Schaff, Hartzell

Background— Most patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot require pulmonary valve replacement (PVR), but the evaluation for and management of ventricular arrhythmia remain unclear. This study is aimed at clarifying the optimal approach to this potentially life-threatening issue at the time of PVR. Methods and Results— A retrospective analysis was performed on 205 patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot undergoing PVR at our institution between 1988 and 2010. Median age was 32.9 (range, 25.6) years. Previous ventricular tachycardia occurred in 16 patients (8%) and 37 (16%) had left ventricular dysfunction, defined as left ventricular ejection fraction <50%. Surgical right ventricular outflow tract cryoablation was performed in 22 patients (10.7%). The primary outcome was a combined event including ventricular tachycardia, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy, and sudden cardiac death. Freedom from the combined event at 5, 10, and 15 years was 95%, 90%, and 79%, respectively. In the first year after PVR, 2 events occurred. Conversely, in the 22 patients who underwent surgical cryoablation, a single event occurred 7 years after PVR. A history of ventricular tachycardia and left ventricular dysfunction was associated with higher risk for the combined event (hazard ratio, 4.7; P =0.004 and hazard ratio, 0.8; P =0.02, respectively). Conclusions— Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot undergoing PVR with history of ventricular tachycardia or left ventricular dysfunction appear to be associated with a higher risk of arrhythmic events after operation. Events in the first year after PVR are rare, and in select high-risk patients, surgical cryoablation does not seem to increase arrhythmic events and may be protective.

Objective: To compare the safety and effectiveness of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) versus conventional median sternotomy (open) in the repair of secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) or patent foramen ovale (PFO). Design: Among 415 consecutive patients undergoing open or VATS ASD/PFO closure between 1993 and October 2012, 153 patients were compared using 2:1 frequency matching (n = 102 open vs 51 VATS). Matching variables include age, gender, body surface area, past medical history of neurologic events, and need of patch closure. Median age was 43 years (3-71 years), and 67% were female. Results: There were no early deaths in either group. There were no conversions to open sternotomy. Although mean cross-clamp time (14.5 ± 7.6 vs 26.3 ± 13.2 minutes, P < .001) and bypass time (31.7 ± 13.8 vs 60.9 ± 20.9 minutes, P < .001) were longer in the VATS group, patients who underwent VATS had shorter postoperative ventilation time (7.5 ± 6.4 vs 4.4 ± 2.8 hours, P = .03) with 62.7% extubated in the operating room, along with shorter intensive care unit stay (26.7 ± 10.8 vs 19.1 ± 9.9 hours, P < .001) and hospital stay (5.2 ± 1.9 vs 3.5 ± 0.9 days, P < .001). At early follow-up (mean 1.5 years, maximum 4.2 years), there was no difference in need for reintervention. Of the 27 patients who underwent VATS ASD/PFO closure for a neurologic event, none had a recurrence. Conclusion: The use of VATS provides a safe, equally effective alternative to conventional sternotomy for ASD/PFO closure, using a less invasive approach.

Background— Constrictive pericarditis is a potentially reversible cause of heart failure that may be difficult to differentiate from restrictive myocardial disease and severe tricuspid regurgitation. Echocardiography provides an important opportunity to evaluate for constrictive pericarditis, and definite diagnostic criteria are needed. Methods and Results— Patients with surgically confirmed constrictive pericarditis (n=130) at Mayo Clinic (2008–2010) were compared with patients (n=36) diagnosed with restrictive myocardial disease or severe tricuspid regurgitation after constrictive pericarditis was considered but ruled out. Comprehensive echocardiograms were reviewed in blinded fashion. Five principal echocardiographic variables were selected based on prior studies and potential for clinical use: (1) respiration-related ventricular septal shift, (2) variation in mitral inflow E velocity, (3) medial mitral annular e' velocity, (4) ratio of medial mitral annular e' to lateral e', and (5) hepatic vein expiratory diastolic reversal ratio. All 5 principal variables differed significantly between the groups. In patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter (n=29), all but mitral inflow velocity remained significantly different. Three variables were independently associated with constrictive pericarditis: (1) ventricular septal shift, (2) medial mitral e', and (3) hepatic vein expiratory diastolic reversal ratio. The presence of ventricular septal shift in combination with either medial e'≥9 cm/s or hepatic vein expiratory diastolic reversal ratio ≥0.79 corresponded to a desirable combination of sensitivity (87%) and specificity (91%). The specificity increased to 97% when all 3 factors were present, but the sensitivity decreased to 64%. Conclusions— Echocardiography allows differentiation of constrictive pericarditis from restrictive myocardial disease and severe tricuspid regurgitation. Respiration-related ventricular septal shift, preserved or increased medial mitral annular e' velocity, and prominent hepatic vein expiratory diastolic flow reversals are independently associated with the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis.

