In patients with left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease, PCI was associated with non-significantly different one-year rates of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), death and MI, a lower risk of stroke, and a higher risk of target vessel revascularization compared with CABG. The meta-analysis was published Sept. 27 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

BOSTONCatheter ablation may have the ability to reduce the recurrence of ventricular tachycardia (VT), however, which is the best option for these arrhythmia patients: drug therapy or ablation? William G. Stevenson, MD, director of the clinical cardiac electrophysiology program at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, asked during a Sept. 19 presentation at the 15th annual Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) scientific meeting.

Fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided SYNTAX scores can better predict clinical outcomes by decreasing the number of higher-risk patients and better discriminating risk for adverse events in multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) patients, according to a study published Sept. 13 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. But is this strategy ready for clinical adoption? Not yet, Neal S. Kleiman, MD, of the Methodist DeBakery Heart and Vascular Center in Houston, wrote in an accompanying editorial.

The addition of two biomarkers that have emerged as possible prognosticators for acute coronary syndromes (ACS) to the GRACE score did not improve the risk prediction, according to a study published in the September issue of Heart. The GRACE score alone proved accurate for predicting in-hospital and long-term mortality for patients with ACS.

C. Michael Gibson, MD, an interventional cardiologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, spoke with Cardiovascular Business about several trials presented during the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress regarding new anticoagulants, especially what these new drugs could mean for U.S. atrial fibrillation and acute coronary syndrome patients, if they are approved.

While vascular complications occur frequently during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures, applying sheath to femoral artery ratio (SFAR) can improve patient selection for transfemoral TAVI, which could improve outcomes, found a study published in the August issue of the Journal of the College of Cardiology: Interventions.

Transradial PCI has gained more attention recently as an intervention that can decrease vascular complications, promote early ambulation and shorten length of stay compared to the transfemoral approach. However, insufficient operator experience and training have limited the procedure's usage. A study in the August issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions has shown that procedural success depends on experience, and a case volume of 50 or more is required to achieve opportune outcomes.

Performing intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABC) prior to PCI did not reduce myocardial infarct sizes in acute anterior STEMI patients, causing researchers to conclude that IABC should be used as a standby rather than a routine method. An accompanying editorial argued that more research to understand whether this method should be used in STEMI patients with shock is necessary, and efforts to increase the availability of primary PCI and reduce ischemia are important. The research is being presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Paris and simultaneously published online Aug. 30 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.