the left atrial pressure which, in turn, raises pulmonary venous and capillary pressure leading to bouts of DYSPNEA and TACHYCARDIA during physical exertion. RHEUMATIC FEVER is its primary cause.
Patient Selection
Echocardiography
Catheterization
Risk Assessment
Mitral Valve Insufficiency
Backflow of blood from the LEFT VENTRICLE into the LEFT ATRIUM due to imperfect closure of the MITRAL VALVE. This can lead to mitral valve regurgitation.
Tricuspid Valve Stenosis
The pathologic narrowing of the orifice of the TRICUSPID VALVE. This hinders the emptying of RIGHT ATRIUM leading to elevated right atrial pressure and systemic venous congestion. Tricuspid valve stenosis is almost always due to RHEUMATIC FEVER.
Tricuspid Valve
Echocardiography, Transesophageal
Risk Factors
Echocardiography, Doppler
Balloon Valvuloplasty
Endocarditis, Bacterial
Inflammation of the ENDOCARDIUM caused by BACTERIA that entered the bloodstream. The strains of bacteria vary with predisposing factors, such as CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS; HEART VALVE DISEASES; HEART VALVE PROSTHESIS IMPLANTATION; or intravenous drug use.
Endocarditis
Inflammation of the inner lining of the heart (ENDOCARDIUM), the continuous membrane lining the four chambers and HEART VALVES. It is often caused by microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and rickettsiae. Left untreated, endocarditis can damage heart valves and become life-threatening.
Follow-Up Studies
Prospective Studies
Aortic Valve Prolapse
The downward displacement of the cuspal or pointed end of the trileaflet AORTIC VALVE causing misalignment of the cusps. Severe valve distortion can cause leakage and allow the backflow of blood from the ASCENDING AORTA back into the LEFT VENTRICLE, leading to aortic regurgitation.
Hemodynamics
Reoperation
Cardiac Valve Annuloplasty
A type of heart valve surgery that involves the repair, replacement, or reconstruction of the annuli of HEART VALVES. It includes shortening the circumference of the annulus to improve valve closing capacity and reinforcing the annulus as a step in more complex valve repairs.
Postoperative Complications
Echocardiography, Doppler, Color
Retrospective Studies
Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.
Prosthesis Fitting
Aortic Aneurysm
An abnormal balloon- or sac-like dilatation in the wall of AORTA.
Angiodysplasia
Acquired degenerative dilation or expansion (ectasia) of normal BLOOD VESSELS, often associated with aging. They are isolated, tortuous, thin-walled vessels and sources of bleeding. They occur most often in mucosal capillaries of the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT leading to GASTROINTESTINAL HEMORRHAGE and ANEMIA.
Rheumatic Heart Disease
Cardiac manifestation of systemic rheumatological conditions, such as RHEUMATIC FEVER. Rheumatic heart disease can involve any part the heart, most often the HEART VALVES and the ENDOCARDIUM.
Sternum
Prosthesis Failure
Ventricular Function, Left
Chi-Square Distribution
A distribution in which a variable is distributed like the sum of the squares of any given independent random variable, each of which has a normal distribution with mean of zero and variance of one. The chi-square test is a statistical test based on comparison of a test statistic to a chi-square distribution. The oldest of these tests are used to detect whether two or more population distributions differ from one another.
Stroke Volume
Heart Ventricles
Cardiopulmonary Bypass
Diversion of the flow of blood from the entrance of the right atrium directly to the aorta (or femoral artery) via an oxygenator thus bypassing both the heart and lungs.
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
A condition caused by underdevelopment of the whole left half of the heart. It is characterized by hypoplasia of the left cardiac chambers (HEART ATRIUM; HEART VENTRICLE), the AORTA, the AORTIC VALVE, and the MITRAL VALVE. Severe symptoms appear in early infancy when DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS closes.
Sternotomy
Making an incision in the STERNUM.
Mitral Valve Prolapse
Abnormal protrusion or billowing of one or both of the leaflets of MITRAL VALVE into the LEFT ATRIUM during SYSTOLE. This allows the backflow of blood into left atrium leading to MITRAL VALVE INSUFFICIENCY; SYSTOLIC MURMURS; or CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA.
Carotid Stenosis
Narrowing or stricture of any part of the CAROTID ARTERIES, most often due to atherosclerotic plaque formation. Ulcerations may form in atherosclerotic plaques and induce THROMBUS formation. Platelet or cholesterol emboli may arise from stenotic carotid lesions and induce a TRANSIENT ISCHEMIC ATTACK; CEREBROVASCULAR ACCIDENT; or temporary blindness (AMAUROSIS FUGAX). (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp 822-3)
Mitral Valve Annuloplasty
A type of heart valve surgery that involves the repair, replacement, or reconstruction of the annulus of the MITRAL VALVE. It includes shortening the circumference of the annulus to improve valve closing capacity and reinforcing the annulus as a step in more complex valve repairs.
Heart Defects, Congenital
Ventricular Dysfunction, Left
A condition in which the LEFT VENTRICLE of the heart was functionally impaired. This condition usually leads to HEART FAILURE; MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION; and other cardiovascular complications. Diagnosis is made by measuring the diminished ejection fraction and a depressed level of motility of the left ventricular wall.
Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency
Backflow of blood from the RIGHT VENTRICLE into the RIGHT ATRIUM due to imperfect closure of the TRICUSPID VALVE.
Heart Arrest, Induced
Suture Techniques
Thoracic Surgery
A surgical specialty concerned with diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the heart, lungs, and esophagus. Two major types of thoracic surgery are classified as pulmonary and cardiovascular.
Multidetector Computed Tomography
Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive
Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular
Ventricular Outflow Obstruction
Coronary Artery Bypass
Surgical therapy of ischemic coronary artery disease achieved by grafting a section of saphenous vein, internal mammary artery, or other substitute between the aorta and the obstructed coronary artery distal to the obstructive lesion.
Predictive Value of Tests
In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.
Blood Flow Velocity
Heart Valves
Flaps of tissue that prevent regurgitation of BLOOD from the HEART VENTRICLES to the HEART ATRIA or from the PULMONARY ARTERIES or AORTA to the ventricles.
Dilatation, Pathologic
Sinus of Valsalva
The dilatation of the aortic wall behind each of the cusps of the aortic valve.
Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional
Echocardiography amplified by the addition of depth to the conventional two-dimensional ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY visualizing only the length and width of the heart. Three-dimensional ultrasound imaging was first described in 1961 but its application to echocardiography did not take place until 1974. (Mayo Clin Proc 1993;68:221-40)
Venous Valves
Phonocardiography
Graphic registration of the heart sounds picked up as vibrations and transformed by a piezoelectric crystal microphone into a varying electrical output according to the stresses imposed by the sound waves. The electrical output is amplified by a stethograph amplifier and recorded by a device incorporated into the electrocardiograph or by a multichannel recording machine.
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Pericardium
A conical fibro-serous sac surrounding the HEART and the roots of the great vessels (AORTA; VENAE CAVAE; PULMONARY ARTERY). Pericardium consists of two sacs: the outer fibrous pericardium and the inner serous pericardium. The latter consists of an outer parietal layer facing the fibrous pericardium, and an inner visceral layer (epicardium) resting next to the heart, and a pericardial cavity between these two layers.
Chordae Tendineae
The tendinous cords that connect each cusp of the two atrioventricular HEART VALVES to appropriate PAPILLARY MUSCLES in the HEART VENTRICLES, preventing the valves from reversing themselves when the ventricles contract.
Feasibility Studies
Aortic Diseases
Pathological processes involving any part of the AORTA.