WASHINGTON, D.C.While the introduction of generic clopidogrel will undoubtedly impact the selection of antiplatelet drugs for patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), an expert panel at the Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) meeting on Feb. 5 discussed considerations impacting those decisions, as well as the slow uptake of third-generation antiplatelet agents.

Multiple societies, including the American College of Cardiology Foundation, put forth appropriate use criteria (AUC) for proper revascularization techniques to help physicians in the clinical decision making process. The recommendations provide an update to 2009 data and outline the ins and outs of revascularization in acute coronary syndromes patients; however, the authors cautioned that these types of criteria should not substitute for clinical judgment.

The female sex was associated with better baseline clinical characteristics and improved survival, and is identified as a predictor of midterm survival after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), according to a study to be published Feb. 8 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Fueled by mounting data outlining the benefits of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), an expert consensus document released Jan. 31 has created a map of proper TAVI use that includes the best practices for proper patient selection and treatment decisions.

Investigators revealed Jan. 30 that partial results of the world's largest observational study of long-term survival in patients undergoing CABG surgery procedures compared with patients undergoing coronary stent placement by PCI, according to a study presented at the 48th annual meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) .

Adding to the copious data about transradial PCI, a meta-analysis published in the February issue of Heart found that using the transradial access site during PCI slashed mortality, major adverse cardiac event rates and major access site complications compared with the transfemoral approach for STEMI patients.

Acute MI (AMI) mortality declined between 2002 and 2010 in the U.K., and researchers attributed more than half of the decline to a reduction in event rates, while less than half was attributed to improved survival at 30 days, according to a study published in the Jan. 26 issue of the British Medical Journal.

Source: Sunil V. Rao, MD.For STEMI patients, the transradial PCI approach can decrease two-year mortality rates and reduce vascular complications compared with the transfemoral approach, according to a study published Jan. 24 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Coronary Interventions.