Reader TTS

The safest and most effective treatment for symptomatic vertebral artery stenosis has not yet been proven. Here, we discuss the merits and pitfalls of endovascular treatment for this

under-recognized disease entity.

The development of left ventricular assist devices could be considered an 'imaginative leap'. In the current phase of critical evaluation of these devices, a study of patients who received

first-generation left ventricular assist devices has indicated that they might affect late post-transplant survival. The validity and significance of these findings need to be examined

further.

Statin therapy has been associated with improved outcomes in patients with heart failure. However, two large prospective, controlled trials showed neutral effects with rosuvastatin. The

authors of this Review highlight data from observational studies that have showed positive outcomes, and discuss how the design of the two large trials may have contributed to the neutral

effects of statin therapy on the survival of patients with heart failure.

The cardiovascular manifestations of Marfan syndrome are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with this disease. In Part 1 of a 2-part Review on Marfan syndrome, Dr Cañadas

and colleagues discuss the pathogenesis of Marfan syndrome, our idea of which has dramatically changed in the past decade, as well as the current strategy for diagnosis.

Over the past 30 years, we have witnessed a steady improvement in life expectancy of patients with Marfan syndrome, owing to advances in various treatments. In Part 2 of a 2-part Review on

Marfan syndrome, Dr. Cañadas and colleagues discuss the present the state of the art in the management of patients with this disease.

Detection of fetal conduction system abnormalities relies upon magnetocardiographic or electrocardiographic recording techniques. Appropriate fetal treatment requires awareness of arrhythmia

characteristics, mechanisms, and their potential associations. This Review discusses current and future diagnostic techniques and pharmacologic treatments for fetal arrhythmia.

Controversy exists as to whether the detection of myocardial edema, to quantify myocardial damage and assess myocardial salvage, is ready for clinical use or is still only practical as a

research tool. In this Perspectives article, Matthias Friedrich explains his point of view on this issue—that myocardial edema imaging using magnetic resonance technology should be seen as

the essential diagnostic modality of choice for patients with suspected myocardial injury by virtue of its safety, versatility, and cost-efficiency.