Polymer persistence in 1st and 2nd generation DES meant to allow drug release has been associated with a chronic inflammatory response that might be associated to restenosis, neo atherosclerosis and stent thrombosis. This is the rationale behind the development of polymer free and bioresorbable polymer-based DES. They have both been compared against permanent polymer DES,...
This study was aimed at gaining device registration from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a polymer-free biolimus A9 drug-coated stent (BioFreedom, Biosensors). The study had two purposes: on the one hand, it meant to reproduce the results of the LEADERS FREE trial (published in 2015) in terms of safety and efficacy with...
These new hypertension guidelines (which were as long-awaited as the American ones, back then) finally emerged in Barcelona, at the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Congress. The document was issued jointly with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). These guidelines provide recommendations for physicians to diagnose hypertension, evaluate risk, and determine when and how to...
Combining B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and high-sensitive cardiac troponin T measures undeniably helps to better stratify severe aortic stenosis patients with low flow and low gradient. Many patients in these conditions clearly benefit from a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure, and for others it is simply useless, and given its high cost, better stratification...
We are deeply thankful to all interventional physicians who, motivated by their great scientific and educational vocation, presented their works at the “José Gabay” Course. Read the presentations below: Module I: Fundamentals and Basic Elements. Leiva Pons, José Luis. “Vascular Closure Devices. Step by Step.” (Spanish version) García García, Hector. “Current Status of Coronary Intervention:...
The role of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the development of vascular disease (specifically peripheral artery disease) remains unclear. Is the virus per se the direct cause of this disease or is it a consequence of dyslipidemia, one of the adverse effects of antiretrovirals? This study looked into the effect of HIV infection on peripheral...
Defining dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) seems a never-ending story. We go from trials showing the safety of shorter schemes thanks to new generation stents to others suggesting up to two years of DAPT. Rather than finding a general scheme, it seems to be about adjusting DAPT on a case by case basis, according to ischemia...
Dropping aspirin after the first month and continuing with ticagrelor monotherapy was not better than standard dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin plus ticagrelor or clopidogrel) in patients who underwent coronary angioplasty. Patrick Serruys presented this work (which was simultaneously published in The Lancet) at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2018 and explained that, given...
Transradial access should be the access of choice in patients with acute coronary syndrome, while bivalirudin has not shown any benefit for this population. The long-term follow-up from the MATRIX (Minimizing Adverse Hemorrhagic Events by Transradial Access Site and Systemic Implementation of Angiox) trial confirms the results at 30 days: transradial access is here to stay...
When we carry out an angioplasty guided by angiography alone, as we historically have, we are almost blind. Nowadays, optical coherence tomography (OCT) offers plenty of detail but also raises costs, procedure time, and contrast volume. The question that this study aimed to answer is whether becoming aware of all small defects and imperfections in...