Unicuspid aortic valve (UAV), which is a rare congenital anomaly, usually presents as aortic stenosis and/or aortic regurgitation. Here we present a case of UAV co-existent with an ascending aortic aneurysm. A 26-year-old male with no significant past medical history presented to the hospital after two episodes of syncope. Transthoracic echocardiogram showed an ejection fraction of 62%, severely stenotic aortic valve, and moderate aortic regurgitation. Computed tomography revealed calcification of the aortic valve, compatible with aortic stenosis and aneurysm of the ascending aorta measuring 4.3 cm in diameter. He underwent successful aortic valve replacement and repair of ascending aortic aneurysm. He recovered well without any complications. This case suggests that any young patient who presents with syncope, aortic stenosis would be a differential and further workup by any available non-invasive modality needs to be performed.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a well-established alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement in high-risk patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. Currently, this technique is shifting towards younger patient groups with intermediate- and low-risk profile, which raises the question about long-term durability. Despite acceptable results up to 5 years, little is currently known about valve performance beyond 5 years. Since valve deterioration, thrombosis and endocarditis seem to be the main factors affecting valve durability, precise and widely accepted definitions of these parameters were stated by the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) in 2017, followed by the Valve in Valve International Data (VIVID) group definitions in 2018 and the Valve Academic Research Consortium 3 (VARC-3) definitions in 2021. Until the introduction of these definitions, interstudy comparisons were difficult due to missing uniformity. Since the release of these recommendations, an increasing number of studies have reported their data on long-term durability using these new criteria. The aim of the present article is to discuss the current definitions on bioprosthetic valve durability, and to summarize the available data on long-term durability of transcatheter aortic valves.

Background: Systemic inflammation can occur after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and correlates with adverse outcome. The impact of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) on TAVR associated systemic inflammation is unknown and was focus of this study. Methods: We performed a prospective controlled trial at a single center and included 66 patients treated with remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) prior to TAVR, who were matched to a control group by propensity score. RIPC was applied to the upper extremity using a conventional tourniquet. Definition of systemic inflammation was based on leucocyte count, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), assessed in the first 5 days following the TAVR procedure. Mortality was determined within 6 months after TAVR. RIPC group and matched control group showed comparable baseline characteristics. Results: Systemic inflammation occurred in 66% of all patients after TAVR. Overall, survival after 6 months was significantly reduced in patients with systemic inflammation. RIPC, in comparison to control, did not significantly alter the plasma levels of leucocyte count, CRP, PCT or IL-6 within the first 5 days after TAVR. Furthermore, inflammation associated survival after 6 months was not improved by RIPC. Of all peri-interventional variables assessed, only the amount of the applied contrast agent was connected to the occurrence of systemic inflammation. Conclusions: Systemic inflammation frequently occurs after TAVR and leads to increased mortality after 6 months. RIPC neither reduces the incidence of systemic inflammation nor improves inflammation associated patient survival within 6 months.

