The initial strategy for the treatment of patients at high risk of bleeding (HBR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has consisted of a short dual antiaggregation therapy (DAPT). Stents continue to improve, which has allowed the reduction of DAPT schemes and therefore the incidence of bleeding. However, researchers are also looking into another strategy to...
AHA 2023 | ORBITA-2: PCI vs. Placebo in Stable Angina for Symptom Reduction
In patients with stable chronic angina, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is often conducted to relieve symptoms. However, there is still some uncertainty regarding whether PCI provides superior symptomatic relief compared with a placebo in patients not receiving anti-anginal medication. Researchers conducted a controlled and randomized study in which patients with stable angina discontinued all anti-anginal...
Is TAVR Beneficial in Cardiogenic Shock?
The presence of cardiogenic shock (CS) in a setting of aortic stenosis ranges from 1% to 4%. The prognosis for this scenario is ominous due to subendocardial ischemia, which presents as a decrease in ventricular preload and an increase in afterload. Aortic valvuloplasty has been used in this context, but, unfortunately, it has been associated...
Low vs High Dose Drug Coated Balloons in Femoropopliteal Territory
The use of drub coated balloons (DCB) in the treatment of femoropopliteal artery disease has grown. Studies on first generation high dose DCB (HD-DCB) have shown benefits, which has led to their recommendation by current guidelines. However, there have been reports of secondary effects caused by paclitaxel and its excipients. Second generation low dose DCB...
TCT 2023 | In Stent Restenosis: Sirolimus vs. Paclitaxel Coated Balloons
This was a prospective, multicenter, randomized study including 130 patients with instent restenosis treated with sirolimus coated balloons (DCB S) and 128 treated with paclitaxel coated balloons (DCB P). Primary end point was late lumen loss (LLL) at 12 months. There were no significant differences between the groups. Mean patient age was 63, 75% were...
Ultrathin Stents Shown Safe and Effective in Real World Patients
Ultrathin drug eluting stents (60 µm) had been shown beneficial vs. thin-strut stents in terms of target lesion failure (TLF) at 2, 3 and 5 years in randomized studies, but they had not been yet assessed in “real world” patients. The BIOFLOW VII is a prospective, multicenter study including 556 “real world”patients with a total...
Should We Use Ultrasound to Guide Transfemoral Access Routinely?
Currently, transfemoral access (TFA) is used in large-caliber procedures and when transradial access is not successful. The use of ultrasound (US) to guide access has emerged as a technique that allows for precise cannulation, avoiding accesses above and below the inguinal ligament. However, evidence regarding the effectiveness of this tool has shown variable results. Two...
Left Main Coronary Artery PCI: In What Scenario Could We Not Use IVUS?
Lesions in the left main coronary artery (LMCA) continue to pose a significant challenge. The use of coronary imaging before percutaneous coronary implantation (PCI) has proven useful in analyzing the lesion, identifying the presence and location of calcification, and determining lesion length in the LMCA, the left anterior descending artery, and the circumflex artery. Various...
Prognostic Impact of SYNTAX and SYNTAX II Scores in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) continues to be a clinically significant condition due to its association with morbidity and mortality after the initial event. Therefore, the prognostic stratification of these patients is of vital importance. One of the tools that have been used for several years for this purpose is the SYNTAX I (SS) and SYNTAX...
Substudy TALOS AMI: from Ticagrelor to Clopidogrel in Patients with High Risk of Bleeding and AMI
The preference for the use of potent P2Y12 inhibitors such as ticagrelor and prasugrel in patients with high risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is based on randomized studies and current guideline recommendations. However, clopidogrel is still recommended for patients at high risk of bleeding. Several strategies have been looked...