[The Old-Age Heart].

The Old-Age Heart Abstract. Knowledge of cardiovascular changes in old age and their therapeutic options is important. Old age can lead to hypertrophy of the left ventricle, diastolic dysfunction, heart valve changes and pulmonary hypertension.

Procedural Results and Clinical Outcomes of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Switzerland: An Observational Cohort Study of Sapien 3 Versus Sapien XT Transcatheter Heart Valves.

Background: New generation transcatheter heart valves (THV) may improve clinical outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Methods And Results: In a nationwide, prospective, multicenter cohort study (Swiss Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Registry, NCT01368250), outcomes of consecutive transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation patients treated with the Sapien 3 THV (S3) versus the Sapien XT THV (XT) were investigated. An overall of 153 consecutive S3 patients were compared with 445 consecutive XT patients.

Short-term clinical outcomes among patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation in Switzerland: the Swiss TAVI registry.

Aims: To evaluate short-term clinical outcomes following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) using CE-mark approved devices in Switzerland.

Methods And Results: The Swiss TAVI registry is a national, prospective, multicentre, monitored cohort study evaluating clinical outcomes in consecutive patients undergoing TAVI at cardiovascular centres in Switzerland. From February 2011 to March 2013, a total of 697 patients underwent TAVI for native aortic valve stenosis (98.

Distal embolic protection during percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute coronary syndromes: the RUBY study.

Objective: To assess the safety and feasibility of the GuardWire system as an embolic protection device during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Background: Distal embolization occurs in approximately 15% of patients after primary angioplasty and is associated with reduced myocardial reperfusion, more extensive myocardial damage and a poor prognosis. Distal embolic protection could reduce the rate of embolic complications and improve outcome.

Clinical and quantitative angiographic outcomes following elective implantation of the self-expanding Wallstent for longer coronary artery lesions--final results of the Wellstent native study.

BACKGROUND: Implantation of short balloon-expandable stents provides superior clinical and angiographic outcome compared with balloon angioplasty in selected patients. The purpose of the Wellstent study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the self-expanding Wallstent combined with aspirin and ticlopidine in patients with stable or unstable angina related to a native coronary lesion up to 45 mm in length. METHODS: 105 patients (111 lesions) with stable (57%) or unstable (43%) angina were included in this prospective multicentre evaluation.

Comparison of costs and safety of a suture-mediated closure device with conventional manual compression after coronary artery interventions.

The aim of this study was to assess costs and safety of immediate femoral sheath removal and closure with a suture-mediated closure device (Perclose, Menlo Park, CA) in patients undergoing elective (PCI). A total of 193 patients was prospectively randomized to immediate arterial sheath removal and access site closure with a suture-mediated closure device (SMC; n = 96) or sheath removal 4 hr after PCI followed by manual compression (MC; n = 97). In the SMC group, patients were ambulated 4 hr after elective PCI if hemostasis was achieved.

High density-lipoprotein subfractions of patients using cardio-selective beta-blockers.

Treatment of hypertension with beta-adrenergic blockers (BB) slightly increases plasma triglycerides and decreases high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, only little is known about BB-related lipid changes in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), who usually a priori have decreased HDL cholesterol levels; and even less data exist on HDL subfraction cholesterol in these patients. We therefore quantified levels of lipids, lipoprotein lipids including HDL2 and HDL3 cholesterol, and apolipoproteins in 107 consecutive men undergoing elective coronary angiography.