Does PCI Improve Survival in Patients with Stable Heart Disease? COURAGE Extended Analysis

Original Title: Effect of PCI on Long-Term Survival in Patients with Stable Ischemic Heart Disease. Reference: Steven P. Sedlis et al. N Engl J Med 2015;373:1937-46. Courtesy of Dr. Santiago Alonso. Centro Cardiológico Americano. Sanatorio Americano. Montevideo, Uruguay. During a median follow up of 4.6 years, with 2287 stable heart disease or silent ischemia patients,<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/12/09/does-pci-improve-survival-in-patients-with-stable-heart-disease-courage-extended-analysis/" title="Read more" >...</a>

Sustained Benefit of Treatment with Drug-Coated Balloon for Femoropopliteal Lesions.IN.PACT SFA Results at 24 months

Original Title: Sustained Durability of Treatment Effect Using a Drug-Coated Balloon for Femoropopliteal Lesions. 24-Month Results of IN.PACT SFA. Reference: John R. Laird et al. J Am CollCardiol. 2015 [Epub ahead of print]. The IN.PACT SFA studies and follows up patients treated with IN.PACT Admiral DCB (Medtronic®) for superficial femoral artery (SFA) and popliteal artery disease.<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/11/29/sustained-benefit-of-treatment-with-drug-coated-balloon-for-femoropopliteal-lesions-in-pact-sfa-results-at-24-months/" title="Read more" >...</a>

ADAPT-DES: Proton Pump Inhibitors and Clopidogrel in Patients with DES

Original Title: Proton Pump Inhibitors, Platelet Reactivity, and Cardiovascular Outcomes After Drug-Eluting Stents in Clopidogrel-Treated Patients. The ADAPT-DES Study. Some proton pump inhibitors interfere with clopidogrel metabolism and could attenuate P2Y12 reception. Prior observational and randomized studies have reported contradicting results on the clinical significance of this drug interaction. The aim of this trial was<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/11/23/adapt-des-proton-pump-inhibitors-and-clopidogrel-in-patients-with-des/" title="Read more" >...</a>

ABSORB III: Everolimus Eluting Bioresorbable Scaffolds for Coronary Artery Disease

Original Title: Everolimus-Eluting Bioresorbable Scaffolds for Coronary Artery Disease. Reference: Stone, M.D. for the ABSORB III Investigators. N Engl J Med 2015;373:1905-1915. The ABSORB III is part of a series of randomized studies that test bioresorbable scaffolds in the clinical practice (ABSORB II, EVERBIO II, ABSORB Japan, and ABSORB IV). 2008 patients were randomized; 60% had<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/11/20/absorb-iii-everolimus-eluting-bioresorbable-scaffolds-for-coronary-artery-disease/" title="Read more" >...</a>

Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetic Patients with Multivessel Disease

Original Title: Revascularization in diabetics with multivessel disease: a population-based evaluation of outcomes. Presenter: Ramanathan K. Real-world data support the role of CABG over PCI in diabetic patients with multivessel disease. However, PCI continues to be a common option for this patient population, according to an analysis of 2 Canadian registries. Sourcing data from 2<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/11/20/surgery-vs-pci-in-diabetic-patients-with-multivessel-disease/" title="Read more" >...</a>

IVUS-XPL: IVUS superior to angiography for guiding DES implantation in long lesions

Original Title: Effect of intravascular ultrasound-guided vs angiography-guided everolimus-eluting stent implantation: the IVUS-XPL randomized clinical trial. Presenter: Hong S-J. Patients with long coronary lesions have better clinical results after a year of second generation DES implantation when interventions are guided by IVUS, instead of angiography. The benefit was attributed to a lower revascularization rate of ischemia<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/11/20/ivus-xpl-ivus-superior-to-angiography-for-guiding-des-implantation-in-long-lesions/" title="Read more" >...</a>

Polymer Free Drug Coated Stent in High Bleeding Risk Patients with Only One Month DAPT

Original Title: Polymer-free Drug-Coated Coronary Stents in Patients at High Bleeding Risk Reference: Philip Urban et al. N Engl J Med. 2015 Oct 14. [Epub ahead of print]. High bleeding risk patients undergoing PCI usually receive conventional bare metal stents (BMS) to allow the shortest possible DAPT (dual antiplatelet therapy), usually a month long. This<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/11/16/polymer-free-drug-coated-stent-in-high-bleeding-risk-patients-with-only-one-month-dapt/" title="Read more" >...</a>

FAME at 5 years: FFR Should Guide All Multivessel PCIs

Though the benefit of FFR (fractional flow reserve) over angiography is statistically important only over the first 2 years, this pattern is maintained at long term according to FAME 5 year follow up, presented at the ECS and simultaneously published in The Lancet. Between the second and fifth year, the number of patients at risk<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/11/16/fame-at-5-years-ffr-should-guide-all-multivessel-pcis/" title="Read more" >...</a>

IN.PACT Global Study: Pharmacological balloon in long lesions of the Superficial Femoral Artery (SFA)

Long lesions (≥ 15 cm), total occlusions, and in-stent restenosis represent a unique treatment challenge in peripheral vascular disease. IN.PACT Global study is a prospective, multicenter, single arm designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of IN.PACT® ADMIRAL® drug eluting balloon for the treatment of superficial femoral and popliteal arteries in a real-world population. A<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/06/24/in-pact-global-study-pharmacological-balloon-in-long-lesions-of-the-superficial-femoral-artery-sfa/" title="Read more" >...</a>

NONSTEMI: Superiority of early angioplasty in non-ST elevation myocardial infarction

The European guidelines recommend revascularization within 24 hours in high-risk patients with No ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. It is unclear whether these patients would benefit from an immediate strategy. This randomized, open, and controlled study included 250 patients with suspected Non ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. Patients were randomized to early coronary angiography or<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2015/06/24/nonstemi-superiority-of-early-angioplasty-in-non-st-elevation-myocardial-infarction/" title="Read more" >...</a>