Comparison of adenosine-independent pressure indices to fractional flow reserve in stent-jailed bifurcation side branches.

Objectives And Background: This study aims to evaluate whether the high correlation and classification agreement of the instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) and the resting distal coronary to aortic pressure ratio (P /P ) with the fractional flow reserve (FFR) can be confirmed in stent-jailed side branches (J-SB).

Methods: Consecutive patients (n = 49) undergoing provisional stenting were prospectively enrolled and a physiological assessment of the J-SB (n = 51) was performed. FFR, iFR, and P /P were measured and the hemodynamic relevance was determined using cutoff values of ≤0.

Determination of optimal fluoroscopic angulations for aorto-coronary ostial interventions from coronary computed tomography angiography.

Background: An optimal aorto-coronary angiographic projection, characterized by an orthogonal visualization of the proximal coronary artery, is crucial for interventional success. We determined the distribution of optimal C-arm positions and assessed their feasibility by invasive coronary angiography.

Methods: Orthogonal aorto-coronary ostial angulations were determined in 310 CT data sets.

Dual-axis rotational coronary angiography versus conventional coronary angiography: a randomized comparison.

Background: Dual-axis of rotational coronary angiography (RA), with one single cine acquisition during continuous C-arm motion along a pre-described path, is an alternative to conventional coronary angiography (CA). We assessed the performance of RA versus CA in a modern, experienced cath lab setting.

Methods: Sixty-seven patients with suspected coronary artery disease undergoing invasive coronary angiography were randomized to CA (n = 35) or dual-axis RA (n = 32).

Individual Lesion-Level Meta-Analysis Comparing Various Doses of Intracoronary Bolus Injection of Adenosine With Intravenous Administration of Adenosine for Fractional Flow Reserve Assessment.

Background: Intravenous infusion of adenosine is considered standard practice for fractional flow reserve (FFR) assessment but is associated with adverse side-effects and is time-consuming. Intracoronary bolus injection of adenosine is better tolerated by patients, cheaper, and less time-consuming. However, current literature remains fragmented and modestly sized regarding the equivalence of intracoronary versus intravenous adenosine.

OCT-assessment of scaffold resorption: Analysis of strut intensity by a new resorption index for poly-l-lactic acid bioresorbable vascular scaffolds.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze individual differences in resorption of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BRS) through optical coherence tomography (OCT) analysis and to identify factors potentially influencing the resorption process.

Methods: Between April 2016 and July 2017 clinically driven invasive coronary angiography and OCT examinations were performed in 36 patients who had previously been treated with a total of 48 BRS (ABSORB BVS, Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA). For each scaffold, a new BRS-RESORB-INDEX (BRI) was calculated.

Outcome after new generation single-layer polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stent implantation for the treatment of coronary artery perforation.

Aims: Coronary artery perforation (CAP) is a rare but severe complication during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Implantation of covered stents (CS) represents a potentially life-saving treatment. Concerns exist regarding limited efficacy and high stent thrombosis (ST) rates related to early generation CS.

Effect of non-compliant balloon postdilatation on magnesium-based bioresorbable vascular scaffolds.

Background: Optimal implantation results of bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) are typically assumed to require postdilatation with non-compliant (NC) balloons to achieve full scaffold apposition and minimize event rates. We systematically evaluated the mechanical effect of NC balloon postdilatation on magnesium-based BRS (Magmaris®, Biotronik AG, Bülach, Switzerland) in vivo.

Methods: In 35 patients, 40 Magmaris® BRS were implanted to treat 37 de novo coronary artery stenoses.

Application of a central iliac arteriovenous coupler device in severe treatment-resistant hypertension: a 3.5-year follow-up.

Objective: In patients with resistant hypertension, percutaneous placement of an iliac arteriovenous coupler device leads to a reduction of blood pressure (BP) via decreased total vascular resistance and improved arterial compliance. However, long-term efficacy and safety need to be further explored. We report on the first case of 3.

Major coronary evaginations following implantation of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds - Clinical and OCT characteristics.

Background: Coronary evaginations can occur after implantation of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BRS) and may be associated with scaffold thrombosis. Aim of this study was to clarify the clinical manifestation, extent and time course of coronary artery remodeling in vessel segments that develop angiographically detectable evaginations following BRS implantation through optical coherence tomography (OCT) analysis.

