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Cardiology Today's Intervention top 5 stories posted in January
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Cardiology Today ’s Intervention has compiled a list of the top stories posted in January.
This month, readers were most interested in PCI vs. CABG in left main CAD, the Class I recall of a transcatheter heart valve delivery system, the results of a next-generation self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve replacement system, the use of routine transthoracic echocardiography in acute PE, the results of the CLOSE, REDUCE and RESPECT trials and much more.
Expert: CABG still superior to PCI for left main CAD
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Despite evidence from the EXCEL trial suggesting that PCI is noninferior to CABG in patients with left main CAD, the data are not yet compelling enough to change treatment guidelines for this patient population, a speaker said at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
The EXCEL trial, initially presented at TCT 2016 and published in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed that PCI with an everolimus-eluting stent (Xience, Abbott Vascular) was noninferior to CABG in patients with left main CAD and low or intermediate SYNTAX scores.
FDA categorizes past recall of TAVR delivery system as Class I
The FDA announced it has classified Edwards Lifesciences’ past voluntary recall of a transcatheter heart valve delivery system as a Class I recall, the most serious kind.
In an email to Cardiology Today’s Intervention, the company said the move concerned “an old recall that was resolved” without any harm to patients.
Next-generation self-expanding TAVR valve safe, effective in severe aortic stenosis
New data show that a next-generation self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve with an external pericardial wrap was associated with excellent hemodynamic results as well as improved annular sealing with less paravalvular leak in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who were at increased surgical risk.
“Since it was first introduced, transcatheter aortic valve replacement has shown the potential to offer a safer and less invasive therapy for the treatment of patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. The initial TAVR studies showed us this potential, but also pointed out potential pitfalls, including increased paravalvular leak,” John K. Forrest, MD, director of interventional cardiology from the Yale University School of Medicine at The Yale Heart and Vascular Center, told Cardiology Today’s Intervention.
Routine transthoracic echocardiography not beneficial in acute PE
Hospital use of transthoracic echocardiography in patients with hemodynamically stable, acute pulmonary embolism was not associated with inpatient mortality, but its use was linked to increased costs and resource utilization, published data indicate.
Guideline recommendations for routine screening for right ventricular strain by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), cardiac biomarkers or CT scan in hemodynamically stable patients with acute PE vary among medical societies, according to David M. Cohen, MD, from the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues.
Three new studies show benefit of PFO closure on reduced risk for recurrent stroke
New data from the CLOSE, REDUCE and RESPECT trials demonstrated a lower rate of recurrent ischemic stroke after patent foramen ovale closure compared with antiplatelet therapy alone in patients with a patent foramen ovale and recent cryptogenic stroke.
The new data are in contrast to three other recent trials published in the past 5 years — CLOSURE I, PC and RESPECT (2013) — that did not show the same benefit of PFO closure over medical therapy in this patient population.