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.

Gregg Stone, MD, discussing the value of IVUS and OCT over angiography along to guide PCI procedures and actually improve outcomes based on a 12,000 patient meta analysis presented at ESC 2023. #ESC #ESC23 #ESC2023

Intravascular imaging improves PCI outcomes in meta analysis

Gregg Stone, MD, discussing the value of IVUS and OCT over angiography to guide PCI procedures and actually improve outcomes based on a 12,000 patient meta analysis presented at ESC 2023.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being developed to help make cardiovascular clinical trials more efficient, lead to faster advances in patient care, and bring possible new treatments to heart patients more quickly. The major cardiac research center of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai announced today that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chiba Institute of Technology (CIT) to collaborate on using AI to enhance cardiovascular disease research.

Mount Sinai partners with the Chiba Institute of Technology on AI to transform cardiovascular research 

Agreement aims to use AI to help make cardiology clinical trials more efficient and lead to faster advances in patient care. 

Lung cancer cigarettes

Patients who quit smoking after PCI see key improvements in their cardiovascular health

This encouraged the study’s authors, who had feared any history of smoking on a regular basis would do permanent, irreversible damage to a patient's cardiovascular health. 

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Complex PCI among older patients linked to increased risk of death

“Given the dramatic difference in death risk for older adults receiving complex PCI, we suggest that such interventions in this exceptionally vulnerable population should be approached with additional caution," researchers wrote. 

Cardiologist compensation much higher at hospitals and health systems than private practices—and the gap is widening

A new 57-page report from MedAxiom explored the latest data on compensation, production, staffing and medical imaging offerings among cardiology programs in the United States. 

money business cash flow dollar

Cordis finalizes deal to acquire MedAlliance for up to $1.1B

The total value of the acquisition, first announced in 2022, is dependent on various regulatory and commercial milestones.

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Bivalirudin linked to key benefit over heparin for NSTEMI patients undergoing PCI

The two anticoagulants are associated with similar mortality rates. However, a new meta-analysis in Circulation may have cardiologists favoring bivalirudin over heparin. 

Warfarin after TAVR is safe, but fails to boost outcomes

Researchers examined two-year data from transfemoral TAVR patients treated with low-dose aspirin and 30 days of warfarin or just aspirin on its own. 

Around the web

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.