Sanjay Asopa

Long‐Term Outcomes Following High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

The aim of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of the Epicor high intensity focused ultrasound (St. Jude, Inc.®, Minneapolis, MN, USA) system using seven‐day ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring over a two‐year follow‐up period.

Early Prosthetic Valve Failure in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract  Heart lesions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are well documented in literature; however, in the majority of cases these are incidental findings at postmortem. Most patients do not require cardiac surgical intervention unless they develop complications such as significant valvular regurgitation. Patients with RA often require orthopedic operations and therefore a bioprosthetic valve replacement is normally advocated to avoid problems related to anticoagulation. We report a case of a 64‐year‐old woman with seropositive RA who had undergone bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement three years previously. She re‐presented with early prosthetic valve failure due to accelerated degeneration and calcification. This was treated successfully with redo replacement with a mechanical prosthesis. Here, we discuss our experience and debate the various valve choices available that should be considered in patients with rheumatoid disease.