Percutaneous PFO closure for cryptogenic stroke in the setting of a systematic cardiac and neurological screening and a standardised follow-up protocol.

Background: There are no uniform workup and follow-up (FU) protocols for patients presenting with cryptogenic embolism (CE) who undergo percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO).

Methods: We prospectively performed a systematic cardiac and neurological FU protocol in all patients who underwent percutaneous PFO closure in order to assess the incidence of subsequent cardiac and neurological adverse events. All patients received dual antiplatelet therapy for 6 months and were systematically included in a 12-month standardised FU protocol including: clinical evaluation-transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography, 24-hour Holter monitoring and/or 1-week R-test, and transcranial Doppler.

A Randomized Study of SheathLess vs Standard Guiding Catheters for Transradial Percutaneous Coronary Interventions.

Background: The small diameter of radial arteries remains a major limitation of the transradial approach for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Sheathless guiding catheters (GCs) might offer an advantage over standard GCs.

Methods: Between 2011 and 2013, we randomized 233 transradial PCIs performed in men with ostial or bifurcation lesions and in all women between standard GC (Medtronic Launcher; Minneapolis, MN) and the SheathLess Eaucath GC (Asahi Intecc, Aichi, Japan).

Impact of non-inhibited platelet supplementation on platelet reactivity in patients treated with prasugrel or ticagrelor for an acute coronary syndrome: An ex vivo study.

Managing bleeding in patients receiving P2Y12 inhibitors is challenging. Few data are available regarding the efficacy of platelet transfusion in patients treated with prasugrel or ticagrelor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the minimal amount of platelet supplementation (in terms of ratio of non-inhibited platelets to inhibited platelets) necessary to restore platelet reactivity in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) of patients treated with aspirin and a prasugrel or ticagrelor loading dose for an acute coronary syndrome.

Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome in the elderly treated by percutaneous patent foramen ovale closure: a case series and literature review.

Background: Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) is a rare clinical phenomenon, associating normal oxygen saturation in a supine position and arterial hypoxemia in an upright position. This pathology can be secondary to an intracardiac shunt, a pulmonary vascular shunt or a ventilation-perfusion mismatch. Cardiac POS occurs in the presence of a right-to-left cardiac shunt, most commonly through a patent foramen ovale (PFO).

[Role of percutaneous coronary intervention in diabetic patients].

Clinical outcomes after revascularization, both for surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is significantly worse in diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic patients. While in acute coronary syndrome, PCI is favored because of the increased risk of surgery performed during ongoing infarction, in stable patients assessment of clinical factors, such as coronary anatomy and comorbidities should guide decision of the revascularization modality (e.g.

AngioJet rheolytic thrombectomy in patients presenting with high-risk pulmonary embolism and cardiogenic shock: a feasibility pilot study.

Aims: Pulmonary embolism (PE) associated with haemodynamic instability has exceedingly high mortality. While intravenous thrombolysis is considered the therapy of choice, percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy may represent an alternative treatment.

Methods And Results: The impact of AngioJet® rheolytic thrombectomy (RT) in PE associated with cardiogenic shock was assessed in a single-centre prospective pilot study.

[Perioperative management of new antiplatelet drugs].

The management of antiplatelet drugs in the perioperative setting is based on an individual evaluation of the thrombotic and bleeding risks. When the bleeding risk is deemed low, continuation of the dual antiplatelet therapy is usually recommended, especially in high thrombotic risk settings. When the bleeding risk is deemed moderate, at least one antiplatelet agent should be continued, usually aspirin, and clopidogrel and ticagrelor should be discontinued 5 days and prasugrel 7 days before surgery.

Angioplasty and provisional stent treatment of common femoral artery lesions.

Purpose: Isolated atherosclerotic common femoral artery (CFA) disease is a rare cause of symptomatic peripheral arterial disease. Although surgical endarterectomy is considered the therapy of choice, little is known about outcomes of percutaneous treatment.

Materials And Methods: A prospectively maintained single-center database was retrospectively analyzed for outcomes of consecutive patients undergoing isolated percutaneous revascularization of CFA disease between 1996 and 2007.

Effect of biolimus-eluting stents with biodegradable polymer vs bare-metal stents on cardiovascular events among patients with acute myocardial infarction: the COMFORTABLE AMI randomized trial.

Context: The efficacy and safety of drug-eluting stents compared with bare-metal stents remains controversial in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Objective: To compare stents eluting biolimus from a biodegradable polymer with bare-metal stents in primary PCI.

Design, Setting, And Patients: A prospective, randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial of 1161 patients presenting with STEMI at 11 sites in Europe and Israel between September 19, 2009, and January 25, 2011.

[Role of endovascular therapy in the management of patients with lower extremity atherosclerotic disease according to new European guidelines].

