This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Advances in Coronary and Peripheral Intervention Continue
In this issue, Cardiology Today’s Intervention focuses on drug-coated balloons, which appear to be a major advance in both coronary and peripheral interventions. In situations where stent deployment may be undesirable, such as flexion points in the leg and in coronary arteries where there is drug-eluting stent restenosis and a desire to avoid additional layers of metal, DCBs are very attractive choices. The data for DCBs are growing rather quickly, and hopefully we will have many more options available in the U.S. relatively soon. Read more about recent advances in the cover story.
This issue also features a recap of some of the highlights from the European Society of Cardiology Congress held in Barcelona in August, where very pertinent trials relevant to interventional cardiology and vascular medicine were presented, such as RE-DUAL PCI and COMPASS. The RE-DUAL PCI trial provided further information that full-dose anticoagulation with warfarin plus aspirin plus clopidogrel is, in general, an undesirable strategy for patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing PCI. The COMPASS trial showed the value of adding a very low dose of a novel oral anticoagulant to aspirin to reduce events in stable patients with either CAD or PAD. These trials illustrate advances occurring in pharmacotherapy that are very relevant to the interventionalist. Read more in the Take Home.
Finally, as 2017 comes to a close, it has been an exciting and, at times, tumultuous year in interventional cardiology. In the upcoming January/February 2018 issue, Cardiology Today’s Intervention will explore notable advances in intervention and expert perspective on the future. Email your highlights to the Editors at intervention@healio.com for a chance for your comments to be included in the upcoming issue.
— Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH
Chief Medical Editor
Cardiology Today’s Intervention