SOLACI | Latin American Society of Interventional Cardiology

1) On Radiation Protection: Editorial comment by Dr. Ariel Durán

I am pleased to witness the increased amount of scientific papers in high impact journals addressing topics related to radiation protection or the harmful effects of radiation on our patients and primary or secondary operators. Similarly, it is my pleasure to see that SOLACI has acknowledged this growing concern by selecting 5 articles for comment on its website in this occasion.

2) Radiation Exposure in Chronic Total Occlusions

Even in the hands of experienced operators, rechanneling and angioplasty of a chronic total occlusion (CTO) results in patients and the whole cath lab team receiving high doses of radiation, according to this registry presented at the American Heart Association 2017 Scientific Sessions.

3) Protective Shield RADPAD Reduces the Radiation Dose Received by Operators in the Cath Lab

Despite technological developments, all people working at a cath lab are inevitably exposed to radiation and its effects.

4) Study Confirms Lead Shields Protect Cath Lab Staff from Radiation Exposure

The recent publication of several reports on risk of cataract, left sided brain tumors, subclinical atherosclerosis and chromosome damage among interventional cardiologists has raised increasing concerns about radiation exposure in the cath lab.

5) Effects of Cerebral Radiation on Interventional Cardiologists

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the occupational hazard for interventional cardiologists who have high and unprecedented levels of ionizing radiation exposure. microRNAs are a class of short and highly conserved non-coding RNA molecules (about 22 nucleotides) that become altered (dysregulated) in many diseases.

6) Important Study Detects Radiation-Induced DNA Damage in Operators After an Endovascular Procedure

In recent years, we have seen (both as witnesses and actors) an exponential increase in the number of fluoroscopically-guided cardiovascular interventions carried out by interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, and vascular surgeons. Not long ago, most pathologies treated with these procedures were the exclusive domain of open surgery. Now, a large number of patients can be treated much less invasively, at a cost we still cannot appreciate in its entirety.