Exploring Possible Links: Thigh Muscle Mass, Apolipoproteins, and Glucose Metabolism in Peripheral Artery Disease-Insights from a Pilot Sub-Study following Endovascular Treatment.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) compromises walking and physical activity, which results in further loss of skeletal muscle. The cross-sectional area of the thigh muscle has been shown to be correlated with systemic skeletal muscle volume. In our previous pilot study, we observed an increase in thigh muscle mass following endovascular treatment (EVT) in patients with proximal vascular lesions affecting the aortoiliac and femoropopliteal arteries.

Analyzing drilling noise in rotational atherectomy: Improving safety and effectiveness through visualization and anomaly detection using autoencoder-A preclinical study.

Background And Aims: As the population of aging societies continues to grow, the prevalence of complex coronary artery diseases, including calcification, is expected to increase. Rotational atherectomy (RA) is an essential technique for treating calcified lesions. This study aimed to assess the usefulness of the drilling noise produced during rotablation as a parameter for evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the procedure.

Angioscopic findings 1 year after percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic total occlusion.

Background: Chronic total occlusion (CTO) is a high-risk factor for stent thrombosis, but little is known about the difference in neointimal healing between CTO and non-CTO lesions regarding implanted stents. We investigated factors affecting neointimal healing after stent implantation for CTO and non-CTO lesions using angioscopy.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 106 stents in 85 consecutive patients between March 2016 and July 2020.

Successful Prophylactic Endovascular Therapy for a Rapidly Expanding Hepatic Arterial Aneurysm in a Patient with Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS) causes fatal vascular complications due to vascular fragility. However, invasive therapeutic procedures are generally avoided except in emergencies. We report a case of vEDS presenting with rapid expansion of a hepatic arterial aneurysm successfully treated using prophylactic endovascular therapy.

A preliminary pilot study investigating the impact of endovascular treatment on leg muscle volume in peripheral artery disease and its relation to baseline glycemic control.

Background And Aims: Peripheral artery disease (PAD), intermittent claudication, and impaired mobility contribute to the loss of skeletal muscle. This study investigated the impact of endovascular treatment (EVT) in patients suffering from PAD above the knee and its relation to baseline glycemic control.

Methods And Results: Mid-thigh muscle volume was measured before EVT, 3 months after EVT and 6 months after EVT.

Site vs. core laboratory variability in computed tomographic angiography-derived SYNTAX scores in the SYNTAX III trial.

Aims: To investigate the variability between site and core laboratory (CL) calculation of the anatomical SYNTAX score (SS) based on coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) alone and functional SS based on coronary CTA and fractional flow reserve derived from computed tomography (FFRCT) in the SYNTAX III trial.

Methods And Results: The SYNTAX III trial was a multicentre, international study that included 223 patients with three-vessel disease with or without left main involvement. Functional SS was computed by subtracting non-flow limiting stenoses (FFRCT > 0.

Association of Sex With Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Subgroup Analysis of the GLOBAL LEADERS Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Women experience worse ischemic and bleeding outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Objectives: To assess the association of sex with patient outcomes at 2 years after contemporary PCI and with the efficacy and safety of 2 antiplatelet strategies.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This study is a prespecified subgroup analysis of the investigator-initiated, prospective, randomized GLOBAL LEADERS study evaluating 2 strategies of antiplatelet therapy after PCI in an unselected population including 130 secondary/tertiary care hospitals in different countries.

Ascertainment of Silent Myocardial Infarction in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (from the GLOBAL LEADERS Trial).

Q-wave myocardial infarction (QWMI) comprises 2 entities. First, a clinically evident MI, which can occur spontaneously or be related to a coronary procedure. Second, silent MI which is incidentally detected on serial electrocardiographic (ECG) assessment.

Clinical Implication of Quantitative Flow Ratio After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for 3-Vessel Disease.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) quantitative flow ratio (QFR) on clinical outcomes in patients with de novo 3-vessel disease (3VD) treated with contemporary PCI.

