Much research has been done on the usefulness of functional testing such as fractional Flow reserve (FFR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), resulting in the correlation of pathological FFR values with major adverse events at 6 months, as shown by Pijls, et al. The impact of post PCI FFR on prognosis has not been studied<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/11/30/post-pci-ffr/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Many studies have shown there is higher mortality and complications among women after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) vs. men, especially after 30 days. Even though the mechanism driving higher mortality remains uncertain, recent studies have seen differences in thrombus formation with increased platelet count among women. In STEMI patients, intracoronary thrombus burden is a predictor<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/11/18/sex-differences-according-to-thrombus-burden-in-stemi-patients/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is one of the causes of acute coronary syndrome, with a prevalence between 1 and 4%, that might reach up to 35% in women <50 years old, according to recent studies. As dissections are more frequent in women, research focuses on this population. Small retrospective studies have shown different triggers and predisposing<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/10/28/spontaneous-coronary-artery-dissection-are-there-differences-between-men-and-women/" title="Read more" >...</a>
The benefits of DES are well known, as well as the benefits of more recent polymer-based DES versions (even those with no polymers). However, strut size is no small matter, and might even make the difference, seeing as thinner struts are associated to better deliverability, simpler crossing profile in bifurcations, better endothelization and healing. Besides,<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/09/28/should-we-start-using-ultra-thin-struts/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common valvulopathy: it is present in (at least) 7.5% of patients >75 years old. This pathology can be classified as primary or degenerative MR (DMR) and secondary or functional MR (FMR). FMR can be caused by dilatation of the left atrium (most often due to atrial fibrillation), occurring in<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/09/16/is-the-cause-of-mitral-regurgitation-relevant-for-mitraclip/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Percutaneous coronary interventions have improved during the last decade with 15% rate of target vessel failure (TVF) at 5 years according to the latest reports. We are already familiar with the benefits of functional assessment of lesions with FFR and its clinical outcomes. Additionally, low post PCI FFR values (FFR ≤ 0.83-≤0.91) have been associated<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/08/24/optimization-by-ivus-after-ffr-guided-pci-are-there-clinical-benefits-for-patients/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) in non-valvular atrial fibrillation with high risk of bleeding has shown promising results with first generation devices (with the Watchman) in the different studies. At present, we have a more modern device, the Watchman FLX, but we do not have much information about it. To gather more data, researchers looked<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/08/18/left-atrial-appendage-closure-is-safe-with-the-new-devices/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Current use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has increased in intermediate-risk patients and has even been used in low-risk patients. Vascular access-related complications and bleeding are still frequent after transfemoral TAVR, being associated with poor short- and long-term outcomes. Using percutaneous closure devices has allowed operators to close the access site without surgery. The<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/08/16/combination-of-percutaneous-suture-devices-after-tavr-to-reduce-vascular-complications/" title="Read more" >...</a>
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<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/07/19/angioplasty-in-nonagenarians-is-increasingly-frequent-how-does-it-evolve/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Peripheral vascular disease is strongly associated to cardiovascular events and a negative impact on health status and quality of life. However, researchers are yet to determine the benefit of early intervention in patients presenting intermittent claudication, and whether it improves quality of life. At present, there is little information in this regard (CLEVER trial), and<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2022/07/07/intermittent-claudication-invasive-treatment-superior-to-pharmacological-treatment/" title="Read more" >...</a>