Methods: In 8 patients, 10 BRS (Absorb, Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA) which displayed coronary evaginations in clinically driven late invasive coronary angiograms were identified and findings were compared to 10 BRS in 8 patients without coronary evaginations.

Percutaneous coronary intervention of unprotected left main stenoses - Procedural data and outcome depending on SYNTAX I Score.

Background: We hypothesized that SYNTAX I score is a predictor for procedure complexity in left main PCI. Procedure complexity, duration and contrast load may contribute to adverse outcome of complex left main percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: In 105 consecutive patients who underwent PCI of unprotected left main coronary artery stenoses between 2014 and 2016, clinical parameters as well as PCI characteristics and follow-up data were analyzed.

Comparison of invasively measured FFR with FFR derived from coronary CT angiography for detection of lesion-specific ischemia: Results from a PC-based prototype algorithm.

Background: We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of a novel prototype for on-site determination of CT-based FFR (cFFR) on a standard personal computer (PC) compared to invasively measured FFR in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

Methods: A total of 91 vessels in 71 patients (mean age 65 ± 9 years) in whom coronary CT angiography had been performed due to suspicion of coronary artery disease, and who subsequently underwent invasive coronary angiography with FFR measurement were analyzed. For both cFFR and FFR, a threshold of ≤0.

C-reactive protein levels predict systolic heart failure and outcome in patients with first ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated with coronary angioplasty.

Introduction: There is growing evidence that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the etiology and progression of atherosclerosis. High C-reactive protein (CRP) levels have been associated with high mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Furthermore, in animal models CRP has been found to significantly increase infarct size.

Predictors of Technical Failure in Transradial Coronary Angiography and Intervention.

Transradial access for coronary angiography and intervention is preferred over the femoral approach but can be technically challenging. Identification of predictors of transradial access failure is important, especially in the context of acute coronary syndromes. We therefore retrospectively analyzed 13,095 consecutive patients (66 ± 12 years, 64% male) in whom transradial access was attempted for coronary angiography or intervention to identify predictors of transradial access failure.

Applicability and procedural success rate of bioresorbable -vascular scaffolds for percutaneous coronary intervention in an all-comer cohort of 383 consecutive patients.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine applicability and procedural success of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in an all-comer cohort. Background BVS use in bifurcations and severely calcified lesions is not recommended, and a relatively large crossing profile may cause limitations. It is has never been studied how widely BVS can be applied in all-comer cohorts.

Long-term clinical outcome after implantation of the self-expandable STENTYS stent in a large, multicenter cohort.

Objective: The objective of the study was to retrospectively evaluate the long-term clinical outcome after implantation of the self-expandable (SE) STENTYS stent in a large multicenter cohort.

Background: Incomplete stent apposition is known to cause higher rates of myocardial infarction (MI) and stent thrombosis. Because of its self-expanding features, the SE STENTYS stent adapts to the vessel wall and is therefore expected to minimize malapposition and therefore the rates of MI and stent thrombosis.

3D printing for sizing left atrial appendage closure device: head-to-head comparison with computed tomography and transoesophageal echocardiography.

Aims: Device sizing for LAA closure using transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) can be challenging due to complex LAA anatomy. We investigated whether the use of 3D-printed left atrial appendage (LAA) models based on preprocedural computed tomography (CT) permits accurate device sizing.

Methods And Results: Twenty-two (22) patients (73±8 years, 55% male) with atrial fibrillation requiring anticoagulation at high bleeding risk underwent LAA closure (WATCHMAN device).

Plasma levels of sRANKL and OPG are associated with atherogenic cytokines in patients with intermediate cardiovascular risk.

Osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) are regulators of bone remodeling, but are also considered to play important roles in coronary artery disease (CAD). This study evaluated potential associations of soluble (s) RANKL and OPG with atherosclerosis-relevant cytokines. Blood was collected from 414 individuals who presented to our hospital with intermediate likelihood for CAD for further examination.

Overlapping implantation of bioresorbable novolimus-eluting scaffolds: an observational optical coherence tomography study.

Overlapping implantation of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds is frequently necessary, but its influence on vessel and scaffold structure has not been thoroughly analyzed previously. The aim of this study was to analyze the acute effects of overlapping implantation on BRS as determined by optical coherence tomography (OCT). A total of 38 patients with de novo coronary artery stenoses who underwent OCT in the context of implantation of novolimus-eluting BRS (DESolve, Elixir Medical Corporation, Sunnyvale, California, USA) were investigated.

