Mitral regurgitation is the most common valvular heart disease. Its cause is most frequently functional or secondary dysfunction (functional mitral regurgitation, FMR) compared with degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR), which is associated with decreased ventricular function, hospitalization for heart failure, and mortality. While medical treatment is effective over extended periods, a significant number of patients cannot...
Relationship between Distal Vessel Quality and Outcomes in the Treatment of Chronic Total Occlusions
Percutaneous treatment of chronic total occlusions has increase, and has become a a more habitual therapeutic challenge. However, there is limited information on distal vessel quality and its association with outcomes and techniques. This variable appears to be excluded form CTO scores, except for the RECHARGE (REgistry of CrossBoss and Hybrid procedures in FrAnce, the...
Cerebrovascular Events in the COAPT Study
Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) with MitraClip has demonstrated its benefit compared with complete guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), according to the results of the COAPT Study. While cerebrovascular events (CVE), such as stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), are rare, they can occur during the procedure (transseptal puncture, device positioning, or device release) or during follow-up...
Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement vs. Medical Therapy
Mitral valve regurgitation (MR) is a common cause behind heart failure and is associated to hospitalization for heart failure and higher mortality. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER), together with guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) has been shown beneficial in high risk patients, according to the COAPT study. However, there is a significant group of patients that make...
Aortic Stenosis and Cardiogenic Shock: Is TAVR an Option?
Cardiogenic shock (CS) in a setting of aortic stenosis is associated with high mortality rates. In consequence, surgery is generally not a possibility for this patient group, and they usually undergo aortic valvuloplasty, resulting in a mortality rate of 33%-50% at 30 days, 70% at one year, and 90% at two years. While transcatheter aortic...
A New Alternative for the Treatment of Heart Failure: Left Atrial to Coronary Sinus Shunt with the APTURE Device
ALT FLOW device for left atrial to coronary sinus shunting in symptomatic heart failure patients. In the treatment of heart failure (HF), significant improvement in patient quality of life and prognosis has been achieved through appropriate medical treatment and, in some cases, the use of devices. However, in certain cases, satisfactory clinical improvement cannot be...
We Should Revascularize Patients with Stable Coronary Syndromes and Ischemia Assessed by iFR
Chronic stable angina has shown a good response to medical treatment, and the Ischemia study has recently demonstrated the safety of such treatment in stable chronic angina with moderate to severe ischemia. However, this study excluded left main coronary artery (LMCA) lesions. The FAME Study has shown the safety and efficacy of fractional flow reserve...
5 Year Evolution of PCI vs CABG in Large Randomized Studies on Acute and Chronic Coronary Syndrome
Left main lesions in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) represent a major risk and, at present, the best revascularization strategy is a matter of debate. Though many studies and registries have excluded this group of patients, there is data on the pros and cons of both percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and cardiac artery bypass graft (CABG). ...
TAVR: Does HALT Affect Follow-Up?
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in low-risk patients has been shown to be superior or noninferior in randomized studies, but the presence of valvular thrombosis, in its different forms, has not been well analyzed, nor is there much information on its impact on evolution. Researchers conducted an analysis of the LTR study that included 200...
Mitral Valve Surgery after Edge-to-Edge Repair
In last few years, transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) with MitraClip has been shown safe and effective, both for primary and secondary mitral valve regurgitation (MR), given the increasing interventionist and echocardiographer experience. However, there is a group of patients that require surgery after failed TEER, either because of bad evolution or because device implantation...