For the first time, the European Society of Cardiology has edited guidelines on the treatment of peripheral artery disease. With respect to the treatment of lower extremity disease, the endovascular approach is recommended in the majority of cases, independently of clinical presentation (claudication or critical limb ischemia) and of lesion complexity (TASC II A-B-C). For very complex lesions (TASC II D) surgery remains preferred.

Left-to-right shunt reduction with intra-aortic balloon pump in postmyocardial infarction ventricular septal defect.

This case aims to describe the hemodynamic effects of intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in patients with ventricular septal defect (VSD) complicating myocardial infarction (MI). A 79-year-old man with no previous cardiovascular history presented to the emergency department with subacute inferior myocardial infarction associated with mild signs of systemic hypoperfusion. A transthoracic echocardiography revealed a large akinesia of the left ventricular inferior wall with preserved global left ventricular ejection fraction, as well as a large VSD in the midinferior portion of the interventricular septum.

Guideliner microcatheter to improve back-up support during a complex coronary stenting procedure through a tortuous left internal mammary graft.

Back-up support during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) is one of the keys for successful intervention. Extra back-up support guiding catheters, deep intubation, buddy wires, and other more complex techniques are usually used to improve this support. Left anterior descending (LAD) artery PCI through the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) are rarely performed because many operators feel reluctant to instrument a disease-free LIMA graft risking iatrogenic complications by passing wire, balloons, and stents to the diseased distal LAD.

Endovascular treatment of common femoral artery disease: medium-term outcomes of 360 consecutive procedures.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technical feasability, safety, and 1-year efficacy of the endovascular treatment of atherosclerotic common femoral artery (CFA) obstructions.

Background: Atherosclerotic CFA obstruction is a known cause of symptomatic peripheral arterial disease. Although surgical endarterectomy is considered the therapy of choice for this condition, little is known about the percutaneous options.

Coronary to pulmonary artery fistulas: an incidental finding with challenging therapeutic options.

We report the incidental finding of 2 coronary to pulmonary artery fistulas observed at coronary angiography performed in a 48-year-old man presenting with acute inferior ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Coronary angiography revealed an acute thrombotic occlusion of the mid segment of the right coronary artery (RCA), which was treated with thromboaspiration and bare-metal stenting. Significant stenoses of the left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCX) arteries were also observed during angiography, as well as the presence of 2 large coronary to pulmonary artery fistulas, one originating from the proximal LAD and the other from the ostial RCA.

Late tamponade secondary to aortic root perforation by BioSTAR septal closure device.

We report a patient who presented with pericardial tamponade 9 months after percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale using a BioSTAR septal closure device (NMT Medical, Boston, MA). During the operation, bleeding was observed on the posterior aortic root caused by a nonendothelialized strut. The device was explanted, followed by pericardial patch aortoplasty and patch closure of the patent foramen ovale.

[New techniques for the endovascular treatment of peripheral arterial disease].

Peripheral arterial disease of the lower limb is a manifestation of atherosclerosis, with a prevalence ranging from 4 to 12% in the adult population and increasing up to 20% in elderly individuals (i.e.>70 years old).

Poor responsiveness to antiplatelet drugs in acute coronary syndromes: clinical relevance and management.

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of mortality and morbidity in Western countries, accounting for more than 40% of total mortality. An optimal pharmacological management in these patients is of major importance and antiplatelet agents remain the cornerstone of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) therapy at hospital admission and during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). The recently described poor biological responses to aspirin and clopidogrel have been source of major concern, especially in era of drug eluting stent implantation.

Retrieval of lost coronary guidewires during challenging percutaneous coronary interventions.

Introduction: The presence of symptomatic or asymptomatic intravascular/intracardiac foreign body (FB) is underreported in the literature, but it is more commonly encountered in clinical practice. Nowadays, losing a coronary stent or a guidewire has become a rare event. However, due to the constant increase in the total number of worldwide performed coronary interventions (PCI) and especially due to an increase also in the technical difficulties of these procedures (i.

Erroneous placement of central venous catheter in the subclavian artery: retrieval and successful hemostasis with a femoral closure device.

Central venous catheter (CVC) placement, even if performed under duplex scan control, may be associated with incidental arterial injury leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospital stay. Erroneous CVC placement in the carotid or subclavian arteries has been usually treated surgically because those puncture sites may not be efficaciously compressed manually. However, surgery in this setting may be challenging because of difficulty of access for the catheters positioned in the subclavian artery and of the risk of cerebrovascular complications for carotid catheters.

[Endovascular treatment of below the knee arteries in critical limb ischemia].

Lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) may cause claudication or in the late phase critical limb ischemia (CLI). Due to the constant aging of the population and an increased prevalence of diabetes, CLI has become a major clinical concern for every vascular specialist. CLI is defined as the presence of ischemic rest pain or foot ulcers and a hypoperfusion of the foot.