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...
Pulmonary hypertension is associated with higher mortality after both aortic valve replacement and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This is a dynamic phenomenon, and what happens after TAVR —during the periprocedure— and its impact are yet to be evaluated. Researchers conducted a subanalysis of the Japanese OCEAN TAVI Registry, which included 1872 patients who were divided...
Many randomized studies and systematic revisions have shown that an early invasive approach (within 24hrs. after diagnosis) will not reduce mortality across the non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NST-ACS) population, hence the relevance of NST-ACS; patients with a GRACE score higher than 140 were the ones showing improved outcomes. Roughly 40% of NST-ACS patients have...
In the first session of SOLACI-SOCIME 2022 on “Complex angioplasty guided by intravascular imaging”, Dr. Alejandro Diaz (MEX) reviewed the evidence on intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in complex angioplasties. A meta-analysis indicated its use is associated with a significant decrease in the risk of death, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and new target lesion revascularization (TLR) in...
Percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) where the physiopathological mechanism is plaque erosion or non-atherosclerotic mechanisms (such as spontaneous coronary artery dissection) is not beneficial according to recent studies. The EROSION study (Effective Anti-Thrombotic Therapy Without Stenting: Intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography–Based Management in Plaque Erosion) has shown medical treatment with no...
1- ESC 2019 | New European Guidelines on “Chronic Coronary Syndromes” In Paris, during the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2019 Scientific Sessions, new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic coronary syndromes were presented. This document, simultaneously published in Euro Heart J, updates the 2013 guidelines on stable ischemic heart disease and...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Bicuspid aortic stenosis patients (bicuspid AS) represent a small group and have not been included in the larger transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) studies, since they present different morphology and asymmetric calcification, which might come along with more paravalvular leak and less accurate positioning. Between 2012 and 2016, 475,315 patients...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. In most randomized or observational studies, women comprise more than 50% of patients undergoing TAVR, and they have showed better evolution, compared against surgery. The main differences between men and women with severe aortic stenosis are that women have smaller annular dimension, shorter distance to coronary ostia, smaller peripheral arteries, and...
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...
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...