Abstract: Eisenmenger’s syndrome is a kind of pathophysiologic syndrome that occurs in the end stage of congenital heart disease. The diagnosis of Eisenmenger’s syndrome is clear, but its early clinical presentations are nonspecific and its prognosis is poor. Recently, the therapeutic regimen is steadily improved by the endless efforts that lots of scientists have made. Treatments including new drugs, modified surgery, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, transplantation and gene therapy can not only relieve symptoms, correct abnormal pulmonary hemodynamics, but also can improve prognosis to some extent. We will review and introduce the advance of research on Eisenmenger’s syndrome, including its pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment.
Objective To evaluate postoperative quality of life （QOL） of patients aged over 65 after mitral valvereplacement （MVR）. Methods Ninety patients aged over 65 undergoing MVR by the same surgical group in Departmentof Cardiovascular Surgery of Anzhen Hospital were prospectively enrolled in this study. There were 62 male and 28 femalepatients with their age of 65-76 （68.6±6.8） years. There were 55 patients with hypertension，38 patients with type 2 diabetes，and all the patients had persistent atrial fibrillation. Nottingham Healthy Profile （NHP，Part I） and Duke Activity StatuIndex （DASI） were used to evaluate preoperative and postoperative QOL. According to the choice of prosthetic heart valves they received，all the patients were divided into two groups with 45 patients in each group: biological valve group and mechanical valve group. All the patients received MVR via the interatrial groove approach under general anesthesia and cardiopulmonary bypass. Mechanical valve replacement was performed using continuous suture without preserving the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve. Biological valve replacement was performed using interrupted suture and some of the posteriorleaflet of the mitral valve was routinely preserved. Patients in both groups underwent intraoperative bilateral pulmonary vein isolation and left atrial appendage ablation using a bipolar radiofrequency ablation device. The left atrial appendage was not excised or ligated. Results Postoperative QOL of all the patients was significantly better than preoperative QOL. There was no statistical difference in NHP and DASI at the 6th month after discharge between the 2 groups. But from the 1st year after discharge，QOL of the biological valve group was significantly better than that of the mechanical valve group. At the 3rd year after discharge，NHP and DASI of the mechanical valve group was not statistically different from those at the 1st year after discharge，but NHP and DASI of the biological valve group was significantly better than those at the 1st year after discharge. Conclusions QOL of elderly patients are significantly improved after MVR. Patients who receive biologicalvalve replacement may acquire better long-term QOL than patients who receive mechanical valve replacement.
Abstract: Objective To evaluate the treatment efficacy of post-infarction left ventricular pseudo-aneurysm (LVPA) through surgical procedure, and explore the diagnosis and differential diagnosis details of LVPA. Methods Between May 1993 and July 2007, 7 cases were diagnosed through echocardiography aided with left ventriculography or multi-sliced computer tomography (MSCT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); 6 cases with LVPA were surgically treated through different procedure that included direct closure, cut and patching or cut and sandwiching procedure choose according to its location, anatomical morphology, and comorbidity; accompanied diseases were treated by coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG) procedure. Results Six cases were diagnosed before surgery, and 1 case was diagnosed during the surgical procedure. One died from the cardiac tamponade due to rupture of LVPA before the surgical procedure, so the inhospital mortality was 14.3%（1/7）. There was no operative death. With the follow-up from 2 months to 13 years of the 6 operational survivors, 1 case died from cardiac rupture and pericardial tamponade 4 years after the repair procedure. Of the 5 surviving LVPA, the left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) values were from 43% to 52%, and 3 cases were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class Ⅰ, and 2 cases were in NYHA class Ⅱ. Conclusion Echocardiography, aided with left ventriculography or MSCT or MRI, is an effective measure for diagnosis of LVPA. Surgical procedure is an effective measure to treat LVPA,but different surgical procedures, accompanied with homeochronous CABG procedure,should be adopted to deal with LVPA according its location, anatomical morphology, and accompanied deformity. The perioperative and mid-long term efficacy were good for the surgical treatment of LVPA, but it is imperative to pay attention to prevention of the recurrence and the late rupture of repaired LVPA.