• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제49권1호
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• pp.22-28
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• 2016

Background: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) with selective shunting is the surgical method currently used to treat patients with carotid artery disease. We evaluated the incidence of major postoperative complications in patients who underwent CEA with selective shunting under transcranial Doppler (TCD) at our institution. Methods: The records of 45 patients who underwent CEA with TCD-based selective shunting under general anesthesia from November 2009 to June 2015 were reviewed. The risk factors for postoperative complications were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Preoperative atrial fibrillation was observed in three patients. Plaque ulceration was detected in 10 patients (22.2%) by preoperative computed tomography imaging. High-level stenosis was observed in 16 patients (35.5%), and 18 patients had contralateral stenosis. Twenty patients (44.4%) required shunt placement due to reduced TCD flow or a poor temporal window. The 30-day mortality rate was 2.2%. No cases of major stroke were observed in the 30 days after surgery, but four cases of minor stroke were noted. Univariate analysis showed that preoperative atrial fibrillation (odds ratio [OR], 40; p=0.018) and ex-smoker status (OR, 17.5; p=0.021) were statistically significant risk factors for a minor stroke in the 30-day postoperative period. Analogously, multivariate analysis also found that atrial fibrillation (p<0.001) and ex-smoker status (p=0.002) were significant risk factors for a minor stroke in the 30-day postoperative period. No variables were identified as risk factors for 30-day major stroke or death. No wound complications were found, although one (2.2%) of the patients suffered from a hypoglossal nerve injury. Conclusion: TCD-based CEA is a safe and reliable method to treat patients with carotid artery disease. Preoperative atrial fibrillation and ex-smoker status were found to increase the postoperative risk of a small embolism leading to a minor neurologic deficit.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• 제48권12호
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• pp.1033-1080
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• 2018

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia in the general population. The Korean Heart Rhythm Society organized a Korean AF Management Guideline Committee and analyzed all available studies regarding the management of AF, including studies on Korean patients. This guideline is based on recent data of the Korean population and the recent guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology, European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, American Heart Association, and Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society. Expert consensus or guidelines for the optimal management of Korean patients with AF were achieved after a systematic review with intensive discussion. This article provides general principles for appropriate risk stratification and selection of anticoagulation therapy in Korean patients with AF. This guideline deals with optimal stroke prevention, screening, rate and rhythm control, risk factor management, and integrated management of AF.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• 제53권8호
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• pp.550-562
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: To identify the factors associated with adverse outcomes following surgery for functional insufficiency of the mitral valve (MV) or tricuspid valve (TV) associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: We evaluated 100 patients (age, 66.5±10.0 years; 47 males) who consecutively underwent surgery for functional insufficiency of the MV or TV associated with AF between January 2000 and December 2020 at our center. The primary outcome was a composite endpoint of all-cause death, valve reoperation, congestive heart failure (CHF) requiring rehospitalization, and stroke. Results: During follow-up (532 patients-years [PYs]), adverse events included death in 16 (3.0%/yr), MV reoperation in 1 (0.2%/yr), CHF in 14 (2.6%/yr), and stroke in 5 (0.9%/yr) patients, demonstrating a 5-year rate of freedom from the primary endpoint of 69.5%. The rate of postoperative AF was high even in those who underwent AF ablation (n=92), with cumulative rates of 48.1% at 1 year and 60.2% at 5 years. In multivariable analyses, the primary outcome was significantly associated with age (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.10; p=0.005), chronic kidney disease (aHR, 7.76; 95% CI, 2.28-26.38; p=0.001), left atrial appendage exclusion (aHR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.16-1.78; p=0.010), and postoperative AF as a time-varying covariate (aHR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.50-7.40; p=0.003). Conclusion: Among patients undergoing surgery for functional atrioventricular insufficiency associated with AF, a significant proportion showed recurrence of AF over time after concomitant AF ablation, which was significantly associated with poor clinical outcomes.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• 제53권9호
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• pp.621-631
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: The morphology-voltage-P-wave duration (MVP) electrocardiography (ECG) risk score is a newly defined scoring system that has recently been used for atrial fibrillation (AF) prediction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of the MVP ECG risk score to predict AF in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in long-term follow-up. Methods: The study used a single-center, and retrospective design. The study included 328 patients who underwent ICD implantation in our hospital between January 2010 and April 2021, diagnosed with heart failure. The patients were divided into low, intermediate and high-risk categories according to the MVP ECG risk scores. The long-term development of atrial fibrillation was compared among these 3 groups. Results: The low-risk group included 191 patients, the intermediate-risk group 114 patients, and the high-risk group 23 patients. The long-term AF development rate was 12.0% in the low-risk group, 21.9% in the intermediate risk group, and 78.3% in the high-risk group. Patients in the high-risk group were found to have 5.2 times higher rates of long-term AF occurrence compared to low-risk group. Conclusions: The MVP ECG risk score, which is an inexpensive, simple and easily accessible tool, was found to be a significant predictor of the development of AF in the long-term follow-up of patients with an ICD with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. This risk score may be used to identify patients who require close follow-up for development and management of AF.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.13-26
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• 2005

