01- New Valvular Heart Disease Guidelines with Key TAVI and Mitral Regurgitation Updates Valvular heart disease management guidelines were updated last week by the AHA and the ACC. Read more HERE 02- High Risk Anatomy Challenges ISCHEMIA Outcomes According to this recent analysis published in JAHA, patients with stable Ischemic heart disease and high-risk anatomy benefit from revascularization...
Virtual ACC 2020 | VOYAGER PAD: Rivaroxaban Superior to Aspirin in Preventing Events
In patients with peripheral artery disease undergoing revascularization, the combination of rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and low doses of aspirin are superior to aspirin alone in the prevention of acute low limb ischemic events, amputation, cardiovascular events and strokes. The outcomes of VOYAGER PAD add to the COMPASS outcomes, showing the combination of therapies can benefit risk...
Virtual ACC 2020 | COMPASS Sub-Analysis: Diabetes Increases the Benefit of Rivaroxaban Combined with AAS
In patients with stable coronary or peripheral artery disease, diabetes increases the benefit of combining low doses of rivaroxaban and aspirin vs. aspirin alone. This analysis was pre-specified in the COMPASS protocol and was presented virtually for the ACC 2020 and simultaneously published in Circulation. Patients with diabetes, showed numerically greater reduction in terms of...
The Most Read Scientific Articles of February
01- Alternatives for Patients Allergic to Aspirin The new guidelines of chronic coronary syndromes make class IIb recommendations to use prasugrel or ticagrelor in aspirin-intolerant patients. This is not meant to replace dual antiaggregation therapy in aspirin intolerant patients, when needed; it is just a recommendation to use monotherapy with the most potent antiaggregant we...
How Much Should We Exercises to Reduce Mortality?
Physical activity has been shown to reduce mortality in a dose/response manner, just like any drug. But many still wonder: are there any minimal requirements in terms of amount or intensity? Is there such a thing as “toxic exercise”? And finally, is exercising equally beneficial to all? This study, conducted by Dr Sang-Woo Jeong from...
Major Bleeding in Patients with Aspirin Plus Rivaroxaban
The combination of coronary artery disease or peripheral vascular disease and a reason for anticoagulation, such as atrial fibrillation, results in many patients who receive antiplatelet therapy with aspirin plus anticoagulation with rivaroxaban, for example. It is a well-known fact that this combination (aspirin 100 mg per day plus rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice per day) reduces cardiovascular...
Major Bleeding in Patients with Aspirin Plus Rivaroxaban
The combination of coronary artery disease or peripheral vascular disease and a reason for anticoagulation, such as atrial fibrillation, results in many patients who receive antiplatelet therapy with aspirin plus anticoagulation with rivaroxaban, for example. It is a well-known fact that this combination (aspirin 100 mg per day plus rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice per day) reduces cardiovascular...
Should We Start Using the Retrograte Access in Critical Limb Ischemia?
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Peripheral vascular disease in lower limbs is on the rise. Antegrade recanalization is associated with amputation and death, and therefore contraindicated. For a while we have been using the retrograde access when classic revascularization is not possible. Even though there is evidence in favor of this access, it is just...
Improved Outcomes after Lower Limb Revascularization
Operator ability combined with improved and diverse devices for lower limb revascularization has clearly increased in the last decade. However, is this technical feasibility we did not use to have translating into better clinical outcomes for patients, or is it simply inflating our interventionist egos? This study aims at answering the question above by identifying...
Drug-Eluting Stents vs. Balloons While Paclitaxel Is in the Eye of the Storm
Even after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert on paclitaxel devices in patients with femoropopliteal artery disease, which caused the interruption of a few ongoing studies, reality indicates that the efficacy of these devices has been proven and that they are still used. The increased mortality observed in the meta-analysis that...