Ces travaux s’inscrivent dans le cadre de la navigation endovasculaire assistée par ordinateur. L’objectif principal est d’étudier et de proposer de nouvelles solutions pour la localisation et le suivi des dispositifs endovasculaires en mouvement par rapport aux structures anatomiques, considérées comme immobiles ou mobiles. Il s’agit à terme de faciliter le geste interventionnel, en maximisant la précision et la fiabilité des procédures, tout en minimisant le recours aux rayons X et au produit de contraste. Les travaux et résultats obtenus concernent : - L’étude d’approches de recalage permettant de fusionner des données 3D pré-opératoires décrivant les structures anatomiques et des données intra-opératoires de localisation 3D électromagnétique (positions d’un cathéter équipé d’un capteur magnétique en son extrémité). Dans le contexte du traitement des anévrismes aortiques abdominaux, deux méthodes de recalage ne nécessitant pas de marqueur externe et exploitant uniquement les trajectoires endovasculaires (avec hypothèse de correspondance totale ou partielle) ont été proposées. Les tests ont été réalisés sur fantôme physique. Bien que la précision de localisation des systèmes électromagnétiques soit encore limitée, ceux-ci pourraient être utilisés pour aider la navigation endovasculaire, comme par exemple, lors du cathétérisme d’artères collatérales. - L’élaboration d’une méthode de tracking des calcifications et de repères dans les séquences d’images fluoroscopiques, dans le contexte des procédures d’implantation endovasculaire de valve aortique (TAVI). Nous avons proposé une méthode de tracking par modèle d’apparence adaptatif (TMAA). L'approche a été évaluée sur 13 séquences fluoroscopiques dans le cadre des procédures TAVI valve native et 5 séquences fluoroscopiques dans le cadre des procédures TAVI valve-in-valve. Elle fournit une erreur de localisation moyenne inférieure à 1 mm et un temps de traitement de 32,23 ms/trame. L’évaluation de cette méthode et son application sur données patients ont permis de montrer la précision et la compatibilité du tracking avec une utilisation clinique. / This work is part of computer-assisted endovascular navigation. The aim of this thesis is to study and to propose new solutions for the localization and the tracking of moving endovascular devices within anatomical structures, which can be considered fixed or moving. The objective is to facilitate the endovascular intervention, by maximizing the accuracy and reliability of procedures, while minimizing the use of X-rays and contrast agents. The works concern : - The study of registration approaches to align pre-operative 3D data describing the anatomical structures and intra-operative 3D electromagnetic data (positions of a catheter equipped with a magnetic sensor at its tip). In the context of the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), two fiducial-free registration methods that exploit only the endovascular trajectories (with total or partial correspondence hypothesis) have been proposed. The tests were performed on an AAA phantom. Although the localization accuracy of electromagnetic systems is still limited, these could be used to assist endovascular navigation (e.g., catheterization of collateral arteries). - The elaboration of a method to track calcifications and markers in fluoroscopic sequences, in the context of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures. We proposed a method of tracking by adaptive appearance model (TMAA). The approach was evaluated on 13 fluoroscopic sequences as part of TAVI native valve procedures and 5 fluoroscopic sequences as part of TAVI valve-in-valve procedures. The average localization error was less than 1 mm and the average processing time was 32.23 ms/frame. The evaluation of this method and its application on patient data has made it possible to show the precision and the compatibility of the tracking with a clinical use.

Calcific aortic valve disease is highly prevalent, especially in the elderly. Currently, the exact mechanism of the calcification process is not completely understood, limiting our ability to prevent or cure the disease. Ex vivo investigations, however, have provided evidence that the aortic valve's biological response is sensitive to mechanical forces, including fluid shear stresses, leading to the hypothesis that adverse fluid shear stress environment play a role in leading to valve calcification. This thesis seeks to investigate this hypothesis. A method for performing experimental measurement of time-varying shear stress on aortic valve leaflets under physiologic flow conditions was first developed, based on the Laser Doppler Velocimetry technique, and was systematically validated. This method was then applied to both the aortic surface and the ventricular surface of a normal tricuspid the aortic valve, and then on a congenital bicuspid aortic valve, using suitable in vitro valve models and an in vitro pulsatile flow loop. It was found that in the tricuspid valve, the peak shear stress on the aortic surface under adult resting condition was approximately 15-19 dyn/cm². Aortic surface shear stresses were elevated during mid- to late-systole, with the development of the sinus vortex, and were low during all other instances. Aortic surface shear stresses were observed to increase with increasing stroke volume and with decreasing heart rate. On the ventricular surface, shear stresses had a systolic peak of approximately 64-71 dyn/cm² under adult resting conditions. During late systole, due to the Womersley effect, shear stresses were observed to reverse in direction to a substantial magnitude for a substantial period of time. Further, it was found that a moderately stenotic bicuspid aortic valve can experience excessive unsteadiness in shear stress experienced by its leaflets, most likely due to the turbulent forward flow resulting from the stenosis, and due to the skewed forward flow. To demonstrate that the measured shear stresses can have an effect on the aortic valve biology, ex vivo experiments were performed in specific to determine the effects of these various shear stress characteristics on the biological response of porcine aortic valve leaflets, using the cone and plate bioreactor. It was found that unsteady shear stress measured in the bicuspid valve resulted in increased calcium accumulation. Further, it was found that low shear stresses and high frequency shear stresses resulted in increased calcium accumulation. Thus, shear stress was found to affect aortic valve pathology, and low and unsteady fluid shear stresses can enhance pathology.

