Comparison between transradial and transfemoral percutaneous coronary intervention in acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Transradial (TR) access is increasingly being used in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, its role in PCI for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction remains controversial because of concerns of procedural complexity adversely affecting the promptness of reperfusion. In this study, 150 consecutive patients who underwent PCI for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction over a period of 24 months were prospectively evaluated; 46 had TR access (31%) and 104 (69%) had transfemoral (TF) access.

Coronary microvascular dysfunction is associated with higher frequency of thin-cap fibroatheroma.

Objective: Both coronary microvascular dysfunction and epicardial plaque vulnerability have been associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, whether microvascular dysfunction is a predictor of plaque vulnerability is not known. We hypothesized that microvascular dysfunction is associated with greater systemic inflammation and is a predictor of virtual histology-intravascular ultrasound (VH-IVUS)-defined coronary thin-cap fibroatheromas.

Transesophageal echo to help percutaneous closure of ventricular septal defect post acute myocardial infarction.

Ventricular septal defect after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a complication associated with poor outcome in the absence of intervention. We report a case of successful TEE guided transcatheter closure of a post myocardial infarction (MI) ventricular septal defect (VSD) with an Amplatzer occluder in a 79 years old male with cardiogenic shock.