A thorough statistical analysis of the EXCEL has quite definitely shown that the likelihood of death, MI or stoke, including total mortality, is higher with PCI compared against CABG. The Bayesian analysis estimated a 3.3% difference in mortality, superior in the PCI arm, with 99% probability that EXCEL total mortality was indeed increased with PCI…
Should We Finalize TAVR with Atrial Pacing in Some Patients?
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. The benefits of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are undoubtedly clear, but implantation is performed near the atrioventricular (AV) node, the bundle of His, and the left bundle branch. Consequently, permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) after TAVR or surgical aortic valve replacement becomes necessary. While researchers have recently developed strategies to reduce…
Virtual ACC 2020 | PRECOMBAT: 10 Years for Surgery vs. Angioplasty in Left Main Coronary Artery Disease
After 10 years of follow-up, there were no significant differences in the rates of major adverse cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events among patients with left main coronary artery disease randomized to angioplasty or surgery. Since this was the first study to randomize patients with left main coronary artery disease to angioplasty or surgery, it enrolled very few…
Angioplasty in Long Femoropopliteal Lesions Offers Reasonable Results
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Around half the treated lesions in peripheral disease are femoropopliteal lesions. Long lesions are among the challenges faced: they are associated with higher mortality and morbidity, and revascularization in that setting always entails some degree of difficulty. Nowadays, with the development of nitinol stents and more operator experience, angioplasty is becoming…
Soon after the EXCEL “Scandal” the NOBLE 5-year Outcomes Come Out: Mere Coincidence?
There is no such thing as coincidence, at least not for the evidence-based medical science. This is what the NOBLE 5-year outcomes, soon to be published in the Lancet, seem to say, in line with the BBC exposé of the EXCEL study. The NOBLE study randomized patients with left main disease to compare PCI vs…
Latest Guidelines “Dropped” After Scandal Over EXCEL Results
The European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) formally withdrew its support for the latest coronary revascularization guidelines following a BBC investigation suggesting that data from the EXCEL trial might have been manipulated. The recommendations for left main coronary artery revascularization featured in the 2018 guidelines, which were written jointly with the European Society of Cardiology…
The EXCEL Authors’ Answer to the BBC Investigation
Do to an investigation carried out by the BBC that led to the withdrawal of EACTS support from the latest coronary revascularization guidelines, the authors of the EXCEL study (indicated by this research) provided the following answers. -Defining Peri-Procedural Infarction: All researchers involved (including surgeons) agreed that the universal definition of infarction was not right…
TAVR Offers Better Quality of Life to Low Risk Patients
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. As we all know, TAVR is gaining ground fast in the lower risk patient population, but in addition to analyzing the most important events, researchers are increasingly looking at health status, not only at hospital level, but also after one year. This study looked into PARTNER 3 patient health status…
TCT 2019 | EXCEL: Left Main Coronary Artery Angioplasty with Favorable Results at 5 Years
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Unprotected left main coronary artery angioplasty with drug-eluting stents has emerged as an acceptable strategy for a select group of patients, with results comparable to those of myocardial revascularization surgery at 2 or 3 years. However, beyond such term, we had no valid information. Researchers analyzed the 5-year follow-up results for the…
Best Conduits and Best Surgeons for the Best Outcome
Myocardial revascularization surgery is still one of the most effective treatment strategies against coronary disease. One of the most important advantages of surgery over angioplasty is the chance to reach complete revascularization. This has proven to improve the survival of patients and to reduce the number of cardiovascular events. The choice of conduit for the…