Radial wall strain (RWS) has been recently linked with plaque vulnerability and has been identified as a predictor of lesion progression and clinical outcomes. However, RWS should be assessed together with physiological indices and plaque characteristics. The aim of this post hoc analysis of the CCTA-FFR registry was to look into the link between RWS...
Long-term Results of Coronary Bifurcation Lesion Treatment in Diabetic Patients
The effects of diabetes on patients with coronary artery disease are well-known, and their outcomes after angioplasty are less favorable, with a higher rate of restenosis, recurrent acute myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis. Despite advances in drug-eluting stents and procedural techniques, the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions in diabetic patients shows less positive clinical outcomes...
Evolution of Bicuspid Valves at 12 Months
Severe aortic stenosis due to a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is uncommon, especially in individuals under 65 years of age. While there are usually no significant differences according to the type of valve when it comes to surgery, with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) some may arise. TAVR has seen significant advancements in the treatment...
TAVR: High Implantation of Self-Expanding Valves Directly Impacts ECG
TAVR has been shown beneficial, especially in high risk or inoperable patients. However, there are limitations to its use, especially with self-expanding valves, which are the need for pacemaker implantation and ECG changes after procedure. To address this matter, researchers assessed the right and left cusp overlap effect on 254 patients undergoing TAVR with self-expanding...
Use of IVUS in Complex PCI: Results according to Operator Experience
The use of ultravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to guide coronary angioplasty procedures (PCI) has been shown to reduce the risk of major adverse events in numerous randomized controlled studies, registries and meta-analysis. The current guidelines recommend the use of IVUS in left main disease and complex lesions. The proportion of complex PCI procedures has increased over...
Tricuspid Regurgitation: Natural Progression and Prognosis
The prevalence of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is significant; its prognosis is well known, and severe TR stages are associated with higher mortality and hospitalization for cardiac failure (CF). Seeing as valve disease tends to evolve over time, in advanced stages, we usually check on patients at specified intervals for early identification of potential hemodynamic complications...
EVOQUE: Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Replacement, One-Year Outcomes
Treating tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has gained increasing importance in interventionism. There is abundant literature on the negative natural evolution of this condition and its unfavorable prognosis, as well as the clinical challenges associated to optimal medical treatment. Among its percutaneous treatment options, both edge-to-edge repair devices (TEER), as showed in TriValve and TRILUMINATE trials, and...
Heterotopic Tricuspid Intervention: TricValve One-Year Outcomes
Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) presents a reserved prognosis when not treated in time, seeing as systemic venous congestion might significantly limit quality of life in these patients. For many years it was thought diuretic therapy was the only option to treat these patients, since the surgical alternative offered suboptimal results and many patients were deemed...
iFR Guided PCI to the LAD: Same as for non-LAD Vessels?
iFR has been validated as a useful tool for intermediate lesion analysis, with the advantage of not requiring the use of drugs. On the other hand, its use for PCI outcome assessment has not yet been thoroughly looked into, even though there have been promising data. 24% of DEFINE PCI cases presented ≤0.89 iFR with...
Is AS Only Important When Severe?
Aortic stenosis (AS) is a progressive disease associated with morbidity and mortality, especially in severe cases. However, recent studies have revealed that moderate stenosis can also have unfavorable consequences in the course of the disease. One of the challenges lies in that determining its severity is sometimes difficult due to discrepancies between valve area, gradient,...