Stent thrombosis and restenosis remain drawbacks of drug-eluting stents in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance for stent deployment helps optimize its results in stable patients. The aim of this study was to examine the utility of routine IVUS guidance in patients with AMI undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Employing data from Korea Acute Myoca...
Defining a new standard for IVUS optimized drug eluting stent implantation: the PRAVIO study
Original Research | By Gerber RT, Latib A, Colombo A et al.
OBJECTIVES - Preliminary Investigation to the Angiographic Versus IVUS Optimization Trial is a single center prospective observational intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guided stent implantation study assessing new criteria for optimal drug eluting stent (DES) deployment. BACKGROUND - IVUS assessment of DES often reveals underexpansion and malapposition. Optimal stent deployment is currentl...
Original Research | By Biondi-Zoccai G, Sheiban I, Romagnoli E et al.
BACKGROUND - Coronary bifurcations remain a challenging lesion subset for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). It is unclear whether intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance can improve PCI results in bifurcations. We aimed to compare IVUS-guided PCI versus standard PCI in a large registry of patients undergoing PCI for bifurcations in the drug-eluting stent era. METHODS - A multicenter, retrospectiv...
Original Research | By Wakabayashi K, Lindsay J, Laynez-Carnicero A et al.
BACKGROUND - Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of complex lesions (i.e., American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association class type C) remains challenging and the outcome may be compromised. The use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to guide PCI was suggested to improve outcome. METHODS - A cohort of 1,984 patients who underwent PCI to type C lesions in our ce...
Original Research | By Patel Y, Depta JP, Novak E et al.
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of bifurcation lesions remains challenging with a higher risk of adverse outcomes. Whether adjunctive intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging improves outcomes of PCI of bifurcation lesions remains unclear. This study sought to determine the long-term clinical outcomes associated with using IVUS for percutaneous treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions. From April 2003 through ...
Original Research | By De la Torre Hernandez JM, Alfonso F, ESTROFA-LM Study Group.
Evidence regarding therapy with drug-eluting stents in the left main coronary artery (LM) is based mostly on trials performed with first-generation drug-eluting stents. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term clinical outcomes after treatment for unprotected LM disease with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) and everolimus-eluting stents (EES). The ESTROFA-LM is a multicenter retrospective registry including...
The (R)Evolution of the CICU - Better for the Patient, Better for Education
Expert Opinion | By Valentin Fuster
“Revolutions are not push button affairs; rather, they evolve only if there exists a reservoir of hope and grievance that can be galvanized into popular action.” —Michael Parenti (1) As many of you know, I carefully scrutinize what are touted as the newest technological breakthroughs in medicine. However, one area of clinical care about which I feel quite excited is a more formal cardiovascular intensive care unit (CICU), be...
Original Research | By Yamamoto MH, Maehara A, Kim SS et al.
OBJECTIVES - We sought to assess plaque modification and stent expansion following orbital atherectomy (OA) for calcified lesions using optical coherence tomography (OCT). BACKGROUND - The efficacy of OA for treating calcified lesions is not well studied, especially using intravascular imaging in vivo. METHODS - OCT was performed preprocedure, post‐OA, and post‐stent (n = 58). Calcium modification after O...
Original Research | By Usui E, Yonetsu T, Kakuta T et al.
OBJECTIVES - This study sought to investigate the relationship of unstable plaque features with physiological lesion severity and microvascular dysfunction. BACKGROUND - The functional severity of epicardial lesions and microvascular dysfunction are both related to adverse clinical outcomes. METHODS - We investigated 382 de novo intermediate and severe coronary lesions in 340 patients who...