Background— Cardiac manifestations of Marfan syndrome include aortic root dilation and mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Only scant data exist describing MVP in patients with Marfan syndrome undergoing aortic root replacement. Methods and Results— We retrospectively analyzed data from 166 MFS patients with MVP who were enrolled in a prospective multicenter registry of patients who underwent aortic root aneurysm repair. Of these 166 patients, 9% had mitral regurgitation (MR) grade >2, and 10% had MR grade 2. The severity of MVP and MR was evaluated by echocardiography preoperatively and ≤3 years postoperatively. Forty-one patients (25%) underwent composite graft aortic valve replacement, and 125 patients (75%) underwent aortic valve–sparing procedures; both groups had similar prevalences of MR grade >2 ( P =0.7). Thirty-three patients (20%) underwent concomitant mitral valve (MV) intervention (repair, n=29; replacement, n=4), including all 15 patients with MR grade >2. Only 1 patient required MV reintervention during follow-up (mean clinical follow-up, 31±10 months). Echocardiography performed 21±13 months postoperatively revealed MR >2 in only 3 patients (2%). One early death and 2 late deaths occurred. Conclusions— Although the majority of patients with Marfan syndrome who undergo elective aortic root replacement have MVP, only 20% have concomitant MV procedures. These concomitant procedures do not seem to increase operative risk. In patients with MR grade ≤2 who do not undergo a concomitant MV procedure, the short-term incidence of progressive MR is low; however, more follow-up is needed to determine whether patients with MVP and MR grade ≤2 would benefit from prophylactic MV intervention.

Objective Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is associated with a higher risk of type A aortic dissection (AD) compared with tricuspid aortic valve (TAV). We sought to study differences between patients with BAV and TAV with AD. Design and setting Observational descriptive analysis of clinical, imaging and pathological characteristics of all patients with confirmed BAV and AD from 1980–2010, compared with a consecutive TAV group with AD. Results Of 47 patients with BAV (mean age 58±14, 77% male), 31 (66%) had acute AD, 16 (34%) had chronic AD, 40 (85%) had typical BAV, 32 (68%) had hypertension and 11 (23%) had previous aortic coarctation repair. Of 53 patients with TAV (mean age 66±13 (p=0.007), 76% male), 34 (66%) had acute AD (p=1.0) and 46 (87%) had hypertension (p=0.03). More patients with BAV had known aortic dilatation prior to AD (49% versus 17%, p=0.001). Presentation symptoms were identical between groups (p=NS). Maximal ascending aortic diameter at AD was higher in patients with BAV (66±15 mm vs 56±11 mm, p=0.0004). Previous aortic valve replacement (AVR) was more common in BAV (23% vs 6%, p=0.02). Of 11 patients with BAV with previous isolated AVR, 7 had ≥moderate ascending aorta dilatation at the time of surgery. Patients with BAV had increased aortic jet velocity (28% vs 10%) and more severe aortic stenosis (19% vs 0%) at presentation (p=0.04 and 0.002, respectively). In acute AD, aortic medial degeneration affected 75% of BAV specimens and 41% TAV specimens (p=0.01) while aortic atherosclerosis was more frequent in TAV (56% vs 26%, p=0.02). Conclusions Compared with patients with TAV, patients with BAV with type A AD are younger, have less hypertension, more valve stenosis and previous AVR, higher maximal aortic dimension, worse aortic medial degeneration, high prevalence of aortic coarctation, and 1 out of 2 have known aortic dilatation prior to AD. Implementation of current guidelines could have theoretically prevented AD in several patients with BAV.