Peripheral vascular disease is considered as a manifestation of systemic atherosclerosis associated with adverse events, both cardiovascular and related to the lower limbs. Previous studies showed that clopidogrel monotherapy is associated with lower risk of events when compared to low doses of aspirin. Such is the rationale behind this article comparing clopidogrel and ticagrelor...
No randomized head-to-head study comparing the efficacy and safety of ticagrelor and prasugrel has been carried out in the last 7 years since these newer P2Y12 inhibitors first showed a higher efficacy relative to clopidogrel. This study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of prasugrel and ticagrelor in patients with acute myocardial infarction...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Transfemoral access is the first choice for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). However, this approach is not feasible for a progressively larger number of patients, which establishes the need to search for alternative accesses. Between 2009 and 2014, this study enrolled 174 patients who underwent TAVR and were unsuitable for transfemoral...
The FUTURE study, testing the utility of functional revascularization by measuring the fractional flow reserve (FFR), was halted early by its safety committee due to an increased mortality rate at 1 year among patients guided by FFR. In this unexpected unprecedented outcome, 17 patients in the FFR-guided group died at a year of follow-up, compared with 7 patients...
Compared to men, women have less chances of developing obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), but this new study suggests they are more prone to have lower coronary flow reserve, which is also a risk factor. Evidently, ischemic cardiomyopathy entails far more than assessing and treating plaque burden in epicardial arteries. In women, the most...
The symposium will take place on December 1, 2016, from 10:15 to 11:30, at “Osorno A” Room of Patagónico Hotel in Puerto Varas, in the context of SOLACI Sessions Chile 2016. This event on complex cardiomyopathy is organized by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) together with SOLACI. Moderators are Drs....
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Unprotected left main coronary artery (LMCA) angioplasty has become an important trend in the last few years. One of the most significant unresolved questions about it is whether one stent is better than two in distal lesions, and how is their progress after treatment. This study included 937 patients who...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Left main coronary artery disease (LMD), has historically been treated with myocardial revascularization surgery (CABG), but for some years now, and with the development of new drug eluting stents (DES), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been gathering support in this challenging territory. The study analyzed the SYNTAX and PRECOMBAT...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Left main coronary artery (LMCA) lesions have always been defined as high-risk, with surgery as treatment of choice. Drug-eluting stents (DES) have slowly changed that, but their use still lacks strong supporting evidence. The Evaluation of XIENCE versus Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for Effectiveness of Left Main Revascularization (EXCEL) study...
Courtesy of Dr. Guillermo Migliaro. The latest 2011 American College of Cardiology (ACC) guideline states that “coronary intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) may be considered for guidance of coronary stent implantation, particularly in cases of left main coronary artery stenting (Class IIB, Level of Evidence: B).” This has been long debated with no clear winners. This analysis provides new information...