In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the occupational hazard for interventional cardiologists who have high and unprecedented levels of ionizing radiation exposure. microRNAs are a class of short and highly conserved non-coding RNA molecules (about 22 nucleotides) that become altered (dysregulated) in many diseases. Read also: “Nearly half of interventional cardiologists may...
Coronary angiography is essential for patients admitted with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome, since it allows physicians to confirm the diagnosis, stratify the risk, and define the revascularization and antithrombotic management strategies. There is no doubt that these patients should be studied invasively, but the timing for that is still uncertain. Coronary catheterization within...
The presence of a metallic device interrupts normal laminar flow and creates an artery environment that favors thrombosis, leaving the vessel vulnerable to very late thrombosis. Dual antiplatelet therapy, a better implantation technique, and several improvements in new drug-eluting stents (DES) (thinner struts, and higher polymer stability and biocompatibility) have lowered significantly the incidence of...
The fundamental advantage offered by transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has always been the fact that it is less invasive than surgical valve replacement. So far, most improvements for these devices have derived in less invasiveness (e.g., by improving the profile of the eluting system). However, there are also cases of “deployment” reduction during the...
About 25% of patients with multivessel disease undergoing myocardial revascularization surgery or PCI have diabetes. In this subgroup, the benefit of surgery in terms of mortality has long been shown: in the BARI study (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation) patients undergoing PCI had close to double the mortality rate at 5 years compared to those...
Overnight observation after coronary angioplasty has been the standard of care in the United States. The foundations for this practice go back to the early days of balloon angioplasty, when acute occlusion and access-site complications were frequent. There are several registries and randomized studies showing the clear safety of same-day discharge after coronary angioplasty. This practice...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Severe atherosclerotic disease in iliac arteries is experienced by 15% of all men and 5% of all women. TAC II recommends angioplasty for type-A, -B, and -C lesions. As regards stent type, self-expanding stent (SE, more elasticity) vs. balloon-expandable stent (SB, more radial strength), Reekers indicates superior target lesion revascularization (TLR) with SE. However, there...
Another important work that does not see the benefits of bivalirudin over heparin as monotherapy as regards both efficacy (death and MI) and safety end points (bleeding) in patients undergoing acute myocardial infarction with and without ST elevation. The study VALIDATE-SWEDEHEART, presented at ESC, simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, randomized 6000 patients...
We are deeply thankful to all interventional physicians who, motivated by their great scientific and educational vocation, presented their works at the “José Gabay” Course and actively collaborated in training and providing updated concepts for the next generations of interventional cardiologists. Read and/or download the presentations below: Module I: Fundamentals and Basic Elements. Álvarez, José....
The eight month of this year saw a scientific event of utmost importance to the community of young interventional cardiologists in Latin America: the José Gabay course. The meeting, which took place at Buenos Aires Hilton Hotel, gathered more than 140 fellows eager to update their medical knowledge on this area of expertise. The event...