No description available.

As doenças cardíacas são a principal causa de morte em todo o mundo. Os hormônios tireoidianos desempenham um papel chave no metabolismo miocárdico e na fisiologia do sistema cardiovascular. A doença cardíaca aguda ou crônica promove uma queda sistêmica da concentração dos hormônios tireoidianos que se associa a um prognóstico pior da doença e aumento da sua mortalidade. Essa redução dos hormônios tireoidianos pode ocorrer na presença de função normal da tireóide, entidade clínica conhecida por síndrome da doença não-tireoidiana ou síndrome do enfermo eutireoideo (SEE). A participação do músculo cardíaco na patogênese da SEE é desconhecida. O entendimento do papel do músculo cardíaco na SEE é essencial para o tratamento das doenças cardíacas. Este estudo se propõe a avaliar a variação dos hormônios tireoidianos promovida pelo metabolismo cardíaco nos pacientes submetidos a cirurgias cardíacas com diferentes graus de isquemia miocárdica aguda, bem como estudar os principais mecanismos envolvidos nessa variação. Para avaliar a variação sistêmica de hormônios tireoideanos induzida pela cirurgia cardíaca com e sem circulação extracorpórea (CEC), 35 pacientes com estenose aórtica grave e doença coronariana submetidos à cirurgia com CEC e 12 pacientes submetidos à cirurgia de revascularização miocárdica sem CEC tiveram as concentrações sistêmicas dos hormônios tireoidianos dosadas no início do procedimento cirúrgico, imediatamente antes do clampeamento da aorta, 3 minutos após o desclampeamento da aorta, 6 e 24h após o procedimento. Além disso, a avaliação da participação isolada do coração foi feita pela dosagem dos hormônios tireoidianos na raiz da aorta e no seio coronário antes e após a isquemia miocárdica aguda induzida pelo clampeamento da aorta. Foram ainda quantificadas, em amostras do tecido miocárdico colhidas após a CEC, a expressão do gene das desiodades, enzimas responsáveis pela conversão dos hormônios tireoidianos nos tecidos periféricos. Essas medidas sanguíneas foram comparadas, bem como a expressão das desiodases presentes no músculo cardíaco, relacionando a sua expressão à variação transcardíaca dos hormônios tireoidianos. O estudo demonstrou uma queda significativa de 37,6% da concentração periférica de T3 associada a uma elevação de 261,6% do rT3 e manutenção das concentrações séricas de T4 livre ao longo do acompanhamento perioperatório nos três grupos. Os resultados não mostraram diferença da variação periférica dos hormônios tireoidianos entre os grupos. Nas amostras centrais, observou-se uma redução transcardíaca de 4,6% de T3 com incremento de 6,9% do rT3, sem alterações do T4 total no grupo estenose aórtica antes do início da CEC. Esse comportamento, no entanto, não foi visto nos pacientes com doença arterial coronariana antes da CEC. Após cerca de 3 minutos de reperfusão miocárdica depois do término da CEC, as variações de concentração de T3 e de rT3 entre a aorta e o seio coronário se perderam. A análise do mRNA do tecido miocárdico indicou expressão significativa da desiodase tipo III com ausência de expressão da desiodase tipo II nos três grupos, sem diferença significativa entre elas. Dessa forma, pode-se concluir que as cirurgias cardíacas com CEC ou sem CEC estão associadas ao desenvolvimento da SEE e que a intensidade desse distúrbio metabólico é similar nos três tipos de procedimento, independente da CEC. Em relação à contribuição do coração para este fenômeno, a expressão das enzimas relacionadas à síndrome no tecido cardíaco foi observada em todos os grupos estudados, mas somente o grupo estenose aórtica demonstrou variação hormonal transcardíaca pré-CEC, com a isquemia miocárdica possivelmente neutralizando esse efeito após a CEC. É possível que a isquemia crônica provavelmente devido à hipertrofia miocárdica, e não a isquemia aguda causada pela CEC, tenha uma capacidade de modificar as concentrações dos hormônios tireoidianos / Heart diseases are the main cause of death over the world and thyroid hormones are key elements in myocardial metabolism and cardiovascular physiology. In heart disease patients, low thyroid hormone levels lead to a worse prognosis and increase in the mortality, even with regular thyroid function, in a condition known as Euthyroid Sick Syndrome (ESS). There is no evidence that myocardial tissue is involved in ESS pathophysiology. The