ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility, safety and effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation with mitral valve replacement under totally thoracoscopic surgery.MethodsThe clinical data of 107 patients with rheumatic mitral disease and atrial fibrillation who underwent mitral valve replacement and radiofrequency ablation at the same time in our hospital from January 2014 to October 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: a totally thoracoscopic surgery group (n=51, including 20 males and 31 females, aged 50.57±5.24 years) and a median sternotomy group (n=56, including 21 males and 35 females, aged 52.12±5.59 years) according to the surgical methods. The preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative data of the patients were compared.ResultsAll operations were successfully completed without death. In terms of bleeding volume, drainage volume, ventilator-assisted breathing time, hospital stay and incision length, the totally thoracoscopic surgery group was better than the median sternotomy group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The cardiopulmonary bypass time and radiofrequency ablation time in the totally thoracoscopic surgery group were longer than those in the median sternotomy group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the operation time, aortic occlusion time, postoperative complications, left ventricular ejection fraction, left atrial diameter and sinus rhythm maintenance between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no atrioventricular block, pulmonary vein stenosis, atrioesophageal fistula, coronary artery injury, stroke or hemorrhage during the follow-up.ConclusionRadiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation with mitral valve replacement under totally thoracoscopic surgery is safe and effective, and it is worthy of clinical application.
ObjectiveTo investigate the risk or protective factors for systemic embolism (SE) in patients undergoing bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement (MVR). Methods Between October 2002 and March 2013, a total of 146 patients underwent bioprosthetic MVR. There were 78 females and 68 males with mean age of 66.23±5.17 years. The primary reason of mitral valve disease was mitral valve degeneration or mitral valve leaflet prolapse in 40 patients, rheumatic heart valve disease in 101 patients, ischemic heart disease in 3 patients, infectious endocarditis in 1 patient, and mechanical peri-valvular leak in 1 patient. All patients were given anticoagulation therapy with warfarin for 3 months. Thereafter, antithrombotic medication was prescribed according to the surgeon's preference. The patients were followed up by telephone or mail for postoperative condition and SE events. ResultsSixteen (10.96%) patients developed SE events, including cerebral infarction in 13 cases, transient ischemic attack (TIA) in 2 cases and spleen infarction in 1 case. A total of 16 patients died during follow-up. The 1-year, 3-year, 5-year and 10-year cumulative survival rate after surgery was 95.2%, 93.6%, 92.5% and 88.3% respectively. Patients with SE events had lower rate of left atrial appendage obliteration than those without SE events (25.0% vs. 78.6%, P=0.015). Multivariate analysis showed that left atrial appendage obliteration was an independent protective factor for SE in patients undergoing bioprosthetic MVR (P=0.041). ConclusionLeft atrial appendage obliteration is a major protective factor for systemic embolism in patients undergoing bioprosthetic MVR no matter what antithrombotic medication is taken.
Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of mitral valve repair technique in the treatment of rheumatic mitral valve lesions. Methods The clinical data of patients diagnosed with rheumatic mitral valve lesions and undergoing mitral valve repair under extracorporeal circulation in our department from 2021 to 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Results A total of 100 patients were collected, including 78 females and 22 males with an average age of 52 years. There were no secondary open heart or death in the whole group. Extracorporeal circulation time was 136.3±33.1 min, aortic cross-clamping time was 107.6±27.5 min, ventilator use time was 12.9±5.9 h, ICU stay was 2.6±1.4 d, and vasoactive medication use was 823.4±584.4 mg. Before and after the surgery, there were statistical differences in the left ventricular end diastolic diameter, left atrial end systolic diameter, effective mitral valve orifice area, shortening rate of left ventricular short axis, mitral E-peak blood flow velocity, mean mitral transvalvular pressure difference, mitral pressure half-time, and cardiac function graded by New York Heart Association (P＜0.05). While there was no statistical difference in left ventricular ejection fraction or left ventricular end-diastolic volume (P>0.05). Conclusion Overall repair of rheumatic mitral valve lesions can significantly improve the cardiac function and hemodynamics of the patients, and is a good choice for patients with rheumatic mitral valve lesions.
