During SOLACI’s coverage of the TCT 2017 Congress in Denver, Colorado, we already mentioned some of the outcomes of this study that has arrived to revolutionize clinical practice, given the differences between its results and those of the classic SHOCK trial, which has marked for almost 20 years the treatment strategy for patients with infarction complicated…
It is justified to use distal protection filter in venous bridges?
The current guidelines point out a class I recommendation to the use of distal embolic protection devices for angioplasty in venous bridges, in fact, the evidence is controversial to support this recommendation. The goal of this meta-analysis was to compare mortality from any cause, major cardiovascular events, acute myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization of…
These were the 5 most read scientific articles of January
1) The 10 Commandments of ESC’s New STEMI Guidelines The authors have given an entertaining account of the most relevant points and differences between the new STEMI guidelines and the prior ones, from 2014. Read more 2) Burnout Syndrome among Cardiologists For the first time, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) has carried out a survey on this phenomenon,…
Angioplasty vs. Surgery in Long-Term Critical Ischemia
Critical ischemia is the most advanced form of peripheral arterial disease, and it is characterized by ischemic rest pain and ulcers or gangrene. Revascularization is obviously positioned as the first-line treatment, and guidelines recommend both possible strategies (surgery or angioplasty) largely based on the findings of the BASIL trial (British Angioplasty versus Surgery in Ischemic…
The 10 Commandments of ESC’s New STEMI Guidelines
The authors have given an entertaining account of the most relevant points and differences between the new STEMI guidelines and the prior ones, from 2014. The article features 10 points resembling the ten commandments, which makes it easy to read, compared to the tedious task of reading the complete guidelines. 1) The emergency systems should help…
The Importance of Knowing Which Conduits Will a Surgeon Use for Revascularization
Whether a second arterial conduit improves outcomes in patients undergoing myocardial revascularization surgery is and will remain unclear until the 10-year results of the ART (Arterial Revascularization Trial) are published. Consequently, arterial conduits other than the left internal thoracic artery are seldom used in daily practice. Using a database including 126 non-federal hospitals in California, researchers…
Incidence of Cancer in Adult patients with Congenital Heart Disease
Adults with congenital heart disease are exposed to cumulative radiation doses, from multiple catheterization procedures. Seeing as these patients are exposed since early age, the chance of stochastic effect due to radiation exposure are relatively higher than that of the elderly population. It is clear the chance of incident cancer in adults with congenital heart disease is higher…
Dyspnea and Chronic Total Occlusion: A Symptom That We Can (Attempt to) Improve
Dyspnea is one of the most challenging symptoms as regards its assessment and treatment in patients with coronary disease, since it may stem from both cardiac and non-cardiac causes. Patients in whom dyspnea is the sole symptom of coronary disease are at a higher risk of not receiving adequate treatment, and their short- and long-term…
OCT Follow-Up of Plaque Erosion with Medical Therapy and Without Stenting
Most acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are caused by the following three different pathologies: Plaque rupture Plaque erosion Calcified nodule In daily clinical practice, all patients who experience them are treated with angioplasty, regardless of which of these physiopathologies led to the ACS in each case. Some early reports indicate that patients with plaque erosion might…
WIN TAVI: The Largest Female TAVR Registry So Far
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. In most randomized or observational studies, women comprise more than 50% of patients undergoing TAVR, and they have showed better evolution, compared against surgery. The main differences between men and women with severe aortic stenosis are that women have smaller annular dimension, shorter distance to coronary ostia, smaller peripheral arteries, and…