Objectives : This study was designed to evaluate the association between vitamin D status
and congestive heart failure (CHF). Background : Impaired intracellular calcium metabolism is …

BACKGROUND: In this study we analyzed putative biomarkers for myocardial remodeling in
plasma from 55 endstage heart failure patients with the need for mechanical circulatory …

Aortic valve replacement (AVR) is recommended as a standard surgical procedure for aortic
valve disease. Still the evidence for commonly claimed predictors of post-AVR prognosis, in …

Background. Severe thromboembolic and hemorrhagic complications after mechanical
heart valve replacement essentially depend on the intensity of oral anticoagulation and the …

OBJECTIVES: Do prior percutaneous coronary interventions adversely affect the outcome of
subsequent coronary artery bypass grafting? We investigated this effect on a multicenter …

Thirty patients scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass grafting were studied in two
groups. Group A had standard cardiopulmonary bypass with nonpulsatile perfusion and group …

Aims We studied the effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on global and
regional myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO 2 ) and myocardial blood flow (MBF) in non-…

In cardiac fibrosis remodeling of the failing myocardium is associated with a complex
reorganization of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Xylosyltransferase I and Xylosyltransferase II (XT-I …

BACKGROUND: Pericardial prostheses have been used as valvular substitutes since 1975.
They combine excellent hemodynamic characteristics with a low risk of valve failure during …

Background Cardiac hemochromatosis remains the most frequent cause of death in β-thalassemia
major. Previous studies suggest an important right ventricular (RV) contribution to …