We are less than a month away from the most important interventional cardiology event in Latin America. Consequently, we have started to share information on some of the most appealing sessions that you will be able to enjoy in Mexico City from August 1st to 3rd, 2018. On that vein, we are pleased to communicate...
The index of microcirculatory resistance might guide therapy and controlled intermittent coronary sinus occlusions, improve microvascular function, and reduce infarct size. This study included patients with prior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty. Researchers measured the index of microcirculatory resistance before stenting and intermittent coronary sinus occlusion was used if the result was...
The intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation affects patients through a combination of coronary flow improvement and afterload reduction. It has been the subject matter of several studies, but its benefit as mechanical support has not been proven. This work aims to prove the benefits of balloon counterpulsation in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction who, after...
Pooled data from the most important recently published studies (FAME 2, Compare-Acute, and DANAMI3-PRIMULTI) conclude that there is a significant difference in favor of fractional flow reserve (FFR) as regards hard endpoints. Coronary revascularization guided by FFR reduces the risk of death and infarction when compared with optimal medical treatment in patients with stable and...
Performing a successful primary angioplasty and prescribing preventive medication without advising on the importance of keeping up with or taking up physical activity is a waste of one of our many opportunities to improve the quality of life of our patients and reduce mortality among them. If clinical cardiologists do not take over the patient,...
A recent meta-analysis that will be published soon in JACC Intv offers evidence of benefit derived from short-term dual antiplatelet therapy for elderly patients. This is a patient group that has always been excluded from the major trials, while remaining one of the most challenging subgroups in which to balance bleeding and ischemic risks. The...
Around half of all cases of ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) come alongside lesions in another vessel, for which the current strategy is complete revascularization in one or two steps. However, there are no large-scale studies analyzing patients who also present cardiogenic shock; we only have observational studies with inconclusive results influenced by several...
St elevation acute coronary syndromes are typically caused by thrombotic obstruction of a coronary artery due to ruptured atherosclerosis plaque. However, there is a significant number of patients with similar clinical presentations but no evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Read also: CTO in patients with acute myocardial infarction increases long term mortality. In general, patients without...
Patients undergoing primary angioplasty for ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction have similar clinical outcomes at 1 year regardless of whether they are treated with ticagrelor or prasugrel, according the PRAGUE-18 study. This new substudy adds an interesting detail: patients who switched from prasugrel and ticagrelor to clopidogrel, citing economic reasons for the “de-escalation” of therapy, were...
During primary angioplasty, it is not uncommon to see several other lesions in coronary arteries. Current guidelines advise against the treatment of these lesions in the same primary angioplasty procedure, although there is evidence supporting such a course of action that may warrant changes in these recommendations. The functional assessment of these nonculprit lesions may...