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. Read the presentations below: Module I: Fundamentals and Basic Elements. Leiva Pons, José Luis. “Vascular Closure Devices. Step by Step.” (Spanish version) García García, Hector. “Current Status of Coronary Intervention:<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/09/14/see-the-presentations-of-the-9th-jose-gabay-fellow-course/" title="Read more" >...</a>
The Dangerous Combination of Complex Angioplasty and High Bleeding Risk Seems to Have a Solution
The LEADERS FREE trial demonstrated that a polymer-free Biolimus A9-coated stent (BioFreedom™DCS; Biosensors Europe, Morges, Switzerland) is superior to a conventional stent (bare metal stent, BMS) in patients with high bleeding risk treated with only one month of dual antiplatelet therapy. Now, is this global study outcome applicable in cases of complex lesions with several<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/08/21/the-dangerous-combination-of-complex-angioplasty-and-high-bleeding-risk-seems-to-have-a-solution/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Left Main PCI: Despite Auspicious Long-Term Outcomes, Optimal Strategy Still under Discussion
Left main coronary artery bifurcation interventions have shown very good results at long term, especially with new generation DES. The one-stent strategy has seen better results than the two-stent strategy, according to this registry recently published in J Am Coll Cardiol Intv. However, how does this registry of the daily practice between the years 2002 and<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/07/17/left-main-pci-despite-auspicious-long-term-outcomes-optimal-strategy-still-under-discussion/" title="Read more" >...</a>
MitraClip in Severe MR: 5 Year Mortality Rate Similar to Surgery
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Mitral regurgitation accounts for around 25% of valvular diseases and is a strong mortality predictor in heart disease. One of the challenges of this disease is that patients respond favorably to medical treatment for a long time, which makes hard to establish the right time to perform an intervention without<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/07/05/mitraclip-in-severe-mr-5-year-mortality-rate-similar-to-surgery/" title="Read more" >...</a>
EuroPCR 2018 | 2nd and 3rd-Generation DES for Bifurcation Lesions: Nothing New Under the Sun
This study aimed to assess the outcome of Culotte stenting with newer-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) in Medina 1, 1, 1 bifurcation lesions. The 2nd-generation device used was permanent-polymer everolimus-eluting stent Xience, a device for which there is comparatively plenty of evidence available. Alternatively, the 3rd-generation stent used was thin-strut abluminal bioresorbable-polymer everolimus-eluting stent SYNERGY. Patients with<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/05/31/europcr-2018-2nd-and-3rd-generation-des-for-bifurcation-lesions-nothing-new-under-the-sun/" title="Read more" >...</a>
EuroPCR 2018 | DESSOLV III: Bioabsorbable vs. Durable Polymer at 2 Years
Most drug-eluting stents are coated by a polymer that is used to contain the antiproliferative drug. Once the drug is released, the polymer remains in place and its presence has been associated with inflammation, restenosis, and neoatherosclerosis. The MiStent device features a polymer that becomes bioabsorbable once the drug has been released, which could, theoretically,<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/05/31/europcr-2018-dessolv-iii-bioabsorbable-vs-durable-polymer-at-2-years/" title="Read more" >...</a>
EuroPCR 2018 | Swedish Registry on the SYNERGY DES: tested in primary PCI for the first time
The study included 36292 consecutive patients undergoing acute myocardial infarction receiving PCI with the new generation stent SYNERGY (thin struts, bioresorbable polymer and everolimus eluting); 39.7% presented ST elevation MI. Kaplan-Meier curves at 2 years of patients receiving the SYNERGY vs patients receiving other drug eluting stents resulted very similar for thrombosis (0,69% vs 0,81%,<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/05/31/europcr-2018-swedish-registry-on-the-synergy-des-tested-in-primary-pci-for-the-first-time/" title="Read more" >...</a>
EuroPCR 2018 | SCAAR Registry at 10 years: FFR improves decision making in the long term
The SCAAR registry aimed at showing the differences in mortality at very long term when using functional assessment of coronary lesions (with FFR or iFR) in patients with chronic stable angina. The study compared 3460 patients assessed with FFR/iFR against 21221 patients undergoing PCI based on angiography, between January 2005 and March 2015. As<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/05/24/europcr-2018-scaar-registry-at-10-years-ffr-improves-decision-making-in-the-long-term/" title="Read more" >...</a>
TAVR with Prior MRS: A New Challenge
The benefits of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for high-risk, prohibitive-risk (class I) or intermediate-risk (class IIa) patients have already been proven, but there is a growing population of patients with a history of myocardial revascularization surgery (MRS) who experience severe aortic stenosis. Decision-making in these cases is anything but simple, mainly due to the presence of<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/05/02/tavr-with-prior-mrs-a-new-challenge/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Bicuspid Valves Do Not Increase Mortality in TAVR
The frequency of bicuspid aortic valves (BcAV) are around 1%, but in 60+ patients it is associated to severe aortic stenosis. Even though surgery is the standard treatment, TAVR is the “off label” indication in high risk patients. BcAV presents differences with tricuspids given that it is more elliptic, has asymmetric calcification and more<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/05/02/bicuspid-valves-do-not-increase-mortality-in-tavr/" title="Read more" >...</a>