W Budts

..CONCLUSION: Percutaneous PFO closure seems to be a highly efficient and relatively safe procedure, independent of the type of device used for closure...

..Because of a lack of well-designed randomized trials, guidelines do not provide a clear answer. Therefore, the cardiological and neurovascular societies in Belgium decided to write an attempt at an expert opinion paper...

..This study aimed to examine aspects of validity, reliability and responsiveness of the SEIQoL-DW on data obtained in adults with congenital heart disease, by using the new standards of psychological testing...

..Basic knowledge is mandatory and will lead to the correct diagnosis and treatment. Data in literature, which focus on this issue, are scarce and motivated to summarize the experience of daily practice from the eye point of the clinician...

..Our patient demonstrates the increasing necessity for combined surgical and interventional procedures...

..At present, new drugs, which are more selective pulmonary vasodilators, are available to interfere with the ongoing disease process to improve functional capacity and delay the decision for transplantation...

..In adult patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TF) QRS duration at rest seems to be a predictor of maximal exercise. We examined the relationship between QRS duration during exercise and exercise performance...

..Percutaneous closure is not only better tolerated than surgery, it may also imply favourable economical aspects...

..Although several cases of a ruptured sinus of Valsalva are reported in the literature, it is still an underdiagnosed condition because it is frequently missed during physical examination...

..We wanted to evaluate the relationship between demographic and echocardiographic variables, and exercise performance...

..However, ICE catheters are expensive. We questioned the impact of the use of ICE catheters on hospitalization costs for patent foramen ovale (PFO) or atrial septal defect (ASD) closure...

..The importance of a complete haemodynamic evaluation in this patient is illustrated...

..To determine whether inhaled NO (iNO) can reduce pulmonary vascular resistance in adults with congenital heart disease and obstructive pulmonary hypertension or Eisenmenger syndrome...

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..CONCLUSIONS: Pressure loss due to residual hypoplastic aortic segments can be treated effectively and safely with stent expansion. Some patients remain mildly hypertensive and require additional drug treatment...

..As it has been suggested that the closing device might induce or maintain migraine temporarily, we were interested in the prevalence of migraine at longer follow-up...

..To assess how much adults with congenital heart disease understand about their heart defect, its treatment, and the preventive measures necessary to avoid complications...

..These findings might be important for risk stratification and the choice of treatment in this specific patient population...

..Few data are available on very long-term follow-up after treatment for isolated pulmonary valve stenosis (PVS), either surgically or by percutaneous balloon angioplasty (PBA)...

..The most important reason for re-intervention in both groups was mitral valve regurgitation. However, atrial arrhythmias and conduction disorders were not uncommon late after atrioventricular septal defect repair...

..The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome of the inserted graft in patients with surgery for aneurysm formation following patch angioplasty for coarctation of the aorta...

..To explore whether the severity of congenital heart disease is associated with the quality of life and perceived health status of adult patients...

..To assess long term outcome of patients who underwent Mustard or Senning repair for transposition of the great arteries up to 30 years earlier...

..Such patients, therefore, are often presumed to be high users of resources for health care. Information on utilization of resources in adults with congenital heart disease, however, is scarce...

..In this review we describe the association between PFO and migraine and the different pathophysiological hypotheses, which have been proposed to explain this relationship...

..We evaluate the incidence of epicardial lead failure and try to identify risk factors in patients with congenital heart disease...

..RT3DE and RT3D-TEE proved to be techniques that can provide additional contributions to the diagnostic investigation of structural heart diseases...

..Furthermore, the aetiology, clinical manifestations, complications, diagnostic approach, and possible therapeutic interventions are briefly discussed...

..The effects of NO synthase (NOS) gene transfer on pulmonary vascular remodeling associated with hypoxic pulmonary hypertension are unknown...

..The interest in transcatheter ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure is continuously growing. Therefore, we report our experience in perimembranous (Pm) and postinfarction (Pi) VSD closure...

..To investigate outcome and complications of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) and to identify predictors of (in-) appropriate shocks...

..The etiology of the rupture remains unclear, but the presence of the two intracardiac devices is probably not coincidental...

..Although life expectancy is good, previous studies have demonstrated limitations in exercise capacity. To what extent these limitations affect day-to-day functioning of the patients is not yet known...

..In addition to medical problems, patients perceive specific psychosocial concerns that influence their lived experiences and quality of life...

..Therefore, to determine variables that could influence their survival, we retrospectively studied the survival pattern of homografts used to treat TOF...

..This study therefore assessed the quality of life and perceived health of adults with congenital heart disease and compared these two measures with those reported by healthy control subjects...

..However, quality of life can be an ambiguous concept that is hindered by methodological weaknesses, a situation that can prevent the drawing of firm conclusions...

..To determine the life span of cryopreserved homografts implanted in the right ventricular outflow tract and the factors influencing it...

..In particular, an advanced practice nurse seems to be pre-eminent to optimise illness management of adult patients with congenital heart disease...

..This multicenter study assessed the perceived health status, functional abilities, and quality of life in long-term survivors of the Mustard or Senning operation...

..Furthermore, our findings can assist researchers in developing more rigourous quality-of-life research...

..Therefore, this study examined individual quality of life in adults with congenital heart disease and explored potential differences with those reported by matched, healthy control subjects...

..However, we might suggest with these data that the need for heart-lung transplantation can be substantially delayed with new drugs...

..In this review, the relationship between migraine and right-to-left shunting is described by highlighting the different pathophysiologic hypotheses...

..International guidelines indicate that advanced practice nurses are key in developing and implementing patient education programs during the transition from pediatric cardiology to adult-centered health care...

..The anastomosis was successfully occluded using an Amplatzer ventricular septal defect occluder, immediately followed by complete surgical repair of his tetralogy of Fallot...

..The reason for the new-onset migraine remains unexplained. A larger study sample will be necessary to determine these findings...

..The aims of this study are therefore to describe the prevalence of risk factors for coronary heart disease in a large sample of adults with congenital cardiac anomalies, and compare this with the prevalence in the general population...

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..Therefore, this study investigated sexual functioning in adults with congenital heart disease and compared this with that of matched, healthy control subjects...

..To identify cTnI rise after percutaneous ISD closure and to determine its prognostic significance...