Heart failure (HF) is a burgeoning disease. Recently published American Heart Association projections indicate that its prevalence will increase by 46% from 2012 to 2030 resulting in approximately 8 million people with HF in the United States alone. Ischemic heart…
Greater than 95% of patients with myocardial ischemia will have underlying atherosclerotic coronary artery disease as the etiology, with the remaining 5% possessing a range of congenital and acquired lesions. Although these lesions are rare individually, clinicians will inevitably encounter…
At the turn of the 20th century, Dr. Ernest A. Codman (1869-1940) was rejected by the Boston medical community for his maverick ideas supporting the evaluation and publication of surgical outcomes. Codman eventually founded his own hospital dedicated to the…
Myocardial and pulmonary perfusion is regulated by a complex array of influences intrinsic and extrinsic to the vasculature. Surgical decisions are generally based on the anatomy of large arteries, where the presence of obstructive lesions and vasomotor state of these…
Introductory Considerations Step 1 Surgical Anatomy ◆ The aortic valve is the last valve in the heart through which the blood is pumped before it goes to the body. The purpose of the aortic valve is to prevent backflow of…
Step 1 Surgical Anatomy ◆ The named epicardial coronary arteries that serve as the distal anastomotic targets for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are most commonly located just deep to the epicardial fat and superficial to the myocardium. The arteries,…