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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FDA panel gives cangrelor a no-go

An FDA panel voted 7-2 against approval of The Medicine Company’s antiplatelet drug cangrelor for patients undergoing PCI.

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Progress & concerns

Several studies fell in the eyebrow-raising category this week, one as a pleasing surprise and two as alarms.

PCI victory? More die from non-cardiac causes post-procedure

Cancer, chronic diseases and other non-cardiac conditions are now the leading causes of death after PCI, a shift away from cardiac causes that has occurred over the past two decades, according to a study published online Feb. 10 in Circulation.  

Some durable-polymer DES may trump biodegradable stents

Biodegradable-polymer drug-eluting stents (DES) may take a backseat to one type of second-generation durable-polymer stent, based on a network meta-analysis published in the Feb. 4 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Testosterone therapy may double heart attack risk

Testosterone therapy may increase the risk of MI considerably in older men and younger men with heart disease, according to a study published online Jan. 29 in PLOS One. The study found the risk in younger men with a history of heart disease to be more than doubled after starting treatment.

Expanded PCI improving treatment times in U.K.

Expanding PCI services in the U.K. among patients with acute coronary syndromes has led to faster treatment times, according to the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society’s National Audit of PCI published online on Jan. 30.

1 in 7 surgeries deemed cardiovascular procedures

Cardiology-related procedures dominated a federal list of surgeries at short-stay hospitals. The list compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was based on discharges in 2010.

Survival good 15 years after pediatric heart transplants

More than half of a group of infants and children who underwent heart transplantation at a California hospital starting in 1985 survived at least 15 years after surgery, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons in Orlando, Fla.

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