ObjectiveTo investigate the factors influencing myocardial recovery after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, aiming to identify patient characteristics associated with a higher potential for cardiac recovery and to inform clinical decision-making. MethodsThis retrospective study included consecutive patients with end-stage heart failure who underwent LVAD implantation at our institution between 2021 and June, 2025. Patients were categorized into three groups including a myocardial recovery group, an ongoing LVAD support group, and death group. Based on their postoperative outcomes, demographic, laboratory, and imaging data were compared among the groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of myocardial recovery. Results A total of 57 patients who received an LVAD were included. Among them, 9 (15.8%) achieved myocardial recovery, 39 (68.4%) remained on LVAD support, and 9 (15.8%) died. Multivariate analysis identified younger age (OR=0.875, P=0.004) and a smaller preoperative left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) (OR=0.866, P=0.047) as independent predictors of myocardial recovery. Notably, all patients in the recovery group were male and had no prior implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator/cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator. Furthermore, a higher preoperative prealbumin level was significantly associated with survival (OR=1.018, P=0.024). ConclusionYounger age and a smaller preoperative LVESD are key predictors for myocardial recovery following LVAD implantation. Younger patients with a smaller LVESD exhibit a greater potential for functional recovery. Preoperative nutritional status, as indicated by prealbumin levels, may be a predictor of mortality.
ObjectiveTo summarize the pathological characteristics of primary left ventricular tumors and their influence on surgical treatment.MethodsThe clinical data of 32 patients with primary left ventricular tumor in Fuwai Hospital from January 2008 to March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 17 males and 15 females with an average age of 33.88±17.89 years. The impact of different types of left ventricular tumor pathology on the surgical outcome was analyzed.ResultsThirty-two patients with primary left ventricular tumors underwent surgery. Postoperative pathological biopsy results revealed benign tumor in 31 patients, including myxoma in 10 patients, lipomas in 7 patients, fibroma in 4 patients, hemangioma in 3 patients, rhabdomyoma in 2 patients, cyst in 2 patients, schwannoma in 1 patient, papillary fibroelastoma in 1 patient, cavernous hyperplasia of valvular lymphatic vessels in 1 patient. There was 1 patient of carcinoid (low-grade malignant tumor). Thirty patients underwent tumor resection surgery under hypothermic anesthesia and cardiopulmonary bypass followed by cardiac arrest while 2 patients without cardiopulmonary bypass. Nine patients received partial resection of the tumor, including lipomas in 6 patients, rhabdomyoma in 2 patients, schwannoma in 1 patient. Twenty-three patients received complete resection of the tumor. There were no in-hospital deaths, bleeding, secondary thoracotomy, low cardiac output, renal failure, postoperative embolism or other surgical complications. All the patients were normal before they were discharged out of the hospital. Their average postoperative hospital stay was 8.1±2.7 d. Within 6 months after the surgery, all 32 patients returned to the hospital for reexamination, and ultrasound results were all normal. Afterwards, the patients were followed up by telephone or in an outpatient clinic, and 3 patients were lost. The follow-up rate was 90.63%. During the follow-up of 3-120 (61.4±38.5) months, among the 9 patients whose tumors were partially resection, 2 patients recurred. One patient with schwannoma recurred 30 months after the surgery, and in the other patient lipomas grew 15 months later which resulted in massive regurgitation of the mitral valve.ConclusionSurgical resection is the first choice for the treatment of left ventricular benign tumors. For malignant left ventricular tumors, it is necessary to be cautious, and the surgical risk needs to be carefully evaluated. Most of the primary left ventricular tumors need to be operated as soon as possible. A surgeon should develop different surgical strategies according to different pathological types of tumors.
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.
ObjectiveTo investigate the surgical strategies and clinical efficacy of transmitral septal myectomy in the treatment of recurrent left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) after alcohol septal ablation. MethodsThe clinical data of patients with recurrent LVOTO after alcohol septal ablation from July 2020 to July 2021 in the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were preoperatively evaluated by echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, cardiac computed tomography, 3D modeling and printing technology. A personalized surgical strategy was preoperatively developed according to multimodality imaging assessment, while visual exploration was performed on the digital model and simulated surgical resection was performed on the printed model. Results Two female patients were enrolled, aged 62 years and 64 years, respectively. Totally endoscopic transmitral extended myectomy was successfully performed on both patients with aortic cross-clamping time of 96 min and 85 min, respectively. LVOTO was relieved immediately (subaortic peak pressure gradient decreased from 100 mm Hg to 4 mm Hg and from 84 mm Hg to 6 mm Hg, respectively) and the mitral regurgitation significantly improved after the procedure. No patient had complete atrioventricular block or required permanent pacemaker implantation. The patients were discharged uneventfully without postoperative complications. ConclusionPersonalized totally endoscopic transmitral extended myectomy combined with multimodality imaging assessment and 3D modeling and printing has an acceptable clinical effect in patients with recurrent LVOTO after alcohol septal ablation. The procedure can precisely resect the hypertrophic septal myocardium while avoiding serious complications such as septal perforation or complete atrioventricular block.
Mitral regurgitation is one of the most common valvular heart diseases, with functional mitral regurgitation being the predominant type. Ventricular functional mitral regurgitation (VFMR) occurs due to impaired left ventricular systolic function combined with left ventricular dilation, leading to mitral annular enlargement and papillary muscle displacement, which cause relative tethering of the mitral leaflets despite structurally normal valve apparatus. Patients with VFMR often present with severe heart failure, face high surgical risks, and have a poor prognosis. In recent years, mitral valve transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) has emerged as a well-established interventional technique, offering a new treatment option for VFMR patients and significantly improving clinical outcomes. This review focuses on the advances in the pathogenesis, epidemiological characteristics, diagnosis, and management of VFMR, particularly the application and efficacy-influencing factors of TEER.
