The LEADERS FREE study showed that a biolimus A9-coated polymer-free stent was superior to a conventional stent in terms of safety and efficacy in patients who received dual antiplatelet therapy for only a month due to their high risk for bleeding. In this substudy, researchers analyzed 667 patients enrolled in the original LEADERS FREE trial who met certain requirements…
Transulnar Access: Another Ace Up Our Sleeve Before Transfemoral Access
Transulnar access can be as safe and effective as transradial access, and it is a particularly good alternative for the preservation of radial artery patency or when such vessel presents a difficult anatomy. This new meta-analysis that will be published soon in Catheter Cardiovasc Interv showed a relatively high failure rate for that access, but…
Is It Safe to Discontinue Ticagrelor One Day Before CABG?
Courtesy of Dr. Agustín Vecchia. Nearly 10% of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) require surgery. Managing periprocedural dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in ACS patients is controversial and, to date, there are no randomized trials in this regard. Guidelines recommend ticagrelor discontinuation five days prior surgery and in the most emblematic work on this drug…
Andexanet Alfa: a Good Antidote against Anti Xa Agents
Andexanet alfa induces rapid reversion of Xa inhibitor effect in patients with active major bleeding, according to preliminary observations of the ongoing study ANNEXA-4, currently randomizing patients. This work was presented in Rome in the context of the European Society of Cardiology annual meeting, and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.…