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.
ObjectiveTo retrieve currently-available best evidence to select the treatment plan of antithrombotic therapy for a gerontal patient lately admitted because of atrial fibrillation (AF) and coronary artery disease (CAD), and to provide references for clinical treatment. MethodsWe comprehensively searched PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), EMbase and The Cochrane Library (Issue 5, 2014) up to May 2014, for relevant evidence about antithrombotic therapy for patients with AF and CAD. After analysis and assessment, we developed the plan of the patient's antithrombotic therapy. ResultsCurrent evidence showed no best treatment plan of antithrombotic therapy for patients with AF and CAD. ConclusionCorrect evaluation of the risks of thrombosis and bleeding is the key point of beneficial antithrombotic therapy for patients with AF and CAD.
At present, interventional therapy for structural heart disease is in a period of vigorous development. Among them, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, as a representative of the interventional treatment of heart valve disease, has made rapid progress, which is a bright spot in the field of cardiovascular disease. The future development of transcatheter tricuspid valve repair/replacement is also promising. With the availability of important clinical evidence, the indications of transcatheter aortic valve replacement have been extended to the full risk range of severe aortic stenosis. More and more data showed that transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve interventions could effectively alleviate patients’ symptoms and improve their prognosis. Transcatheter valve interventions have developed rapidly and have made tremendous progress in China. This article will review and interpret the important progress in the field of transcatheter valve interventions.