Coronary Artery Calcium Score Predicts Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Stable Chest Pain.

Background Coronary artery calcium (CAC) has prognostic value for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in asymptomatic individuals, whereas its role in symptomatic patients is less clear. Purpose To assess the prognostic value of CAC scoring for MACE in participants with stable chest pain initially referred for invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Materials and Methods This prespecified subgroup analysis from the Diagnostic Imaging Strategies for Patients With Stable Chest Pain and Intermediate Risk of Coronary Artery Disease (DISCHARGE) trial, conducted between October 2015 and April 2019 across 26 centers in 16 countries, focused on adult patients with stable chest pain referred for ICA.

Percutaneous Transcatheter Closure of Post-infarction Ventricular Septal Defect: An Alternative to Surgical Intervention.

Post-infarction ventricular septal defect is a mechanical complication of acute MI. The incidence of this complication is low in the primary percutaneous coronary intervention era. However, the associated mortality is very high at 94% with medical management alone.

Impact on percutaneous coronary intervention for acute coronary syndromes during the COVID-19 outbreak in a non-overwhelmed European healthcare system: COVID-19 ACS-PCI experience in Ireland.

Aims: To evaluate temporal trends of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) treated via percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) throughout the COVID-19 outbreak in a European healthcare system affected but not overwhelmed by COVID-19-related pathology.

Methods And Results: We performed a retrospective multicentre analysis of the rates of PCI for the treatment of ACS within the period 2 months pre and post the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Ireland, as well as comparing PCI for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with the corresponding period in 2019. During the 2020 COVID-19 period (29 February-30 April 2020), there was a 24% decline in PCI for overall ACS (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.

Intravascular lithotripsy-assisted balloon angioplasty to facilitate transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation in a patient with coral reef aorta.

This case describes the management of a woman in her 70s with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis and concomitant severe stenosis of the suprarenal abdominal aorta due to 'oral eef' calcification of the ortic wall and lumen (CRA). Due to her religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness regarding the use of blood products, she rejected the option of surgical aortic valve replacement. Transfemoral (TF) delivery of a transcatheter aortic valve was challenged by the presence of CRA.