Interventional Cardiology

This cardiac subspecialty uses minimally invasive, catheter-based technologies in a cath lab to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease (CAD). The main focus in on percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) to revascularize patients with CAD that is causing blockages resulting in ischemia or myocardial infarction. PCI mainly consists of angioplasty and implanting stents. Interventional cardiology has greatly expanded in scope over recent years to include a number of transcatheter structural heart interventions.

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Study debunks idea of ‘weekend effect’ after major cardiac surgery

Despite the myth of a “weekend effect” in cardiac surgery—the idea that patients discharged from the hospital on weekends and holidays face higher readmission rates—a team of UCLA researchers concluded that heart patients face a similar risk of readmission regardless of the day of week they’re discharged.

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Registry study details advancement of CTO interventions in Europe

Experienced operators in Europe are treating chronic total occlusions (CTOs) with increasing procedural success despite attempting more complex lesions over time, according to a report from the European Registry of CTO published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions.

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Longer hospital stays after elective PCI mean higher costs, more readmissions

The shorter a patient’s hospital stay after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the better, according to recent research out of the U.K. that linked longer lengths of stay to an increase in unplanned readmissions and healthcare costs.

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Radial artery use for CABG doesn’t impact blood flow 20 years later

Forearm blood flow is preserved two decades after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery using radial artery grafts, Australian researchers reported in a letter published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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Base excess trumps lactate levels in predicting mortality after heart surgery

A low measure of base excess (BE) upon admission to the ICU following cardiac surgery was independently predictive of ICU mortality—more so than increased lactate levels, researchers reported in PLOS One.

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TCT.18: Absorb stents are dead—but what about BVS in general?

A press conference at the 2018 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting in San Diego on Tuesday, Sept. 25, morphed into a discussion about the future of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) and whether it’s worth pursuing bioresorbable stent technology at all.

TCT.18: Pre-PCI statin dose slashes MACE by 28%

Acute coronary syndrome patients who were given a loading dose of atorvastatin before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) experienced a 28 percent reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) over the following 30 days, according to a secondary analysis of the randomized SECURE-PCI trial published in JAMA Cardiology.

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TCT.18: Ultrasound-guided DES implantation yields better outcomes than angiography-guided surgery

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided stent implantation offers improved clinical outcomes for heart patients over a traditional angiography-guided approach, researchers from China reported at this week’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting in San Diego, California.

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