Over the past 20 years, transcatheter mitral valve edge-to-edge repair (TEER) has become an important treatment option for patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) who are at high surgical risk. Initially, several landmark clinical studies established the basis of TEER for primary and secondary MR, but they only involved clinically stable patients with appropriate mitral valve anatomy. With the increasing experience of interventional therapy, the iteration of equipment and the improvement of intraoperative imaging technology, the scope of use of TEER has been continuously expanded, and its indications have been continuously expanded to more complex mitral valve lesions and clinical situations. Therefore, in clinical practice, selecting the appropriate device according to the individual anatomical characteristics of the patient can minimize MR and complications, thereby optimizing immediate and long-term prognosis. This article mainly introduces the pathogenesis and related mechanisms of MR, the main TEER devices and their clinical evidence, the limitations of TEER, and the future development direction.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the changes of left ventricular structure and function by echocardiography and its grading of left ventricular diastolic function in patients with mitral valve prolapse treated by minimally invasive mitral valve repair.MethodsBy retrospective analysis, 37 patients including 25 males and 12 females aged 53.49±11.02 years with mitral valve prolapse who underwent minimally invasive mitral valve repair were as an operation group, and 34 healthy persons including 19 males and 15 females aged 54.26±8.33 years matched by age and sex were selected as a control group. Ultrasound parameters of every participant were routinely collected before operation, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after operation, and left ventricular diastolic function was graded. The ultrasound parameters between the two groups were compared.ResultsThe diameters of left ventricular end systolic and diastolic phase, left atrial diameter and left ventricular volume in the operation group were significantly smaller than those before operation. The diameters of left ventricle and left atrium after operation were significantly shorter than those before operation, but they were still larger than those of the control group. The ejection fraction value decreased significantly at one month after the operation and then returned to normal level. The incidence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction at 6 months and 1 year after operation was significantly lower than that before operation (P<0.05).ConclusionMinimally invasive repair for patients with mitral valve prolapse can significantly improve systolic and diastolic functions of left ventricle while reconstructing left atrial and left ventricular structures.
Mitral valve regurgitation is one of the most common heart valve diseases, of which secondary mitral valve regurgitation (sMR) has large proportion and poor prognosis. For patients who still have symptoms after the guideline-directed management and therapy, the effects of surgery are controversial, and transcatheter therapy provides a new option. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair has become one of the recommended therapies by the guidelines, meanwhile transcatheter mitral valve annuloplasty and transcatheter mitral valve replacement are developing. However, the etiological mechanism of sMR is complex and diverse. There is an interaction between cardiac function and structure and sMR in dynamic change. It brings challenges to the selection of indicators and evaluation timing. The complex anatomical structure also makes it more difficult to design instruments and select surgical methods. This paper reviews the challenges and progress of transcatheter therapy for sMR.
Mitral regurgitation has high morbidity and mortality. The application of transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TEER) has provided more options for the management of primary and secondary mitral regurgitation. With the accumulation of operator experience, the improvement of equipment, and the optimization of intraoperative imaging, TEER can be applied to more complex or critically ill patients. The incidence of TEER-related adverse events is low, but some complications that may occur are potentially dangerous. TEER-related complications and their treatment methods are the guarantee of safe and effective operation. This article discusses the main possible complications of TEER and the corresponding management strategies.
American College of Cardiology (ACC) issued the updated expert consensus decision pathway on the management of mitral regurgitation in April 2020. The whole process in caring patients with mitral valve regurgitation from patient evaluation to treatment choice was discussed in the consensus. The main change from the 2017 version is the confirmation of the effect of transcatheter mitral valve repair on secondary mitral regurgitation. It standardized the process in this field. In this paper, we aimed to introduce the focus update of this consensus.
Ischemic mitral regurgitation represents a common complication after myocardial infarction, the severity of the mitral regurgitation increases the risk of mortality. There is continuing debate regarding the management of moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation in patients undergoing surgical management. The debates lie in whether adding mitral valve surgery to coronary artery bypass grafting. So the review is about the analysis of existing evidence and expectation about it.
As technology advances, current evidence supports the use of devices for valvular heart disease interventions, including transcatheter aortic valve implantation, transcatheter mitral or tricuspid valve repair, and transcatheter mitral valve implantation. These procedures require antithrombotic therapy to prevent thromboembolic events during the perioperative period, and these therapies are associated with an increased risk of bleeding complications. To date, there are challenges and controversies regarding how to balance the risk of thrombosis and bleeding in these patients, and therefore the optimal antithrombotic regimen remains unclear. In this review, we summarize the current evidence for antithrombotic therapy after transcatheter intervention in patients with valvular heart disease and highlight the importance of an individualized approach in targeting these patients.