Original title: Intravascular Ultrasound-Derived Minimal Lumen Area Criteria for Functionally Significant Left Main Coronary Artery Stenosis. Reference: Seung-Jung Park et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv. 2014;7(8):868-874. Deciding on a course of action when facing intermediate main left stenosis is usually challenging. We tend to overestimate the lesion or to use additional methods, other than angiography, to tip...
Original title: The DELTA Registry (Drug-Eluting Stent for Left Main Coronary Artery Disease): A Multicenter registry Evaluating Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Versus Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting for left Main Treatment Reference: Naganuma T, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv 2013;6:1242–9 Angioplasty of the unprotected left coronary trunk has increased significantly in recent years showing good results. Currently the...
Original title: Zotarolimus- versus Everolimus-Eluting Stents for Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Disease. ISAR-LEFT MAIN 2 Study. Reference: Julinda Mehilli et al. J Am Coll Cardiol, article in press. Improvements in 2nd generation drug-eluting stents led to increased efficiency and safety , however there is little information on these new platforms to treat left main coronary artery ....
Original title: Clinical and Procedural Predictors of Suboptimal Outcome After the Treatment of Drug-Eluting Stent Restenosis in the Unprotected Distal Left Main Stem The Milan and New-Tokyo (MITO) Registry. Reference: Circ Cardiovasc Interv. 2012;5: 491-498 We have very little data on the percutaneous treatment of restenosis of an unprotected LMCA. The aim of this study was to evaluate...
We present the first clinical case in the section “The Fellow’s Corner”, aimed at fellows in Latin America who wish to learn and always be up to date in interventional cardiology. Leave your thoughts in the comment section of this article and join the conversation! Case Authors: Jair Suriano Martins (ARG), Leonardo Ripa (ARG). Moderator:...
Courtesy of Dr. Agustín Vecchia. The link between operator volume and clinical outcomes has been long and widely debated. After years of discussion, there are promoters and detractors. Currently, interventional cardiology societies all over the world classify centers as “high-volume” or “low-volume” using arbitrary parameters, and require training fellows to perform an also arbitrary number of...
Chronic total occlusion (CTO) affect up to 20% of patients undergoing angiographic diagnostic tests. During the last two decades, recanalization technique refinement, the development of specific devices and operator skill improvement have elevated procedural success rate up to 90%. However, there are still particular complications such as collateral perforation and access site complications. This is...
The retrograde approach for recanalizing chronic total occlusions (CTO) has undergone significant evolution since its introduction in 1990, improving both in terms of techniques and specialized materials. The increased skill applied to this strategy has resulted in increased success rates for the treatment of CTO in sites with an adequate volume of procedures. Given the...
Currently, we observe an increase in the number of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures due to its expansion toward a younger population with lower risk. For this reason, it is crucial to maintain continuous technological innovation to minimize post-procedural complications. The FDA has approved the SavyWire, a preformed 0.035-caliber guidewire that offers three essential...
The initial strategy for the treatment of patients at high risk of bleeding (HBR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has consisted of a short dual antiaggregation therapy (DAPT). Stents continue to improve, which has allowed the reduction of DAPT schemes and therefore the incidence of bleeding. However, researchers are also looking into another strategy to...