Much research has been done on the usefulness of functional testing such as fractional Flow reserve (FFR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), resulting in the correlation of pathological FFR values with major adverse events at 6 months, as shown by Pijls, et al. The impact of post PCI FFR on prognosis has not been studied...
The use of intravascular imaging such as intravascular ultrasound or optical coherence tomography (OCT) both for decision making optimization and percutaneous intervention planning have introduced changes in some scenarios, such as the left main, improving trial end points. There are ongoing studies set to deliver more evidence on its long term safety and efficacy (especially...
Peripheral artery disease hinders patient quality of life extensively. In advanced stages, such as critical lower limbs ischemia (CLLI), it could yield an increased risk in major cardiovascular events, as well as limb-related events (amputation or repeat revascularization), making treatment with revascularization paramount in these cases. Calcification is a predictor of revascularization failure, which is...
Many studies have shown there is higher mortality and complications among women after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) vs. men, especially after 30 days. Even though the mechanism driving higher mortality remains uncertain, recent studies have seen differences in thrombus formation with increased platelet count among women. In STEMI patients, intracoronary thrombus burden is a predictor...
Left atrium appendage closure (LAAC) is a major strategy to prevent stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF). LAAC registries to date show that women present twice the risk for major events and higher rates of in-hospital complications and hospital re-hospitalization at 30 days when compared with men. However, long-term results according to sex are...
Endovascular treatment in femoropopliteal territory has become the strategy of choice over time, with diverse devices; among others, drug coated balloons (DCB). DBS are meant to provide the antiproliferation effect of drugs while reducing exposure of a specific artery segment to a strange body. Even though the number of studies on DCB effectiveness has been...
In the era of endovascular intervention, with shorter revascularization times, we see lower rates of mechanical complications due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Increased rates were recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, but driven by delays in consultation. Though occasional (with an estimated incidence of 0.2%), post AMI ventricular septal defect (VSD), or interventricular communication, involves...
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is one of the causes of acute coronary syndrome, with a prevalence between 1 and 4%, that might reach up to 35% in women <50 years old, according to recent studies. As dissections are more frequent in women, research focuses on this population. Small retrospective studies have shown different triggers and predisposing...
The development of new devices and techniques has expanded the range of patients who benefit from endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal lesions. Paclitaxel-eluting devices have improved clinical results and treated-vessel patency at follow-up compared with conventional angioplasty. Currently, devices with different doses of paclitaxel are available in the market. The COMPARE (Compare I Pilot Study for...
The technological development of drug eluting stents has allowed us to treat increasingly complex patients, with around 10% stenosis and using more, and longer stents. This situation generates a great challenge: keep using stents or use paclitaxel coated balloons (PCB). At present, there are sirolimus drug coated balloons (SCB), but we do not have enough...