In recent years，West China Hospital of Sichuan University actively participated in medical assistance and rescue in Wenchuan，Yushu and Lushan earthquakes. However，professional roles of cardiovascular surgeons in medical assistance and rescue in earthquakes remain unclear because of the particularity of cardiovascular surgery, which often affects the assembly of medical assistance and rescue teams. Thus，we need to explore the necessity for cardiovascular surgeons to join medical rescue teams within 72 hours after earthquake. In this article，medical rescue work of cardiovascular surgeons within 72 hours after 2008 “5•12” Wenchuan earthquake and 2013 “4•20” Lushan earthquake is analyzed and compared to identify professional roles of cardiovascular surgeons in medical rescue within 72 hours after earthquake. It is necessary for cardiovascular surgeons to join medical rescue teams within 72 hours after earthquake.
Surgical treatment of atrial septal defect (ASD) mainly includes occlusion or repair under cardiopulmonary bypass. Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation includes transcatheter radiofrequency ablation or Maze surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass. There are many treatments for ASD patients combined with atrial fibrillation, but each has its own advantages and disadvantages. We reported an ASD patient combined with atrial fibrillation treated by totally endoscopic "one-stop" radiofrequency ablation and simultaneous transthoracic ASD occlusion of atrial fibrillation, with good postoperative results.
Baoxing airborne medical team of West China Hospital participated in the medical rescue in 2013 “4?20”Lushan earthquake. The medical team excellently fulfilled their rescue task for 1 week in the earthquake-struck areas where there was power and communication failure and lack of water and food supply. We found some experiences and problems in airbornemedical team assembly and member selection, which may provide quotable experiences for future disaster assistance and rescue teams.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) and breast cancer are common diseases with high incidence, which can be promoted and maintained by a wide range of regulatory factors (changes of hormone secretion, chronic inflammation, dysfunctions in autonomic nervous system, coagulation system and endothelia). There may be a consistent pathophysiological link between the increased incidence of breast cancer and AF, which is currently seldomly reported. The development process of these two diseases are complex, and the occurrence of breast cancer may increase the incidence of AF. In this paper, we reviewed the relationship between breast cancer and AF based on the latest reports.
Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics and management experiences of patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after mitral valve surgery. Methods Thirty patients were followed up and reviewed for this report. There were 1 male and 29 female patients whose ages ranged from 32 to 65 years (47.1±92 years). A total of 28 patients had atrial fibrillation and 2 patients were in sinus rhythm. There were 13 patients of mild TR, 10 patients of moderate TR and 7 patients of severe TR at the first mitral valve surgery. Five patients received the tricuspid annuloplasty of De Vega procedure at the same time, 2 patients received Kay procedure. The predominant presentation of patients included: abdominal discomfort (93.3%, 28/30), edema (66.7%,20/30), palpitation (56.7%, 17/30), and ascites (20%, 6/30). Results Nine patients underwent the secondary surgery for severe TR. The secondary surgery included tricuspid valve replacement (6 cases), mitral and tricuspid valve replacement (2 cases) and Kay procedure (1 case). Eight patients were recovered and discharged and 1 patient died from the bleeding of right atrial incision and low output syndrome. Twentyone patients received medical management and were followed up. One case was lost during followup. Conclusion Surgery or medical management should be based on the clinical characteristics of patients with severe TR after mitral valve surgery. It should be based on the features of tricuspid valve and the clinical experience of surgeon to perform tricuspid annuloplasty or replacement.
This article provides an interpretive review of the "2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS guideline for the diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation", which was updated and published by the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) based on the latest clinical evidence. It delves into the classification and management strategies for atrial fibrillation (AF), grounded in the most current evidence-based medical research. The guideline offers significant updates in various aspects such as the definition and staging of AF, clinical evaluation and treatment, modification of risk factors, prevention of thromboembolism, and management of specific populations. Notably, the introduction of a new staging model for AF and corresponding management strategies stands out, underscoring the importance of prevention and early intervention. This article focuses on the three pillars of integrated AF management—stroke risk assessment, modification of risk factors, and management of specific patient groups, in addition to rate and rhythm control, analyzes their substantial significance in clinical practice and guides clinicians in providing more precise treatment.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. The metabolic changes of atrial myocytes, especially lipid metabolism, have a significant impact on the electrical signals and structural remodeling of atrial tissue, and play an important role in the occurrence and development of AF. The reduction of fatty acid oxidation ratio and increased aerobic glycolysis ratio are characteristic changes of tissue metabolic remodeling in AF. In this review, we will introduce the latest research status of lipid metabolism in AF from aspects of AF metabolism, clinical treatment and diagnosis and prognosis.
With the opening of the two child policy in China, the number of pregnant women has increased. Pregnancy has a huge impact on the cardiovascular system, and heart disease during pregnancy increases the risk of maternal heart failure and death, intrauterine growth retardation, and the risk of complications such as premature birth. Pregnancy with heart disease ranks first among indirect obstetric deaths in China. Reducing maternal mortality is a global goal of the World Health Organization. Thus, to strengthen the prevention and management of patients with critical heart disease during pregnancy is important. However, clinical decision-making and management of pregnant women with heart disease is still controversial. This article combines relevant literature of pregnancy and heart disease published in recent years and reviews of relevant diagnostic and therapeutic methods, to provide clinical reference for pregnant women with heart disease preventive care and management of the whole strategy.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the relationship between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and the risk of atrial fibrillation.MethodsDatabases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM, VIP and WanFang Data were electronically searched to collect cohort studies on associations between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and atrial fibrillation from inception to June 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and evaluated risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 11 studies involving 620 874 subjects and 19 781 cases were included. Meta-analysis showed that subclinical hypothyroidism was not associated with atrial fibrillation (adjusted RR=1.20, 95%CI 0.92 to 1.57, P=0.18) and subclinical hyperthyroidism could increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (adjusted RR=1.65, 95%CI 1.12 to 2.43, P=0.01). Subgroup analysis showed that for the community population, subclinical hypothyroidism was not associated with atrial fibrillation (adjusted RR=1.03, 95%CI 0.84 to 1.26, P=0.81); for cardiac surgery, subclinical hypothyroidism could increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (adjusted RR=2.80, 95%CI 1.51 to 5.19, P=0.001); subclinical hyperthyroidism could increase the risk of atrial fibrillation among patients with TSH≤0.1 mlU/L (adjusted RR=2.06, 95%CI 1.07 to 3.99, P=0.03) and TSH=0.1～0.44 mlU/L (adjusted RR=1.29, 95%CI 1.01 to 1.64, P=0.04). ConclusionsSubclinical hypothyroidism is not associated with atrial fibrillation and subclinical hyperthyroidism can increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. Due to limited quantity and quality of included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify above conclusions.