Performing coronary angioplasties at hospitals without surgical backup seems to be safe for a wide variety of patients, from those presenting ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction to those undergoing elective procedures. This work responds to a long-running debate over whether centers without on-site surgery capabilities in case of complications can be considered as referral centers<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/12/01/is-angioplasty-at-centers-without-surgical-backup-safe/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Local Anesthesia for TAVR Was Safe and Reduced Hospital Stays
A minimalist approach to transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) involving local anesthesia appears to have several advantages, according to this new meta-analysis. In addition to shortening times for procedures and lengths of stay in the critical care unit and hospital, lighter sedation may lower the need for transfusions or treatment with inotropes or vasopressors.<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/12/01/local-anesthesia-for-tavr-was-safe-and-reduced-hospital-stays/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Contemporary Ventricular Assist Devices: Hemodynamic Consequences
Courtesy of Dr. Agustín Vecchia. Despite current technological advancements and improvement in reperfusion rates in a setting of infarction, cardiogenic shock still is a relatively frequent complication with a mortality rate close to 50%. The need to augment cardiac output in these patients and the fact that the popular intraaortic balloon counterpulsation has not been able to<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/11/25/contemporary-ventricular-assist-devices-hemodynamic-consequences/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Residual Thrombus After Aspiration Thrombectomy: Does It Affect the Outcome of Primary Angioplasty?
The aim of this study was to evaluate if the residual thrombus burden after aspiration thrombectomy may affect the outcome of primary angioplasty in patients with acute coronary syndrome with ST-segment elevation. The most recent studies on aspiration thrombectomy failed to show clinical benefit in patients with ST-segment elevation. This study is based on<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/10/20/residual-thrombus-after-aspiration-thrombectomy-does-it-affect-the-outcome-of-primary-angioplasty/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Carotid PCI at Long Term: Effective in Stroke Prevention?
There are no data outside controlled studies, neither are there long term outcomes, on carotid artery stenting. This study was designed to assess the long term effectiveness of carotid stenting to prevent strokes in a large number of real life patients. This registry included prospective data with a strict follow up protocol on 901<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/09/26/carotid-pci-at-long-term-effective-in-stroke-prevention/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Men and Women: Are There Differences?
Courtesy of Dr. Agustín Vecchia. Currently, the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after stent placement is one of the most highly debated topics in Cardiology. On the one hand, women are usually underrepresented in trials in our specialty; on the other, the fact that symptoms of coronary disease are different in women is well-known. The aim<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/09/12/dual-antiplatelet-therapy-in-men-and-women-are-there-differences/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Anticoagulation and PCI: How Long Should Triple Therapy Last?
The aim of this study was to compare clinical outcomes in relation to the duration of triple antithrombotic therapy in patients with indications for oral anticoagulation undergoing coronary angioplasty. The optimal period for the prescription of these three drugs has not been studied. Between 2009 and 2013, 8772 consecutive patients undergoing coronary angioplasty were included<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/08/30/anticoagulation-and-pci-how-long-should-triple-therapy-last/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Ticagrelor: Similar to Aspirin in Patients with Stroke or TIA
Ticagrelor might be a more effective antiplatelet therapy than aspirin for the prevention of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events in patients admitted for acute cerebral ischemia. This double-blind, controlled trial randomized 13,199 patients from 33 countries. Subjects presented a non-severe stroke or a high-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA) (not considered as cardioembolic) and had not received<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/08/24/ticagrelor-similar-to-aspirin-in-patients-with-stroke-or-tia/" title="Read more" >...</a>
ABSORV at Long Term in Daily Practice Lesions
This work reports one year outcomes of the BVS Expand registry. Multiple studies have shown the safety and feasibility of the everolimus eluting bioresorbable scaffold ABSORB (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, California), but medium and long term data are limited and only on simple lesions. This is a prospective single-center registry assessing ABSORB performance in<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/08/24/absorv-at-long-term-in-daily-practice-lesions/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Optimal Duration of DAPT: How to Predict Long-Term Events
Courtesy of Dr. Santiago F. Coroleu. Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and clopidogrel after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) reduces the risk for coronary thrombotic events (CTEs) at the expense of increasing risk for major bleeding (MB). However, the lack of information to accurately predict the occurrence of each event in out-of-hospital patients under<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2016/08/17/optimal-duration-of-dapt-how-to-predict-long-term-events/" title="Read more" >...</a>