Coronary physiology, FFR and iFR, has been shown safe to defer lesions and effective to save stents by different randomized studies and registries. However, patients with chronic kidney disease have not been thoroughly analyzed yet, which brings us to the question about what to do in the face of their negative evolution, when atherosclerosis develops...
Intervention of chronic total occlusions (CTO) through angioplasty (PCI) can cause complications, even in highly experienced centers. Plenty has been written on the probability of success for the treatment of CTOs using scores such as CL-SCORE, J-CTO, ORA, E-CTO, CASTLE-CTO, etc. (some of which are usually used when preparing these cases). However, besides estimating success...
Second generation drug-eluting stents have lower frequency of thrombotic complications and in-stent restenosis. While clinical results have significantly improved, having a 2-3% annual rate of these complications within the first year after angioplasty is still worrisome. This resulted in the development of stents with struts <70 µm (ultrathin), with bioresorbable polymer and abluminal cover. Stents...
Currently, the number of nonagenarian patients undergoing angioplasty (whether elective, urgent or emergency) has increased. This population is linked to more comorbidities and has barely been included in most randomized studies or registries. As such, we do not have robust evidence on this group. Researchers conducted an analysis of the J-PCI OUTCOME Registry, in which...
The EVEREST II trial has shown the MitraClip has similar mortality rate to that of surgery and, on the other hand, we are well aware that residual mitral regurgitation (MR) is associated with a strong negative impact. However, research has shown little about transvalvular gradient after MitraClip and what it entails. 268 patients receiving MitraClip were...
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a therapeutical option for patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis. Current guidelines recommend TAVR in patients ≥75 years with intermediate risk. One of the most frequent complications of this procedure is moderate or greater aortic regurgitation (AR) after implantation. Consequently, new valves have been developed to try and reduce...
Severe mitral regurgitation is associated to cardiac failure and hospitalization and over time is accompanied by kidney failure, which leads to higher mortality. In the COAPT study, in patients with low ejection fraction, MitraClip showed benefits over medical treatment, but there was an important group of people with kidney function deterioration. The evolution and benefit...
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) through transfemoral access has already proven its great benefits, but this access cannot be used in certain patients, and alternative accesses need to be considered for such cases. One of the most commonly used accesses is the transaxillary or transubclavian access (AX), which, however, is associated with more complications (especially...
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) has been under-studied and under-recognized in comparison with ischemic heart disease and stroke, despite its well-known impact on quality of life and its associated morbidity and mortality. According to a systematic review, it was estimated that in 2015 about 238 million people globally had PVD. This number is on the rise....
Left atrial enlargement with or without atrial fibrillation (AF), absence of valvular degeneration, and heart failure with preserved function have recently been identified as functional atrial mitral regurgitation (MR). This subtype of secondary MR currently appears to be underdiagnosed, and the need for treatment in the general population might be greater than predicted. The aim...