A lesion ≥50% in the left main coronary artery (LMCA) is considered severe, according to various scientific societies, regardless of the presence of symptoms or ischemia, due to the extent of myocardium at risk. In such cases, revascularization is indicated. In many patients, lesions in this section of the coronary artery have severe calcification, which...
The first experiences with distal radial access (DRA) have revealed significant benefits compared against the transradial approach (TRA), showing reduced bleeding events and better puncture site occlusion rate. Even the spectrum of diseases treated with DRA has grown, and now includes chronic total occlusion (CTO) though 7Fr inductors, such as Terumo’s Glidesheath Slender. The aim...
Roughly 20% or coronary angiographies show some form of chronic total occlusion (CTO), and this figure is twice as high for diabetic patients or those with cardiac failure and reduced ejection fraction (EF). CTO percutaneous intervention (PCI) has experienced a significant growth thanks to the development of new techniques and dedicated material. However, a considerable...
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 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...
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...
Chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) has been considered another comorbidity in previous studies, and there has been no significant reduction in cardiovascular mortality or myocardial infarction (MI) rates with revascularization through percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or myocardial revascularization surgery (MRS) compared with optimal medical treatment (OMT). One possible reason for the lack of benefit has been...
Chronic total occlusions (CTOs) account for approximately 15-20% of patients with stable coronary artery disease. This field has seen various advances regarding treatment, leading to an improvement in the success rate of procedures. According to registries and randomized studies, the main indication for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of CTO should be based more on clinical...
Aortic stenosis (AS) is a common condition that shares risk factors with coronary artery disease. Many patients can suffer from both diseases simultaneously, something that increases the risk of acute myocardial infarction in the presence of aortic stenosis. AS can cause ischemia even in the absence of coronary artery disease, due to ventricular hypertrophy, increased...
TAVR has been shown beneficial in patients across the risk spectrum. The PARTNER 2 SAPIEN 3 (P2S3i) study on intermediate risk patients was the first to show TAVR superiority vs SAVR when using the transfemoral approach. SAVR durability has been shown in different analysis but, except for a few reports, TAVR durability at long term...