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New Tools, Techniques in the Interventional Armamentarium
The field of intervention continues to branch out in terms of the different diagnostic and therapeutic areas that it touches.
There has been much excitement and growth with respect to the treatment of pulmonary embolism (PE). The approach of ultrasound-facilitated thrombolysis for PE appears to be safer than full-dose systemic fibrinolytic therapy with efficacy that is at least as good. At many centers, this has now become a common way of treating a proportion of patients presenting with PE, in particular those who show signs of right ventricular strain. Of course, more data are being accrued about this approach, but it does seem like it will be an additional tool in the interventional armamentarium. Read more about catheter-directed therapy for PE in “New Horizons in Pulmonary Embolism Treatment.”
There has also been much progress in the role of CV intervention in the diagnosis and treatment of HF. I think this will be an area of marked growth in years to come. Right now, the ability to implant pulmonary artery pressure sensors provides a great opportunity to monitor patients with HF remotely. Accruing data seem to support the ability of this remote monitoring approach to reduce repeat hospitalizations for HF, which are a huge financial drain on the health care system. Beyond diagnostic aspects, future interventional approaches that are likely to grow in the treatment of HF include percutaneous support devices. I believe this will include not only existent devices that provide hemodynamic support but also various miniaturized versions of left ventricular assist devices meant for long-term or even permanent implantation. Of course, there must be a fair amount of further technological refinement and clinical studies before all of that really unfolds. But I think it is a likely future. Read more about advances in HF interventions in “Failure Is Not an Option.”
Please contact the editors at Cardiology Today’s Intervention (cardiology@healio.com) to let us know your thoughts on advances in interventional treatment of PE and HF.
– Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH
Chief Medical Editor
Cardiology Today’s Intervention