Discover the most read scientific articles on interventional cardiology of 2022 in our website. The FDA Approves Intravascular Lithotripsy for Calcified Lesions The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the shockwave lithotripsy system to treat severely calcified plaque lesions. Is Epinephrine Superior to Adenosine in No-REFLOW? In patients with acute coronary syndrome, no-reflow prevalence is 32%. Different drugs—such as adenosine, verapamil,...
Aortic stenosis is associated to significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in nearly 50% of cases. When we decide to treat aortic disease using surgery, it has been established we should also treat heart disease. However, when using transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), this is still unclear, given that in many occasions we see stable lesions...
Stent sub-expansion in coronary territory has been identified as one of the major predictors of stent failure at followup, which is why improving stent expansion will improve clinical and imaging outcomes. In percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) of severely calcified lesions, calcified lesions present a major challenge since they impede stent delivery, causing stent under-expansion or...
Use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) has increased rapidly, and several randomized and observational studies have shown improved results in patients who underwent coronary angioplasty using this tool. However, evidence on IVUS on peripheral interventions is more limited. Observational studies have found similar benefits when IVUS was part of the revascularization strategy. In a meta-analysis of...
Peripheral artery disease hinders patient quality of life extensively. In advanced stages, such as critical lower limbs ischemia (CLLI), it could yield an increased risk in major cardiovascular events, as well as limb-related events (amputation or repeat revascularization), making treatment with revascularization paramount in these cases. Calcification is a predictor of revascularization failure, which is...
Left main coronary artery (LMCA) intervention with significant lesions on both coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), either through angioplasty (PCI) or myocardial revascularization surgery (MRS), is directly related to a decrease in long-term adverse clinical events. However, the relationship between subclinical LMCA disease (preserved luminal diameters) and long-term mortality is still unknown. A retrospective...
Severe secondary mitral valve regurgitation is associated to hospitalization and mortality. The COAPT study has shown the superiority of guideline directed medical therapy at maximal tolerated doses according to guidelines (GDMT) plus edge-to-edge transcatheter repair (TEER) versus GMDT alone. However, at present there is no information on the impact of hospitalizations and their relationship to...
Many studies have shown there is higher mortality and complications among women after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) vs. men, especially after 30 days. Even though the mechanism driving higher mortality remains uncertain, recent studies have seen differences in thrombus formation with increased platelet count among women. In STEMI patients, intracoronary thrombus burden is a predictor...
Ischemic stroke is the main reason behind disability in the world, and it is often followed by death. The rupture of carotid atherosclerotic plaque and its embolization are the main cause of this entity. Different randomized studies have shown that carotid endarterectomy is beneficial in symptomatic patients with 70 to 99% carotid obstruction, but we...
In the era of endovascular intervention, with shorter revascularization times, we see lower rates of mechanical complications due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Increased rates were recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, but driven by delays in consultation. Though occasional (with an estimated incidence of 0.2%), post AMI ventricular septal defect (VSD), or interventricular communication, involves...