Courtesy of Dr. Agustín Vecchia. In general, guidelines recommend a number of procedures a year for operators to maintain a reasonably safe level of proficiency. Even though this number is arbitrary and operators’ aptitude varies considerable, more than one publication has found an inverse correlation between procedure volume and outcomes. This study incorporated 10,496 operators...
It remains unclear whether transradial access, compared with transfemoral access, presents a different risk of post-procedural kidney injury for patients admitted with acute coronary syndrome. Historically, it has been considered (without any evidence) that, given the higher difficulty associated with transradial access, it would require longer fluoroscopy time and higher contrast volume, which would eventually...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Not long ago, atherosclerosis of the common femoral artery used to be treated surgically and, thanks to better training and new balloon devices, we have advanced the endovascular treatment alternative. However, severe calcification continues to be a great limitation. This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility and one year...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Delaying or failing to heal trophic wounds in critical limb ischemia (CLI) changes quality of life, delays rehabilitation and is associated to infections and amputation. Pedal artery revascularization with angioplasty would speed up recovery and improve CLI wound healing. The study analyzed 257 patients with de novo infrapopliteal...
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has revolutionized the management of high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis. However, survival after the procedure and severe complications have been assessed in relatively small populations with limited follow-up. This article reports long-term clinical results in the FRANCE-2 (FRench Aortic National CoreValve and Edwards) registry. The FRANCE-2 registry...
Original Title: Atrial Fibrillation Is Associated With Increased Mortality in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Insights From the Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve (PARTNER) Trial. Reference: Angelo B. Biviano et al. Circ Cardiovasc Interv. 2016 Jan;9(1):e002766. Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. The conversion to atrial fibrillation (AF) in the context of transcatheter aortic valve replacement...
Original Title: Outcomes of Straight-Line Flow UIT and Without Pedal Arch in Patients UIT Critical Limb Ischemia. Reference: Akihiro Higashimori, et al. Catheterization and cardiovascular Intervention 2016;87:129-133 Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Establishing one straight line flow into a patent pedal arch in critical limb ischemia is a real challenge occasionally achieved. This study analyzed 137...
Original title: Acute kidney Injury in Patients UIT Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Internal Carotid Artery Stent Implantation. Reference: Michael Donahue, et al J Am Coll Cardiol Interv 2015;8:1506-14 Post procedural acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with chronic kidney disease has been associated with major events; however, the cause is still unclear. This study analyzed 126...
The aldosterone blockade has shown benefit in the treatment of heart failure with systolic dysfunction after stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of spironolactone in patients with preserved ejection fraction. This was a multicenter, randomized study that included 1722 patients in the spironolactone group and 1723 in the placebo group....
Atherosclerotic stenosis of the renal artery is common in the elderly population. Previous clinical trials showed no benefit with angioplasty in relation to renal function but their use for preventing cardiovascular events was still uncertain. A total of 947 patients with atherosclerotic renal artery and systolic hypertension (need two or more drugs) or renal dysfunction...