Almost 80% of all patients randomized in this study reported Canadian Cardiovascular Society class II or III angina, and almost all of them (97%) had more than 1 positive non-invasive ischemia test that matched the area of their single diseased coronary vessel. Beyond fractional flow reserve (FFR) or instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR), the study randomized patients to...
EuroPCR 2018 | Consistent CTO Study: Rechanneling with Current Techniques and SYNERGY Stents
This observational study included 231 patients from 6 sites who presented chronic total occlusions and underwent rechanneling procedures using currently available techniques, which were successful in 90% of all cases (210 patients). All patients who underwent successful rechanneling received a SYNERGY stent and most of them underwent intravascular ultrasound (90.5%). There was only 1 patient lost to clinical follow-up...
Maintaining Physical Activity After an Acute Myocardial Infarction Reduces Mortality
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,...
Surgery Seems Superior to Angioplasty in Young Patients
Long-term follow-up of patients under 50 with multivessel coronary artery disease suggests surgery outcomes are significantly better than angioplasty outcomes. This study, presented at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ (STS) Annual Meeting, concludes that surgery should continue as plan A when it comes to young patients with three-vessel disease. Surgeons complain that many patients never actually...
These were the 5 most read scientific articles of January
1) The 10 Commandments of ESC’s New STEMI Guidelines The authors have given an entertaining account of the most relevant points and differences between the new STEMI guidelines and the prior ones, from 2014. Read more 2) Burnout Syndrome among Cardiologists For the first time, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) has carried out a survey on this phenomenon,...
Physiologically Assessing Intermediate Stenosis: Could FFR Be Replaced?
Fractional flow reserve (FFR) and instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) are commonly used to assess physiological severity of angiographically intermediate stenosis. Both indexes quantify a pressure ratio as subrogate to measuring flow, which is much harder to do. Discordance between FFR and iFR occurs in up to 20% of cases, which should not be a matter...
Development of New Valves Lowers Need for Pacemaker
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. While the benefits of TAVR are well-known, the need for a permanent pacemaker after implantation is still an issue to solve, even though new valves have reduced it. This study enrolled 175 patients who underwent TAVR with an ACURATE neo TF valve. In this population, 58% of patients were women and the...
Endovascular Strategy Seems Superior against Surgery in Ruptured Aneurysms
Compared to surgery, endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aorta aneurysms has better clinical results, survival and quality of life for patients (in addition to being cost-effective), according to mid-term outcomes of the IMPROVE study, recently published in the British Medical Journal. Even though the initial outcomes had not shown differences between both strategies in terms of...
TAVR in Patients with Pure vs. Mixed Aortic Stenosis: Benefits and Evolution
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been proven to reduce mortality and improve the quality of life of patients with pure severe aortic stenosis (PAS). However, there is a significant number of patients who experience mixed aortic stenosis associated with moderate/severe aortic regurgitation (MAS). These subjects were excluded from the PARTNER...
Patients and Healthcare Providers Benefit from Less Symptoms and Lower Costs with FFR
Previous studies in which revascularization was guided by angiography alone found that coronary angioplasty does not improve outcomes compared with optimal medical treatment in patients with chronic stable angina. The FAME 2 trial (Fractional Flow Reserve Versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation) compared angioplasty guided by fractional flow reserve (FFR) with optimal medical treatment, arriving to...