Original title: Changes in Plaque Lipid Content After Short-Term Intensive Versus Standard Statin Therapy. The YELLOW Trial (Reduction in Yellow Plaque by Aggressive Lipid-Lowering Therapy). Reference: Annapoorna S. Kini et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2013;62:21–9. Multiple studies have shown the benefits of statins in reducing all events, stabilize plaques and improve endothelial function. Coronary intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)...
Original title: Effects of the P-Selectin Antagonist Inclacumab on Myocardial Damage After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Non–ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Results of the SELECT-ACS Trial. Reference: Jean-Claude Tardif et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2013;61:2048–55. The pathophysiology of myocardial injury after angioplasty is multifactorial but it is clear that inflammation and platelet activation play a major role. P-selectin...
Original title: The Independent Value of a Direct Stenting Strategy on Early and Late Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. Reference: Gabriel L. Sardi et al. Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions 81:949–956 (2013). The use of direct stenting (DS) without pre-stenting dilation has proven to be a safe strategy, especially with the...
Original title: Sustained safety and effectiveness of paclitaxel-eluting stents for femoropopliteal lesions: two-year follow-up from the Zilver PTX randomized and single-arm clinical studies. Reference: Michael D. Dake et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2013. Article in press. Studies with long-term monitoring showed mainly the limited permeability of balloon angioplasty, especially over challenging injuries such as total occlusions or...
Original title: Use of clopidogrel with or without aspirin in patients taking oral anticoagulant therapy and undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: an open-label, randomised, controlled trial Reference: Dewilde WJ et al. Lancet. 2013 Mar 30;381(9872):1107-15 The question to answer was simple, relevant, and is increasingly frequent in everyday practice: what to do when a patient who is anticoagulated has...
Original title: One-Stop Hybrid Coronary Revascularization versus Coronary Artery Bypass Graft and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for the Treatment of Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease: Three-Year Follow-up Results from A Single Institution. Reference: Liuzhong Shen et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv 2013. Article in press. Accepted Manuscript. A mammary bridge to anterior descending artery (LMCA) with a permeability >...
Original title: Colchicine Treatment for the Prevention of Bare-Metal Stent Restenosis in Diabetic Patients. Reference: Spyridon Deftereos et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2013;61:1679–85. In stent restenosis is more frequent in diabetic patients, who therefore find DES particularly beneficial. However, there is a subset of these patients with contraindication to prolonged double antiaggregation, due to a programmed surgery...
Original title: Randomized Comparison of Clinical Outcomes between Intravascular Ultrasound and Angiography-Guided Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation for Long Coronary Artery Stenosis. Reference: Jung-Sun Kim et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv 2013. Article in press. Treating long lesions is difficult and the chance of instant thrombosis may be higher in these lesions. Coronary intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) can help in...
Original title: Residual SYNTAX score after PCI for triple vessel coronary artery disease: quantifying the adverse effect of incomplete revascularisation. Reference: Christopher J. Malkin et al. EuroIntervention 2013;8:1286-1295. In the angioplasty branch of the SYNTAX study, complete revascularization was reached in 56.7% of the population. On the other hand, in the real world, around 40% of patients that...
Original title: Comparison of Prasugrel and Ticagrelor loading doses in STEMI patients: The Rapid Activity of Platelet Inhibitor Drugs (RAPID) primary PCI Study. Reference: Guido Parodi et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2013. Article in press. Current guidelines recommend the use of prasugrel or ticagrelor in patients with ST elevation acute coronary syndromes who are due to receive...