Optical coherence tomography: influence of contrast concentration on image quality and diagnostic confidence.

OCT requires intracoronary injection of contrast agent to remove blood from the coronary lumen during data acquisition, which is a possible limitation of this method. Aim of this study was to analyze the influence of iodine concentration on image quality and diagnostic certainty of optical coherence tomography (OCT). OCT sequences acquired using contrast agent with a reduced concentration of 150 mg iodine/ml and a standard concentration of 350 mg iodine/ml were analyzed.

Post-dilatation after implantation of bioresorbable everolimus- and novolimus-eluting scaffolds: an observational optical coherence tomography study of acute mechanical effects.

Objectives: The objective was to investigate the acute mechanical effects of post-dilatation on bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) as determined by optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Background: Post-dilatation with high-pressure balloons is regarded as a key component of BRS implantation for treatment of coronary artery stenoses. However, the impact of post-dilatation on BRS in vivo has not been thoroughly investigated.

Angiographic patterns of drug-eluting stent restenosis after treatment with drug-coated balloon versus balloon angioplasty: Late lumen loss subgroup analyses of the PEPCAD-DES study.

Objectives: This report provides the results of additional late lumen loss (LLL) analyses the predefined subgroup of diabetics and post hoc analyses of selected lesion morphologies to further elucidate the efficacy of paclitaxel coated balloon (PCB) angioplasty (clinical trials identifier NCT00998439).

Background: The PEPCAD-DES trial revealed that in lesion LLL and the target lesion revascularization rate (TLR) were significantly reduced with PCB angioplasty as compared with plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) in patients with drug-eluting stent restenosis (DES-ISR).

Methods: A total of 110 patients with restenosis of Sirolimus- (SES), Everolimus- (EES), or Paclitaxel-eluting (PES) stents in native coronary arteries were randomized 2:1 to receive treatment with PCB (72 patients) or POBA (38 patients).

Angiographic Findings and Revascularization Success in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction and Previous Coronary Bypass Grafting.

Current guidelines recommend invasive coronary angiography and interventional revascularization in ST-elevation and Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI and NSTEMI). The aim of this study was to analyze culprit lesions and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) success in patients with previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We analyzed the data of 121 consecutive patients in whom coronary angiography was performed in the setting of STEMI or NSTEMI and who had previous CABG.

Comparison of standard- and high-dose intracoronary adenosine for the measurement of coronary fractional flow reserve (FFR).

Background: Measurement of fractional flow reserve (FFR) by intravenous infusion or intracoronary injection of adenosine is the reference method to determine the hemodynamic relevance of coronary artery stenoses. The goal of this prospective study was to compare standard (40 µg adenosine for the right and 80 µg for the left coronary artery) to high doses of intracoronary adenosine for FFR measurement.

Methods And Results: In 130 intermediate coronary artery stenoses, two sequential FFR measurements were performed with standard-dose intracoronary application of adenosine (40 µg for the right and 80 μg for the left coronary artery), followed by one FFR measurement with a bolus of 200 μg for the right and 400 μg for the left coronary artery.

Bioresorbable vascular scaffold thrombosis in a consecutive cohort of 550 patients.

Objective: To determine the rate of bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) thrombosis in a large, real-world population.

Background: There is some concern about device thrombosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using BVS. No data have been published for PCI using both BVS and metal stents.

Comparison of Fractional Flow Reserve Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Using Coronary Angiographic Vessel Morphology Versus Invasively Measured Fractional Flow Reserve.

Invasive fractional flow reserve (FFRinvasive), although gold standard to identify hemodynamically relevant coronary stenoses, is time consuming and potentially associated with complications. We developed and evaluated a new approach to determine lesion-specific FFR on the basis of coronary anatomy as visualized by invasive coronary angiography (FFRangio): 100 coronary lesions (50% to 90% diameter stenosis) in 73 patients (48 men, 25 women; mean age 67 ± 9 years) were studied. On the basis of coronary angiograms acquired at rest from 2 views at angulations at least 30° apart, a PC-based computational fluid dynamics modeling software used personalized boundary conditions determined from 3-dimensional reconstructed angiography, heart rate, and blood pressure to derive FFRangio.