Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society
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High sensitive Troponin (hsTn) assays enable detection of minimal marker elevation in heart failure patients previously deemed Troponin negative. Biovariability, reference change values (RCV), and index of individuality (II) have not been previously described for hsTnT although serial testing is important in interpreting low concentrations. For these values, a difference between ischemic heart disease (IHD) and dilated cardiomyopathy (dCMP) appears conceivable. ⋯ While short-term biological variation of hsTnT is low, it becomes relatively more important for intermediate follow-up. It is not related to aetiology of heart failure. The corresponding indices of individuality indicate high individuality of values.
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Percutaneous edge-to-edge repair with the MitraClip device has been shown to allow effective treatment of mitral regurgitation. It is mainly guided by transesophageal echocardiography while fluoroscopic guidance is of less importance. The impact of real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (RT 3-D TEE) for guidance of this complex interventional procedure has not been evaluated. ⋯ In complex interventional edge-to-edge repair with the MitraClip device requiring optimal spatial information RT 3-D TEE allows improved guidance of the procedure. RT 3-D TEE guidance compared with 2-D TEE guidance alone resulted in greater operator confidence to adequately perform the procedure.
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In sepsis, severe reduction of afterload may often mask cardiac impairment. By establishing the parameter "afterload-related cardiac performance (ACP)" we wanted to determine the extent, frequency, and prognostic relevance of septic cardiomyopathy. ⋯ By using the parameter "afterload-related cardiac performance, ACP", the impairment of cardiac function can be reliably quantified showing that septic cardiomyopathy occurs frequently and is of prognostic relevance in patients with septic MODS.