better understanding of heart role might be important to optimal treatment of heart disease. The current study aims to evaluate thyroid hormones variation induced by myocardial metabolism in patients submitted to several acute myocardial ischemic intensities and study the main mechanisms associated to this condition. To reach this objective, 35 stable severe aortic stenosis coronary artery disease submitted to in-pump cardiac surgery and 12 patients submitted to off-pump myocardial revascularization surgery were analyzed at the procedure beginning, before aortic clamping, 3 minutes after aortic cross-clamp release, six and 24h after procedure by measuring thyroid hormones concentration in systemic circulation. Therefore, cardiac metabolism was evaluated alone by the thyroid hormones concentration measurement in aortic root and coronary sinus just before and after myocardial ischemia induced by aortic clamping, as well the gene expression of thyroid hormones metabolism related enzyme in myocardial tissue samples. There was a significant 37.6% reduction in T3 systemic concentration, a 261.6% elevation in rT3 and no variation in free T4 systemic values during the observation time in three groups. However, there were no statistically differences among the groups. Central analysis showed a 4.6% significant reduction in T3 and 6.9% increase in rT3 in coronary sinus, compared to aortic root, in aortic stenosis group before cardiopulmonary bypass. The same behavior was not observed in coronary artery disease before aortic cross clamping. After cardiopulmonary bypass, no differences were seen in any group. However, Deiodinase Type III, which is responsible for the T3 concentration decrease, gene RNA-m expression was detected in all myocardial tissue biopsies, and the Deiodinase Type II, which produces T3 from T4, was absent in myocardial tissue during the heart surgery. In conclusion, in- or off-pump heart surgeries are associated to similar systemic ESS intensities and to ESS-enzyme related gene expressions in myocardial tissue. However, myocardial metabolism in aortic stenosis patients is able to change thyroid hormones concentrations, probably due to myocardial hypertrophy and chronic ischemia assault, which were no observed in coronary disease patients

No description available.

As doenças cardíacas são a principal causa de morte em todo o mundo. Os hormônios tireoidianos desempenham um papel chave no metabolismo miocárdico e na fisiologia do sistema cardiovascular. A doença cardíaca aguda ou crônica promove uma queda sistêmica da concentração dos hormônios tireoidianos que se associa a um prognóstico pior da doença e aumento da sua mortalidade. Essa redução dos hormônios tireoidianos pode ocorrer na presença de função normal da tireóide, entidade clínica conhecida por síndrome da doença não-tireoidiana ou síndrome do enfermo eutireoideo (SEE). A participação do músculo cardíaco na patogênese da SEE é desconhecida. O entendimento do papel do músculo cardíaco na SEE é essencial para o tratamento das doenças cardíacas. Este estudo se propõe a avaliar a variação dos hormônios tireoidianos promovida pelo metabolismo cardíaco nos pacientes submetidos a cirurgias cardíacas com diferentes graus de isquemia miocárdica aguda, bem como estudar os principais mecanismos envolvidos nessa variação. Para avaliar a variação sistêmica de hormônios tireoideanos induzida pela cirurgia cardíaca com e sem circulação extracorpórea (CEC), 35 pacientes com estenose aórtica grave e doença coronariana submetidos à cirurgia com CEC e 12 pacientes submetidos à cirurgia de revascularização miocárdica sem CEC tiveram as concentrações sistêmicas dos hormônios tireoidianos dosadas no início do procedimento cirúrgico, imediatamente antes do clampeamento da aorta, 3 minutos após o desclampeamento da aorta, 6 e 24h após o procedimento. Além disso, a avaliação da participação isolada do coração foi feita pela dosagem dos hormônios tireoidianos na raiz da aorta e no seio coronário antes e após a isquemia miocárdica aguda induzida pelo clampeamento da aorta. Foram ainda quantificadas, em amostras do tecido miocárdico colhidas após a CEC, a expressão do gene das desiodades, enzimas responsáveis pela conversão dos hormônios tireoidianos nos tecidos periféricos. Essas medidas sanguíneas foram comparadas, bem como a expressão das desiodases presentes no músculo