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Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion
Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO), also referred to as left atrial appendage closure (LAAC), is a treatment strategy to reduce the risk of blood clots from the left atrial appendage entering the bloodstream and causing a stroke in those with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). In non-valvular AF, over 90% of stroke-causing clots that come from the heart are formed in the left atrial appendage. The most common treatment for AF stroke risk is treatment with anticoagulants (blood-thinners), which reduce the chance of blood clots forming. These medications (which include warfarin, and other newer approved blood thinners) are very effective in lowering the risk of stroke in AF patients. Most patients can safely take these medications for years (and even decades) without serious side effects. However, some patients find that blood thinning medications can be difficult to tolerate or are risky. Because they prevent blood clots by thinning the blood, blood thinners can increase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Left Atrial Appendage
The atrium ( la, ātrium, , entry hall) is one of two upper chambers in the heart that receives blood from the circulatory system. The blood in the atria is pumped into the heart ventricles through the atrioventricular valves. There are two atria in the human heart – the left atrium receives blood from the pulmonary circulation, and the right atrium receives blood from the venae cavae of the systemic circulation. During the cardiac cycle the atria receive blood while relaxed in diastole, then contract in systole to move blood to the ventricles. Each atrium is roughly cube-shaped except for an ear-shaped projection called an atrial appendage, sometimes known as an auricle. All animals with a closed circulatory system have at least one atrium. The atrium was formerly called the 'auricle'. That term is still used to describe this chamber in some other animals, such as the '' Mollusca''. They have thicker muscular walls than the atria do. Structure Humans have a four-chamber ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transesophageal Echocardiography
A transesophageal echocardiogram, or TEE (TOE in the United Kingdom and other countries such as Australia and New Zealand, reflecting the British English spelling ''transoesophageal''), is an alternative way to perform an echocardiogram. A specialized probe containing an ultrasound transducer at its tip is passed into the patient's esophagus. This allows image and Doppler evaluation which can be recorded. It is commonly used during cardiac surgery and is an excellent modality for assessing the aorta, although there are some limitations. It has several advantages and some disadvantages compared with a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE). Details TEE is a semi-invasive procedure in that the probe must enter the body but does not require surgical (i.e., invasive) cutting for this procedure. Before inserting the probe, mild to moderate sedation is induced in the patient to ease the discomfort and to decrease the gag reflex. Usually a local anesthetic spray (e.g., lido ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thirst
Thirst is the craving for potable fluids, resulting in the basic instinct of animals to drink. It is an essential mechanism involved in fluid balance. It arises from a lack of fluids or an increase in the concentration of certain osmolites, such as sodium. If the water volume of the body falls below a certain threshold or the osmolite concentration becomes too high, structures in the brain detect changes in blood constituents and signal thirst. Continuous dehydration can cause acute and chronic diseases, but is most often associated with renal and neurological disorders. Excessive thirst, called polydipsia, along with excessive urination, known as polyuria, may be an indication of diabetes mellitus or diabetes insipidus. There are receptors and other systems in the body that detect a decreased volume or an increased osmolite concentration. Some sources distinguish "extracellular thirst" from "intracellular thirst", where extracellular thirst is thirst generated by decreased vol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Embolism
An air embolism, also known as a gas embolism, is a blood vessel blockage caused by one or more bubbles of air or other gas in the circulatory system. Air can be introduced into the circulation during surgical procedures, lung over-expansion injury, decompression, and a few other causes. Air embolisms may also occur in the xylem of vascular plants, especially when suffering from water stress. Divers can develop ''arterial'' gas embolisms as a consequence of lung over-expansion injuries. Breathing gas introduced into the venous system of the lungs due to pulmonary barotrauma will not be trapped in the alveolar capillaries, and will consequently be circulated to the rest of the body through the systemic arteries, with a high risk of embolism. Inert gas bubbles arising from decompression are generally formed in the ''venous'' side of the systemic circulation, where inert gas concentrations are highest, these bubbles are generally trapped in the capillaries of the lungs where the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pericardial Effusion
A pericardial effusion is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pericardial cavity. The pericardium is a two-part membrane surrounding the heart: the outer fibrous connective membrane and an inner two-layered serous membrane. The two layers of the serous membrane enclose the pericardial cavity (the potential space) between them.Phelan, D., Collier, P., Grimm, R. Pericardial Disease'. Cleveland Clinic. July 2015. Retrieved Nov 2020. This pericardial space contains a small amount of pericardial fluid. The fluid is normally 15-50 mL in volume. The pericardium, specifically the pericardial fluid provides lubrication, maintains the anatomic position of the heart in the chest, and also serves as a barrier to protect the heart from infection and inflammation in adjacent tissues and organs.Vogiatzidis, Konstantinos et al.Physiology of pericardial fluid production and drainage" ''Frontiers in physiology'' vol. 6 62. 18 Mar. 2015, doi:10.3389/fphys.2015.00062 By definition, a pericardial e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adverse Event
