American heart journal
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American heart journal · Aug 2008
Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale in patients with presumed paradoxical embolism: periprocedural results and midterm risk of recurrent neurologic events.
To report our data on selected patients with previous paradoxical embolism who underwent transcatheter patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure. ⋯ Percutaneous closure of PFO is a feasible procedure, but it is not a risk-free technique. However, in correctly selected patients (ie, large PFO and those at risk for neurologic relapse), nearly complete PFO closure seems to provide protection from future neurologic ischaemic events at midterm follow-up.
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American heart journal · Aug 2008
Thirty-year trends (1975-2005) in the magnitude and hospital death rates associated with complete heart block in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a population-based perspective.
The contemporary magnitude and prognostic implications of complete heart block (CHB) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are unknown. As part of a community-based study of patients hospitalized with AMI in the Worcester, MA, metropolitan area, changes over time in the incidence rates of CHB complicating AMI and the prognostic impact of CHB on short-term survival were examined. ⋯ Our findings indicate recent encouraging declines in the incidence rates of CHB complicating AMI and improving trends in the hospital prognosis of these patients.