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac rhythm disturbance, which carries significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The medical treatment for AF is cumbersome and unsatisfactory, which has highlighted the need to develop alternative treatments for AF. The recent discovery that AF is often initiated by atrial ectopic beats has resulted in treatments designed to target the ectopic sources, particularly those within the pulmonary veins. Building on the pioneering work of Cox et al., a recent reported series demonstrated the feasibility of treating patients undergoing cardiac surgery for other structural heart diseases with limited, left-atrial ablation lesion sets using alternative energy sources. As less complex modifications of the Maze procedure have been developed, a number of energy sources have been introduced to create of electrically isolating lesions within the atria. These sources have been used both endocardially in arrest heart procedures as well as epicardially in a beating heart setting. This review summarizes the recent advances in surgery for AF that will aid in the development of an effective, minimally invasive surgical procedure to cure patients with AF.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.47-52
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to predict successful defibrillation in ventricular fibrillation using parameters extracted by wave analysis method and neuro-fuzzy. Total 15 dogs were tested for predicting successful defibrillation. Feature parameters were extracted for return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and non-ROSC by wave analysis method, and these parameters are an irregularity factor, spectral moments, mean power of level-crossing spectrum, and mean of alpha-significant value. Additionally, two parameters by analyzing method of frequency were extracted into a mean of power spectrum and a mean frequency. Then extracted parameters were analyzed in which parameters result to have high performance of discriminating ROSC and non-ROSC by a statistical method of t-test. The average of sensitivity and specificity were 62.5% and 75.0%, respectively. The average of positive predictive factor and negative predictive factor were 61.2% and 75.8%, respectively.

• 기본간호학회지
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.485-494
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• 2008

Purpose: In this study, relationships between symptom experience and quality of life in a cross-sectional sample of patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) were investigated. Methods: This descriptive study involved a convenience sample of AF patients from S university hospital, C city. One hundred and two AF patients completed psychometric validated measures of AF related symptoms and quality of life. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients with SPSS WIN 14.0 were used for data analysis. Results: Of 16 atrial arrhythmia-related symptoms, the patients reported 'tiredness' as the most frequent and 'shortness of breath' as the most severe. The level of overall quality of life for patients with AF was 53.92. There were significant differences in symptom frequency according to religion, New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification and left ventricular ejection fraction ; symptom severity according to monthly income and stroke ; quality of life according to age, job, alcohol intake, NYHA class and stroke. Quality of life for these patients was positively correlated with symptom frequency and symptom severity. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that patients with more frequent and severe symptoms perceive poorer quality of life than patients with less frequent and less severe symptoms. Symptom experience should be assessed early to improve quality of life for patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제50권3호
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• pp.220-223
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• 2017

A 71-year-old male with known bronchiectasis and atrial fibrillation was admitted to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital with recurrent transient ischemic attack. R adiofrequency ablation was performed to resolve the patient's atrial fibrillation, but failed. However, a fistula between the left circumflex artery and the bilateral bronchial arteries was found on computed tomography. Fistula ligation and a left-side maze operation were planned due to his recurrent symptom of dizziness, and these procedures were successfully performed. After the operation, the fistula was completely divided and no recurrence of atrial fibrillation took place. A coronary-bronchial artery fistula is a rare anomaly, and can be safely treated by surgical repair.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제49권3호
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• pp.177-184
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• 2016

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common complications after cardiac surgery. Several therapeutic and preventive strategies have been introduced for postoperative AF, but the treatment and prophylaxis of AF remain controversial. We aimed to compare the efficacy of intravenous amiodarone and oral propafenone in the treatment of AF after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial performed in two hospitals in Shiraz, Iran from 2009 to 2012. We included all patients who underwent elective CABG and developed AF postoperatively. The patients were randomly assigned to receive propafenone or amiodarone. The duration of AF, the success rate of the treatment, the need for cardioversion, the frequency of repeated AF, and the need for repeating the treatment were compared. Results: The duration of the first (p=0.361), second (p=0.832), and third (p=0.298) episodes of AF, the need for cardioversion (p=0.998), and the need to repeat the first and second doses of drugs (p=0.557, 0.699) were comparable between the study groups. Repeated AF was observed in 17 patients (30.9%) in the propafenone group and 23 patients (34.3%) in the amiodarone group (p=0.704). Conclusion: Oral propafenone and intravenous amiodarone are equally effective in the treatment and conversion of recent-onset AF after CABG.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제35권12호
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• pp.3542-3546
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• 2014

Relationship between molecular freedom of amyloidogenic protein and its self-assembly into amyloid fibrils has been evaluated with ${\alpha}$-synuclein, an intrinsically unfolded protein related to Parkinson's disease, by restricting its structural plasticity through an end-to-end disulfide bond formation between two newly introduced cysteine residues on the N- and C-termini. Although the resulting circular form of ${\alpha}$-synuclein exhibited an impaired fibrillation propensity, the restriction did not completely block the protein's interactive core since co-incubation with wild-type ${\alpha}$-synuclein dramatically facilitated the fibrillation by producing distinctive forms of amyloid fibrils. The suppressed fibrillation propensity was instantly restored as the structural restriction was unleashed with ${\beta}$-mercaptoethanol. Conformational flexibility of the accreting amyloidogenic protein to pre-existing seeds has been demonstrated to be critical for fibrillar extension process by exerting structural adjustment to a complementary structure for the assembly.