An adverse event (AE) is any untoward medical occurrence in a patient or clinical investigation subject administered a pharmaceutical product and which does not necessarily have a causal relationship with this treatment. An adverse event can therefore be any unfavourable and unintended sign (including an abnormal laboratory finding), symptom, or disease temporally associated with the use of a medicinal (investigational) product, whether or not related to the medicinal (investigational) product. AEs in patients participating in clinical trials must be reported to the study sponsor and if required could be reported to the local ethics committee. Adverse events categorized as "serious" (results in death, illness requiring hospitalization, events deemed life-threatening, results in persistent or significant incapacity, a congenital anomaly, birth defect or medically important condition) must be reported to the regulatory authorities immediately, whereas non-serious adverse events are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thoracoscopy
Thoracoscopy is a medical procedure involving internal examination, biopsy and/or resection/drainage of disease or masses within the pleural cavity, usually with video assistance. Thoracoscopy may be performed either under general anaesthesia or under sedation with local anaesthetic. History Thoracoscopy was first performed by Sir Francis Cruise of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin in conjunction with Dr Samuel Gordon in 1865. It was further developed by Hans Christian Jacobaeus, a Swedish internist in 1910 for the treatment of tuberculous intra-thoracic adhesions. He used a cystoscope to examine the thoracic cavity, developing his technique over the next twenty years. Today, thoracoscopy is performed using specialized thoracoscopes. These instruments include a light source and a lens for viewing and may have ports through which other instruments may be inserted for the purpose of tissue removal and manipulation. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery Video-assisted t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitral Valve
The mitral valve (), also known as the bicuspid valve or left atrioventricular valve, is one of the four heart valves. It has two cusps or flaps and lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart. The heart valves are all one-way valves allowing blood flow in just one direction. The mitral valve and the tricuspid valve are known as the atrioventricular valves because they lie between the atria and the ventricles. In normal conditions, blood flows through an open mitral valve during diastole with contraction of the left atrium, and the mitral valve closes during systole with contraction of the left ventricle. The valve opens and closes because of pressure differences, opening when there is greater pressure in the left atrium than ventricle and closing when there is greater pressure in the left ventricle than atrium. In abnormal conditions, blood may flow backward through the valve ( mitral regurgitation) or the mitral valve may be narrowed (mitral stenosis). Rh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cox Maze Procedure
The Cox maze procedure, also known as maze procedure, is a type of heart surgery for atrial fibrillation. "Maze" refers to the series of incisions arranged in a maze-like pattern in the atria. Today, various methods of minimally invasive maze procedures, collectively named minimaze procedures, are used. __TOC__ History James Cox is an American cardiothoracic surgeon. Cox received his medical degree at University of Tennessee Medical Center and completed his training in both General and Cardiothoracic Surgery at Duke University Hospital. Cox and his associates at Duke, and later at Washington University School of Medicine developed the "maze" or "Cox maze" procedure, an "open-heart" cardiac surgery procedure intended to eliminate atrial fibrillation (AF). Incidence of stroke in patients with AF who are anticoagulated is still around 2-5% per year. The first such procedure was performed by Dr. Cox at St. Louis' Barnes Hospital—now Barnes-Jewish Hospital—in 1987. The intent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endocardium
The endocardium is the innermost layer of tissue that lines the chambers of the heart. Its cells are embryologically and biologically similar to the endothelial cells that line blood vessels. The endocardium also provides protection to the valves and heart chambers. The endocardium underlies the much more voluminous myocardium, the muscular tissue responsible for the contraction of the heart. The outer layer of the heart is termed epicardium and the heart is surrounded by a small amount of fluid enclosed by a fibrous sac called the pericardium. Function The endocardium, which is primarily made up of endothelial cells, controls myocardial function. This modulating role is separate from the homeometric and heterometric regulatory mechanisms that control myocardial contractility. Moreover, the endothelium of the myocardial (heart muscle) capillaries, which is also closely appositioned to the cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells), is involved in this modulatory role. Thus, the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echocardiography
An echocardiography, echocardiogram, cardiac echo or simply an echo, is an ultrasound of the heart. It is a type of medical imaging of the heart, using standard ultrasound or Doppler ultrasound. Echocardiography has become routinely used in the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of patients with any suspected or known heart diseases. It is one of the most widely used diagnostic imaging modalities in cardiology. It can provide a wealth of helpful information, including the size and shape of the heart (internal chamber size quantification), pumping capacity, location and extent of any tissue damage, and assessment of valves. An echocardiogram can also give physicians other estimates of heart function, such as a calculation of the cardiac output, ejection fraction, and diastolic function (how well the heart relaxes). Echocardiography is an important tool in assessing wall motion abnormality in patients with suspected cardiac disease. It is a tool which helps in reaching an ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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