cardíaco, relacionando a sua expressão à variação transcardíaca dos hormônios tireoidianos. O estudo demonstrou uma queda significativa de 37,6% da concentração periférica de T3 associada a uma elevação de 261,6% do rT3 e manutenção das concentrações séricas de T4 livre ao longo do acompanhamento perioperatório nos três grupos. Os resultados não mostraram diferença da variação periférica dos hormônios tireoidianos entre os grupos. Nas amostras centrais, observou-se uma redução transcardíaca de 4,6% de T3 com incremento de 6,9% do rT3, sem alterações do T4 total no grupo estenose aórtica antes do início da CEC. Esse comportamento, no entanto, não foi visto nos pacientes com doença arterial coronariana antes da CEC. Após cerca de 3 minutos de reperfusão miocárdica depois do término da CEC, as variações de concentração de T3 e de rT3 entre a aorta e o seio coronário se perderam. A análise do mRNA do tecido miocárdico indicou expressão significativa da desiodase tipo III com ausência de expressão da desiodase tipo II nos três grupos, sem diferença significativa entre elas. Dessa forma, pode-se concluir que as cirurgias cardíacas com CEC ou sem CEC estão associadas ao desenvolvimento da SEE e que a intensidade desse distúrbio metabólico é similar nos três tipos de procedimento, independente da CEC. Em relação à contribuição do coração para este fenômeno, a expressão das enzimas relacionadas à síndrome no tecido cardíaco foi observada em todos os grupos estudados, mas somente o grupo estenose aórtica demonstrou variação hormonal transcardíaca pré-CEC, com a isquemia miocárdica possivelmente neutralizando esse efeito após a CEC. É possível que a isquemia crônica provavelmente devido à hipertrofia miocárdica, e não a isquemia aguda causada pela CEC, tenha uma capacidade de modificar as concentrações dos hormônios tireoidianos / Heart diseases are the main cause of death over the world and thyroid hormones are key elements in myocardial metabolism and cardiovascular physiology. In heart disease patients, low thyroid hormone levels lead to a worse prognosis and increase in the mortality, even with regular thyroid function, in a condition known as Euthyroid Sick Syndrome (ESS). There is no evidence that myocardial tissue is involved in ESS pathophysiology. The better understanding of heart role might be important to optimal treatment of heart disease. The current study aims to evaluate thyroid hormones variation induced by myocardial metabolism in patients submitted to several acute myocardial ischemic intensities and study the main mechanisms associated to this condition. To reach this objective, 35 stable severe aortic stenosis coronary artery disease submitted to in-pump cardiac surgery and 12 patients submitted to off-pump myocardial revascularization surgery were analyzed at the procedure beginning, before aortic clamping, 3 minutes after aortic cross-clamp release, six and 24h after procedure by measuring thyroid hormones concentration in systemic circulation. Therefore, cardiac metabolism was evaluated alone by the thyroid hormones concentration measurement in aortic root and coronary sinus just before and after myocardial ischemia induced by aortic clamping, as well the gene expression of thyroid hormones metabolism related enzyme in myocardial tissue samples. There was a significant 37.6% reduction in T3 systemic concentration, a 261.6% elevation in rT3 and no variation in free T4 systemic values during the observation time in three groups. However, there were no statistically differences among the groups. Central analysis showed a 4.6% significant reduction in T3 and 6.9% increase in rT3 in coronary sinus, compared to aortic root, in aortic stenosis group before cardiopulmonary bypass. The same behavior was not observed in coronary artery disease before aortic cross clamping. After cardiopulmonary bypass, no differences were seen in any group. However, Deiodinase Type III, which is responsible for the T3 concentration decrease, gene RNA-m expression was detected in all myocardial tissue biopsies, and the Deiodinase Type II, which produces T3 from T4, was absent in myocardial tissue during the heart surgery. In conclusion, in- or off-pump heart surgeries are associated to similar systemic ESS intensities and to ESS-enzyme related gene expressions in myocardial tissue. However, myocardial metabolism in aortic stenosis patients is able to change thyroid hormones concentrations, probably due to myocardial hypertrophy and chronic ischemia assault, which were no observed in coronary disease patients