Objective To investigate surgical outcomes and prognostic factors for patients with coronary heart disease and low left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF≤40%） undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting （OPCAB）. Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical records of 63 discharged patients with coronary heart disease and low LVEF who underwent OPCAB in Peking University People’s Hospital from 2001 to 2004 year. There were 48 males and 15 females with mean age of 65.1±9.2 years and mean LVEF of 33.8%±5.0%. Regular follow-up evaluation was completed. We investigated risk factors for long-term survival of the patients by Kapalan-Meier survival curve, log-rank test and Cox regression model.?Results?Follow-up time was 3-107 （71.3±24.4） months, and six patients were lost during the follow-up. Nineteen patients （30.2%） died during follow-up including 10 patients （15.9%） who had cardiac-related death. The survival rate at 1, 3, 5 and 8 year was 96.7% （61）, 94.9% （60）, 85.9% （55）, 77.2% （53） respectively. Univariate analysis shows LVEF≤30% and acute myocardial infarction within 30 days are risk factors for long-term survival（P＜0.05）. Cox regression analysis showed that LVEF≤30%（RR=4.662, P＜0.05）and acute myocardial infarction within 30 days（RR=5.544, P＜0.05）were two independent risk factors for cardiac-related death after discharge. Conclusion Patients with coronary heart disease and low LVEF can have satisfactory surgical outcomes after OPCAB. LVEF≤30% and acute myocardial infarction within 30 days are the two independent risk factors for cardiac-related death after discharge.
ObjectiveTo explore the anatomical characteristics and surgical strategies of atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) with left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) stenosis.MethodsThe clinical data of 11 AVSD patients with LVOT stenosis who underwent surgeries in our hospital from 2008 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 6 males and 5 females with a median age of 15.0 (7.6-22.0) years.ResultsThere were 3 patients of complete AVSD and 8 patients of partial AVSD. Subaortic stenosis resulted from discrete subaortic membrane in 3 patients, diffused subaortic membrane in 4 patients, hypertrophied muscle bundles in 3 patients and distorted valve frame in 1 patient. Among these patients, 5 patients underwent LVOT stenosis and AVSD repairs simultaneously for the first time, 5 patients underwent LVOT stenosis repair for the second time and 1 patient for the third time. No postoperative death occurred. The postoperative LVOT flow velocity decreased dramatically after LVOT stenosis repair compared with preoperative one [449.0 (393.0, 507.5) cm/s vs. 212.0 (183.0, 253.5) cm/s, P<0.05].ConclusionSurgical results of AVSD combined with LVOT stenosis are satisfactory, but the restenosis should be paid attention to via long-term follow-up.
We have tried to explore the energy loss (EL) within the left ventricle in hypertension by using vector flow mapping (VFM) to detect left ventricular hemodynamic changes in hypertensive patients as early as possible and reflect changes of left ventricular function in hypertension by using EL. Twenty-one hypertensive patients with increased left ventricle mass index (LVMI), 14 hypertensive patients with normal LVMI and 22 control subjects were enrolled in this study. Systolic and diastolic EL derived from VFM within the left ventricle and E/e' by dual Doppler were recorded and analyzed. Compared with those of the controls, diastolic and systolic EL were significantly increased in hypertensive group (P<0.05). In diastole, EL=0.439×SBP (systolic blood pressure)–8.349; in systole, EL=0.385×SBP+0.644×LVMI–10.854. And the EL was positively correlated with E/e', but there was no significant correlation between EL and ejection fraction (EF) in the pooled population. The study shows that the increased EL can help us detect changes of left ventricular hemodynamic in hypertensive patients. It needs further investigation to prove whether EL within the left ventricle could be a new parameter to evaluate diastolic function. SBP and LVMI are the independent predictors for systolic EL, while SBP is the independent predictor for diastolic EL.
ObjectiveTo compare the superiority of total arterial revascularization in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) complicated with left ventricular dysfunction. MethodsThis retrospective study included the patients who were diagnosed with CAD and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≤40% and underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) at our hospital from January 2016 to July 2019. The patients were divided into two groups according to the different types of bypass vessels: a total arterial revascularization group (TAR group) and a conventional group (a CON group). The clinical data were compared between the two groups to explore the incidence of important complications and evaluate the safety of total arterial revascularization and its protective effect on cardiac function. Results Finally 75 patients were enrolled including 52 males and 23 females with a mean age of (61.58±7.93) years. There were 35 patients in the TAR group and 40 patients in the CON group. The operation time and the drainage volume at 24 hours after operation in the TAR group were longer or more than those in the CON group (P<0.001), but there was no statistical difference in hospital stay, postoperative complications (such as respiratory failure, mediastinal infection, renal failure), intra-aortic balloon pump or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use rate (P>0.05). After 2 years of follow-up, compared with the CON group, the cardiac function of the TAR group was significantly improved, the LVEF was higher, the left ventricular end diastolic diameter was reduced, and the graft stenosis rate was lower (all P<0.05). Conclusion Total arterial revascularization is a safe and feasible surgical method, which is helpful to improve the cardiac function and improve the quality of life.
As an intermediate phenotype for multiple cardiovascular diseases, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) benefits from early diagnosis, which allows for timely intervention to prevent worsening of the condition, mitigate severe complications like heart failure and arrhythmias, and consequently improve patient outcomes. Preliminary advances have been made using deep learning for the early diagnosis and identification of etiology in LVH. This paper reviews the pathophysiology, causes, and diagnostic standards for LVH, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of applying deep learning to diagnostic tools such as echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and electrocardiogram, examines its use in prognostic evaluation, and concludes by summarizing current achievements and suggesting future research avenues.
