Lately, the complexity of percutaneous coronary artery interventions (PCI) has seen an increase, mainly driven by the increasing prevalence of coronary lesion calcification, which represents a significant challenge for interventionists. Untreated calcification might result in insufficient stent expansion, a high risk factor of thrombosis and instent restenosis. Historically, several devices have been used to treat…
Predictors of DCB Failure in De Novo Lesions
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug coated balloons (DCB) is a viable alternative, especially in patients at high risk of bleeding, side-branch lesions in coronary bifurcation, or in small coronary segments. De novo heart disease treated with DCB has been shown non-inferior to conventional DES stenting, according to the PICCOLETO-II trial. However, these interventions are…
Age and Microvascular Function in Patients without Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease
At present, there is increasing interest in the microvascular function of patients with and without obstructive coronary artery disease of different ages. However, these “physiological” effects of age on microvascular function have never been directly quantified on patients without obstructive CAD. Prior studies have focused on patients with angina and obstructive CAD, and the effects…
Invasive Correlation (CFR – IMR) with Coronary Slow Flow
Prior registries have shown that 65% of patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CSS) and angina do not present obstructive atherosclerosis. This phenomenon, called myocardial ischemia with no obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA) is more common in women and has been associated with high hospitalization costs and diminished quality of life. INOCA patients can present microvascular dysfunction…
Events in CAD Patients Who Refused or Were Ineligible for CABG
When deciding on the optimal coronary artery revascularization treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients, physicians normally assessed clinical presentation, surgical risk, survival expectation, and the likelihood of a better quality of life. Decisions are made after careful consideration, by the Heart Team, who will ponder options such as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), percutaneous…
Complex PCI in Octogenarian
The octogenarian population has already reached 137 million and continues to grow. It is estimated to triple by 2050. This increase represents a big challenge, seeing as these patients are often more fragile, present more complex coronary artery disease and multiple comorbidities. This generally requires two or more procedures and more experience both from operators…
Glycemic Control and Coronary Stent Failure
Diabetic patients have twice as high a risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD). Additionally, CAD increases mortality risk. Patients with a history of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) tend to need repeat revascularization, even with second generation stents. To date, there are few studies assessing the role of glycemic control in stent failure, stent thrombosis,…
Is Intravascular Lithotripsy Equally Effective in All Coronary Calcification Patterns?
Coronary calcifications pose a complex challenge with a high incidence (25% of all angioplasties), thus implying difficult management and adverse long-term outcomes, such as an increased risk of events, especially the need for repeat revascularization. The main mechanisms of long-term failure include stent underexpansion and, in particular, minimal post-deployment stent area. Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) has…
EuroPCR 2024 | Specific Intracoronary Tests Combined with Angiography for Diagnosing Patients with Chronic Coronary Syndrome: The AID-ANGIO Study
Invasive coronary angiography (ICA) has become the gold standard for the assessment of patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) for obstructive coronary artery disease. However, its ability to detect this condition is limited and it does not detect non-obstructive myocardial ischemia, which can be overlooked. To address these limitations, a prospective, observational, multicenter study was…
LpA: 30-Year Cardiovascular Followup in Primary Prevention Cohorts
For years, treating dyslipidemia mainly focused on reducing LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) with statins, which had shown benefits in reducing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a form of apoB-containing lipoprotein bound to a hydrophilic, highly glycosylated protein called apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)]. Circulating levels of Lp(a) are genetically determined, and are hardly affected by eating habits…
ACC 2024 | DanGer-Shock Trial
Cardiogenic shock will develop in approximately 10% of patients with ST elevated acute MI (STEMI), and unfortunately, only half of these patients will survive. Researchers have been looking into the Impella system to manage this severe complication. It consists of an aortic transvalvular pump designed to deliver blood from the left ventricle into the systemic…