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Atherosclerotic lesions of human beings are common diagnosed in regions of arte- rial branching and curvature. The prevalence of atherosclerosis is usually associated with hardening and ballooning of aortic wall surfaces because of narrowing of flow path by the deposition of fatty materials, platelets and influx of plasma through in- timal wall of Aorta. High Wall Shear Stress (WSS) is proved to be the main cause behind all these aortic diseases by physicians and researchers. Due to the fact that the atherosclerotic regions are associated with complex blood flow patterns, it has believed that hemodynamics and fluid-structure interaction play important roles in regulating atherogenesis. As one of the most complex flow situations found in cardio- vascular system due to the strong curvature effects, irregular geometry, tapering and branching, and twisting, theoretical prediction and in vivo quantitative experimental data regarding to the complex blood flow dynamics are substantial paucity. In recent years, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has emerged as a popular research tool to study the characteristics of aortic flow and aim to enhance the understanding of the underlying physics behind arteriosclerosis. In this research, we study the hemo- dynamics and flow-vessel interaction in patient specific normal (healthy) and dilated (diseased) aortas using Ansys-Fluent and Ansys-Workbench. The computation con- sists of three parts: segmentation of arterial geometry for the CFD simulation from computed tomography (CT) scanning data using MIMICS; finite volume simulation of hemodynamics of steady and pulsatile flow using Ansys-Fluent; an attempt to perform the Fluid Structure Simulation of the normal aorta using Ansys-Workbench. Instead of neglecting the branching or smoothing out the wall for simplification as a lot of similar computation in literature, we use the exact aortic geometry. Segmen- tation from real time CT images from two patients, one young and another old to represent healthy and diseased aorta respectively, is on MIMICS. The MIMICS seg- mentation operation includes: first cropping the required part of aorta from CT dicom data of the whole chest, masking of the aorta from coronal, axial and saggital views of the same to extract the exact 3D geometry of the aorta. Next step was to perform surface improvement using MIMICS 3-matic module to repair for holes, noise shells and overlapping triangles to create a good quality surface of the geometry. A hexahe- dral volume mesh was created in T-Grid. Since T-grid cannot recognize the geometry format created by MIMICS 3-matic; the required step geometry file was created in Pro-Engineer. After the meshing operation is performed, the mesh is exported to Ansys Fluent to perform the required fluid simulation imposing adequate boundary conditions accordingly. Two types of study are performed for hemodynamics. First is a steady flow driven by specified parabolic velocity at inlet. We captured the flow feature such as skewness of velocity around the aortic arch regions and vortices pairs, which are in good agreement with open data in literature. Second is a pulsatile flow. Two pulsatile velocity profiles are imposed at the inlet of healthy and diseased aorta respectively. The pulsatile analysis was accomplished for peak systolic, mid systolic and diastolic phase of the entire cardiac cycle. During peak systole and mid-systole, high WSS was found at the aortic branch roots and arch regions and diastole resulted in flow reversals and low WSS values due to small aortic inflow. In brief, areas of sudden geometry change, i.e. the branch roots and irregular surfaces of the geom- etry experience more WSS. Also it was found that dilated aorta has more sporadic nature of WSS in different regions than normal aorta which displays a more uniform WSS distribution all over the aorta surface. Fluid-Structure Interaction simulation is performed on Ansys-WorkBench through the coupling of fluid dynamics and solid mechanics. Focus is on the maximum displacement and equivalent stress to find out the future failure regions for the peak velocity of the cardiac cycle.