Original title: The impact of age flow reserve-guided percutaneous coronary intervention: A FAME (Fractional Flow Reserve versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation) trial substudy. Reference: Hong-Seok Lim et al. International Journal of Cardiology 2014; 177:66-70 The FAME study has shown the benefit of FFR guided PCI, but the question as to whether age affects lesion evaluation remains unclear. A...
Original title: Revascularization Decisions in Patients With Stable Angina and Intermediate Lesions. Results of the International Survey on Interventional Strategy. Reference: Gabor G. Toth et al. CircCardiovascInterv. 2014. Epubahead of print. Measurement of fractional flow reserve (FFR) is recommended by the guidelines and supported by evidence in intermediate lesions when not any proof of ischemia is available...
Original title: Fractional Flow Reserve–Guided PCI for Stable Coronary Artery Disease. The FAME 2 Trial Investigators. Reference: Bernard De Bruyne et al. N Engl J Med 2014;371:1208-17. The FAME 2 and the COURAGE studies tested similar hypothesis, only in the first study PCI was guided by fractional flow reserve (FFR) in addition to an angiography. The study hypothesis...
Original: Direct drug-eluting Stenting to reduce stent reestenosis (STRESSED). Reference: Wouter S. Remkes et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv, 2014;7: 751-8. Direct stenting, without predilation, has been considered a safe and effective technique that reduces procedural time, radiation exposure, contrast material and costs; however, the pertinent studies tested conventional stents only. This study aimed at assessing whether...
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: Impact of hemodialysis on local vessel healing and thrombus formation after drug-eluting stent implantation. Reference: Akihide Konishi, et al. Journal of Cardiology 2014;64:25-31 Even though the benefit of DES implantation to the general population is undeniable, it has been proved lower in hemodialysis patients (HD); the reason behind this phenomenon remains unclear. 121 patients received...
Original title: Stent thrombosis in new-generation drug-eluting stents in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI: a report from SCAAR. Reference: Sarno G et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014;Epub ahead of print. This study evaluated 34147 consecutive patients suffering acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation included in the SCAAR registry (Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry) undergoing primary...
Original title: Coronary artery bypass grafting vs. percutaneous coronary intervention for patients with three-vessel disease: final five-year follow-up of the SYNTAX trial. Reference: Eur Heart J. 2014 May 21. pii: ehu213. (Epub ahead of print). The SYNTAX study was one of the largest randomized clinical studies comparing long-term results of angioplasty versus surgery in multivessel disease and /or...
Original title: Dedicated two-stents technique in complex bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention with use of everolimus-eluting stents: The EES-bifurction study. Reference: Nisharamed I. Kherada, et al. International Journal of Cardiology 2014;174:13-17 Bifurcation PCI, especially 1.1.1 Medina bifurcation lesions PCI, is particularly challenging and has been associated with increased restenosis. The use of drug eluting stents (DES) associated to...
Original title: Ischemic Outcomes After Coronary Intervention of Calcified Vessels in Acute Coronary Syndromes. Pooled Analysis From the HORIZONS and ACUITY Trials. Reference: Philippe Généreux, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2014;63:1845-54 Calcification of the arteries has always been a challenge and a generator of problems during coronary angioplasty, but its impact on acute coronary syndromes has not...