Here we share a message from the Scientific Committee of the Global Heart Congress, which will be held on September 9 and 10, 2019 in Osaka, Japan. “On behalf of Committee, gladly declares the first release of International CME and CPD Credit Event on “Global Heart Congress” (Global Heart Congress-2019) which will takes place on<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/05/02/global-heart-congress-september-09-10-2019-osaka-japan/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Outcomes of MAIN-COMPARE: A 10-Year Follow-Up for a Historical Rivalry
Angioplasty and myocardial revascularization surgery have competed over the left main coronary artery for a long time. There may be many points of view involved in the interpretation of trial outcomes. While surgeons consider the left main coronary artery to be suitable for surgery (except when faced with surgical contraindications), interventional cardiologists see the left<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/04/30/outcomes-of-main-compare-a-10-year-follow-up-for-a-historical-rivalry/" title="Read more" >...</a>
The Most Read Articles of March in Interventional Cardiology
1- What to Do with Blood Pressure Levels Between 130/80 and 139/89 mmHg The decision to be made with a treatment-free patient with systolic blood pressure over 160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure over 100 mmHg is an easy one. All guidelines agree: treatment should be started immediately alongside lifestyle changes. Read more 2-<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/04/22/the-most-read-articles-of-march-in-interventional-cardiology/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Drug-Eluting Stents vs. Balloons While Paclitaxel Is in the Eye of the Storm
Even after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert on paclitaxel devices in patients with femoropopliteal artery disease, which caused the interruption of a few ongoing studies, reality indicates that the efficacy of these devices has been proven and that they are still used. The increased mortality observed in the meta-analysis that<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/04/09/drug-eluting-stents-vs-balloons-while-paclitaxel-is-in-the-eye-of-the-storm/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Balancing Bleeding Risk vs. Thrombotic Risk to Define Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Duration
Patients who undergo complex angioplasty are at higher ischemic risk, but only benefit from extended dual antiplatelet therapy if there are no factors for high bleeding risk. These data suggest that the bleeding risk must weigh more than the ischemic risk on the determination of dual antiplatelet therapy duration. Complex angioplasty is associated with higher<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/04/05/balancing-bleeding-risk-vs-thrombotic-risk-to-define-dual-antiplatelet-therapy-duration/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Angiography-Derived FFR: Complicated Software or Imminent Reality?
Angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR) demonstrated substantial usefulness, especially in patients with three-vessel lesions. The functional SYNTAX score derived from angiography has the potential to redefine prognosis and treatment strategies compared with the classic anatomical SYNTAX score. This study sought to investigate the applicability of this method in patients with multivessel lesions included in the<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/03/13/angiography-derived-ffr-complicated-software-or-imminent-reality/" title="Read more" >...</a>
CTO: in Radial Access with Similar Results to Femoral
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. One of the characteristics of chronic total occlusion (CTO) is the use of two access routes: femoral and radial. The radial approach is safer, but it has not been thoroughly analyzed in this type of PCI. The study looked at 3709 patients undergoing left main percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/03/13/cto-in-radial-access-with-similar-results-to-femoral/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Asymptomatic Coronary Artery Disease, Silent Ischemia: A Cardiologist’s Headache
We need more evidence to guide us in the management of silent ischemia. Confirmed asymptomatic coronary artery disease is a problem for cardiologists, who lack enough evidence to guide a risk-benefit assessment that justifies revascularization. Revascularizing the outcome of a functional assessment may reduce the rates of death and infarction, or it may just be<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/03/12/asymptomatic-coronary-artery-disease-silent-ischemia-a-cardiologists-headache/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Mechanical Thrombectomy in Stroke Could Have Worse Results in Low Volume Centers
The number of centers that are starting endovascular stroke therapy (EST) to treat acute stroke is growing fast, with a significant increase of cases in low volume centers. Interventional neurologists are not able to cover the high demand and interventional cardiologists are always ready to learn something new. Is this right? Should interventional cardiologists treat<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/02/14/mechanical-thrombectomy-in-stroke-could-have-worse-results-in-low-volume-centers/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Clinical Events after Deferral of LAD Treatment Guided by FFR or iFR
iFR is a safe alternative for lesion deferral even when it comes to the left anterior descending artery (LAD). What is more, patients deferred with iFR showed significantly fewer events than patients deferred using FFR. Neither clinical cardiologists nor interventionists feel comfortable deferring LAD treatment, because it is often perceived as high risk. If functional<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2019/02/07/clinical-events-after-deferral-of-lad-treatment-guided-by-ffr-or-ifr/" title="Read more" >...</a>