Doing a balloon aortic valvuloplasty can be a good way to “buy” time before a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), according to a registry to be published this week in J Am Coll Cardiol Intv. This study analyzed the database of a whole country to find out the incidence, predictors and outcomes of balloon aortic...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. As we know, with higher life expectancy comes a significant increase in the use of definite pacemakers, defibrillators and resynchronization devices. Along these lines, the presence of catheters is associated to tricuspid regurgitation, which over time might become severe, leading to cardiac regurgitation and potentially heart failure. This group is...
01- Coronavirus and the Heart: How Should Cardiologists Prepare? As the number of confirmed cases increases throughout the globe, a picture is emerging as to what the direct cardiovascular effects of this pandemic may be. Read more HERE 02- TAVR: Should Transradial Approach be the Second Access Site? Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. One of...
The original TWILIGHT findings in more than 9000 patients who underwent angioplasty were presented last year at TCT and showed a 3.1% absolute risk reduction in BARC 2, 3, or 5 bleeding with no increase in death, infarction, or stroke in patients who received ticagrelor and placebo compared with patients who received ticagrelor and aspirin. All patients...
Among patients hospitalized with life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding under treatment with direct factor Xa inhibition, anticoagulation reversal with andexanet alfa (Andexxa) was associated with low mortality rates. These promising results have multiple limitations, particularly the lack of definition on bleeding severity. One of the studies testing the new antidote used propensity-score matching, and there were lower...
Treatment with the new drug called Vericiguat (acting on guanosine monophosphate receptors GMP) might reduce cardiovascular mortality or hospitalizations due to heart failure in a high-risk population with reduced ejection fraction. The VICTORIA trial (Vericiguat Global Study in Subjects with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction) was presented virtually at the ACC 2020 scientific sessions...
The ISCHEMIA trial will keep shedding light. The latest data show important differences between men and women as regards disease severity and its correlation with symptoms. Women have more angina than men but have less extensive ischemia. These findings were presented virtually at the ACC 2020, cancelled by COVID19, and suggest that, in addition to...
This post-hoc analysis of the SCOT-HEART shows low-attenuation plaque burden might successfully predict events. A greater number of low-attenuation plaques seems to be synonymous with greater risk which makes them better predictors than clinical scores, coronary calcification and stenosis degree. IVUS, CT and carotid ultrasound are the accepted tools to diagnose plaque burden and predict...
Myocardial ischemia induced by sudden mental stress is associated with bad prognosis, especially in patients with a history of acute myocardial infarction according to this new study. This study, called MIMS-2, was meant to be presented at ACC 2020 together with the World Congress of Cardiology in Chicago, which was shut down because of the...
In the past few days, many doctors appear to have caught wind of somewhat unfounded data. According to this information, the novel COVID-19 would use angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors to enter cells and, in this context, patients with an upregulated expression of these receptors (such as patients receiving angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors...