Optical Coherence Tomography May Improve Safety and Outcomes for Stenting Procedures in Heart Disease Patients Compared to Conventional Angiography

Results from a large-scale clinical trial results could increase usage of high resolution imaging for guiding interventional coronary procedures

Mount Sinai Receives Significant Funding to Study Which Coronary Revascularization Procedure Best Improves Survival and Quality of Life for Women and Underserved Minority Groups

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will help lead and launch the first clinical trial focusing on women and minority populations to determine which coronary revascularization procedure best improves their survival and quality of life.

Death, hospital readmission more likely for Black patients after coronary stenting

Black patients who undergo minimally invasive procedures for clogged arteries are more likely to die or be readmitted to the hospital months after the procedure, a Michigan Medicine study finds. Results reveal social determinants of health – including community economic well-being, personal income and wealth, and preexisting health conditions – played a significant role in the outcomes.

Mount Sinai Cardiologist Develops New Risk Score to Help Predict Possible Contrast-Associated Kidney Injury After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Assessment can help stratify high-risk patients for monitoring before, during, and after procedures to improve outcomes

Patients With Diabetes Undergoing PCI Have Less Target Lesion Failure With Amphilimus-eluting Stents

Results from SUGAR, a randomized, controlled, multicenter trial conducted exclusively in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and with minimum exclusion criteria, found that amphilimus-eluting stents (AES) were superior to zotarolimus-eluting stents (ZES) with regard to target lesion and target vessel failure composite outcomes at one year.

Study Finds That PCI Guided by FFR Did Not Meet Noninferiority for One-Year Outcomes Compared to Bypass Surgery

The primary results of the Fractional Flow Reserve Versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation (FAME) 3 trial found that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) guided by fractional flow reserve (FFR) did not meet noninferiority for one-year adverse events compared to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with three-vessel coronary artery disease. Patients with a low SYNTAX score (which measures the complexity of coronary artery disease) had less incidence of adverse events compared to those with intermediate or high SYNTAX scores, and in this cohort of patients PCI performed more favorably.

Morristown Medical Center to Host 9th Annual Frontiers in Cardiovascular Disease Virtual Symposium

Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading heart hospitals, will host a virtual conference featuring some of the world’s most distinguished cardiovascular faculty, who will discuss the latest developments in heart disease. This program is cosponsored by the NJ Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.

What Patients Know About Their Implanted Coronary Stents: Not Enough, According to Morristown Medical Center Study

Fewer than half (48%) of patients receiving a heart stent, or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), had the provided stent card with them when surveyed at a later date, according to researchers at Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center. Even when they had their stent cards, most patients were unable to identify the type of stent they had, which blood vessel it was in, or the date of the previous procedure. Eighty-eight percent of patients did have their smartphone, however. The study will be presented as a moderated poster the morning of May 15, during the American College of Cardiology 70th Annual Scientific Session (ACC.21).

Deferral of PCI in FFR-Abnormal Lesions with Preserved Coronary Flow Reserve Is Not Associated with Similar Outcomes as Untreated Lesions with Normal FFR

A new observational study of deferred lesions following combined fractional flow reserve (FFR) and coronary flow reserve (CFR) assessments found that untreated vessels with abnormal FFR but intact CFR do not have non-inferior outcomes compared to those with an FFR greater than 0.8 and a CFR greater than or equal to two when treated medically.

Physiology-guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Optimization Strategy May Lead to Improved Outcomes

Results from the randomized controlled TARGET FFR trial show that while a physiology-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) optimization strategy did not achieve a significant increase in the proportion of patients with final FFR ≥0.90, it reduced the proportion of patients with a residual FFR ≤0.80 following PCI.

Meta-Analysis of Bivalirudin vs. Heparin in Patients with MI Examines Mortality and Bleeding Rates

An individual patient data pooled analysis comparing the use of bivalirudin versus heparin in heart attack patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) found that bivalirudin use was associated with similar overall rates of 30-day mortality across all heart attack patients, but lower rates of serious bleeding events. Moreover, mortality was reduced in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who were treated with a post-PCI bivalirudin infusion.

TCT Connect Agenda Now Available

The TCT Connect agenda is now available online. TCT, the annual scientific symposium of CRF and the world’s premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine, will take place online October 14-18. Every year, TCT features major medical research breakthroughs and gathers leading researchers and clinicians from around the globe to present and discuss the latest evidence-based research in the field.

Announcing the TCT Connect Late-Breaking Trials and Science

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) has announced over 30 late-breaking trial and science presentations that will be reported at TCT Connect. TCT, the annual scientific symposium of CRF and the world’s premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine, will take place online October 14-18.

New Data Show that Patients with Left Main Disease Treated with PCI or CABG Have Similar Composite Outcomes at Five Years

Patients with left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD) typically have a poor prognosis due to the large amount of myocardium at risk. Revascularization with either percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) has been shown to prolong survival in patients with left main disease compared with medical therapy alone. Three-year data from the large-scale randomized ECXEL trial found no significant difference in the composite rate of death, stroke or myocardial infarction (MI) between the two treatments, with a reduction in 30-day major adverse events with PCI. These results were first reported at TCT 2016 and published in NEJM.

Shortened Three-month DAPT Duration After PCI Demonstrates Low Rate of Adverse Events in High-Bleeding Risk Patients

Data from the EVOLVE Short DAPT study found that shortened three-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) did not increase myocardial infarction (MI) or stent thrombosis (ST) in high bleeding risk (HBR) patients treated with a contemporary drug-eluting stent.

Ticagrelor Without Aspirin Three Months After Successful PCI and DAPT Reduces Major Bleeding Without Increasing the Risk of Adverse Events

New data from the randomized, placebo-controlled TWILIGHT trial found that compared to ticagrelor plus aspirin, ticagrelor monotherapy reduces bleeding events without increasing the risk of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke in high-risk patients who have undergone successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and completed three months of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).

Biodegradable Polymer Everolimus-eluting Stent with Shortened DAPT is Safe and Effective for PCI in Patients with Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Disease

New data from the IDEAL-LM trial found that a biodegradable polymer everolimus-eluting stent (BP-EES) followed by four months of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) was safe and effective compared to a conventional durable polymer everolimus-eluting stent (DP-EES) followed by 12 months of DAPT in patients undergoing PCI for unprotected left main coronary artery (uLMCA) disease.