This small study tested the pharmacodynamic effects of several antiplatelet agents. It concluded that tirofiban (Aggrastat) provides “more potent and consistent” inhibition of platelet aggregation compared with cangrelor in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary angioplasty. Thirty minutes after the initiation of treatment, there was a nearly threefold difference between tirofiban and cangrelor...
Age may impact results when making an angioplasty choice based on fractional flow reserve (FFR) vs. instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR). After 2 years of follow-up, patients whose treatment of intermediate lesions was deferred based on functional testing had similar outcomes regardless of whether this decision was informed by FFR or iFR. However, iFR performance was constant,...
The number of sudden deaths reported around the world is on the rise in Covid-19 times. These deaths are caused either by the virus and its capacity to produce lethal arrhythmias or by the fact that patients are staying away from hospitals and are not being examined. Cardiologists were the first to warn that the...
In cases where it is difficult to demonstrate the improvement of a drug or a device in hard endpoints such as mortality, we should look for softer and easier to prove endpoints. The problem is that these soft endpoints are often subjective (such as sensation of shortness of breath or angina pectoris) and they could...
Prosthesis mismatch (PPM) was introduced by Rahimtoola in 1978 and happens when the effective orifice area of a heart valve prosthesis is too small in relation to patient body size. Surgical valves have been well documented, but there is little information on percutaneous valves. The study looked at 757 patients undergoing TAVR with pre and post procedural eco-Doppler...
1- What’s New in the European Guidelines on Peripheral Arterial Disease Since the last version of the European guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral arterial disease in 2011, there have been many trials and registries that warrant guideline adjustments in many aspects. The first novelty is the teamwork that gave way to these...
A new edition of EuroPCR has come and gone. Now is the time to make a balance and review the main presentations at one of the most important European congresses on cardiovascular interventions. Thus, we have selected the six most relevant studies presented at the event. In our opinion, you cannot afford to miss them!...
The objective of this study was to determine the best time to revascularize a patient who is undergoing an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with transient ST segment elevation. This population hovers around 15% of STEMI patients. The question is whether to reduce infarction area (or potential reinfarction) with an immediate intervention, or to delay intervention...
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,...
The LEADERS FREE study showed that a biolimus A9-coated polymer-free stent was superior to a conventional stent in terms of safety and efficacy in patients who received dual antiplatelet therapy for only a month due to their high risk for bleeding. In this substudy, researchers analyzed 667 patients enrolled in the original LEADERS FREE trial who met certain requirements...