Background: The clinical impact of post-PCI QFR in patients treated with state-of-the-art PCI for de novo 3VD is undetermined.

Methods: All vessels treated in the SYNTAX (SYNergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with TAXus and cardiac surgery) II trial were retrospectively screened and analyzed for post-PCI QFR.

Clinical relevance of ticagrelor monotherapy following 1-month dual antiplatelet therapy after bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention: Insight from GLOBAL LEADERS trial.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of ticagrelor monotherapy following 1-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for bifurcation lesions.

Methods: GLOBAL LEADERS was a randomized, superiority, all-comers trial comparing 1-month DAPT with ticagrelor and aspirin followed by 23-month ticagrelor monotherapy (experimental treatment) with standard 12-month DAPT followed by 12-month aspirin monotherapy (reference treatment) in patients treated with a biolimus A9-eluting stent. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death or new Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI) at 2 years.

Two years clinical outcomes with the state-of-the-art PCI for the treatment of bifurcation lesions: A sub-analysis of the SYNTAX II study.

Background: Bifurcation PCI is associated with a lower rate of procedural success, especially in multivessel disease patients. We aimed to determine the impact of bifurcation treatment on 2-years clinical outcomes when a state-of-the-art PCI strategy (heart team decision-making using the SYNTAX score II, physiology guided coronary stenosis assessment, thin strut bioresorbable polymer drug-eluting stent, and intravascular ultrasound guidance) is followed.

Methods: Three-vessel disease patients enrolled in the SYNTAX II trial (n = 454) were categorized in patients with (a) ≥1 treated bifurcation (n = 126), and (b) without bifurcation (n = 281).

Impact of long-term ticagrelor monotherapy following 1-month dual antiplatelet therapy in patients who underwent complex percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from the Global Leaders trial.

Aims: To evaluate the impact of an experimental strategy [23-month ticagrelor monotherapy following 1-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT)] vs. a reference regimen (12-month aspirin monotherapy following 12-month DAPT) after complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods And Results: In the present post hoc analysis of the Global Leaders trial, the primary endpoint [composite of all-cause death or new Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI)] at 2 years was assessed in patients with complex PCI, which includes at least one of the following characteristics: multivessel PCI, ≥3 stents implanted, ≥3 lesions treated, bifurcation PCI with ≥2 stents, or total stent length >60 mm.

Serial Optical Coherence Tomography at Baseline, 7 Days, and 1, 3, 6 and 12 Months After Bioresorbable Scaffold Implantation in a Growing Porcine Model.

Background: Little is known about serial changes in lumen and device dimensions after bioresorbable scaffold implantation in a growing animal model.

Methods and results: ABSORB (n=14) or bare metal stents (ICROS amg [Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA], Winsen-Luhe, Germany; n=15) were implanted in the coronary arteries of domestic swine (a hybrid of Finnish-Norwegian Landrace swine) weighing 30-35 kg. Angiography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed immediately after implantation and repeated at 7 days, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the index procedure.

Feasibility and safety of non-occlusive coronary angioscopic observation using a 4 Fr guiding catheter.

Aims: Coronary angioscopy (CAS) is a robust imaging methodology for evaluation of vascular healing response after stenting. However, the procedure requires a guiding catheter with a diameter of more than 6 Fr, which is rather invasive at follow-up angiography. Recently, coronary angioscopes of a smaller diameter have been able to pass through a 4 Fr guiding catheter.

Blunted renal vasoconstriction in patients with subclinical contrast-induced renal injury.

Contrast media are considered to cause acute kidney injury by activating various factors that induce renal vasoconstriction. We analysed the renal microvascular haemodynamic response using the Doppler flow wire method. Then changes in urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein levels following contrast medium administration were compared between groups with or without a micro-injury of the kidney.

Impact of Diabetic Retinopathy on Vulnerability of Atherosclerotic Coronary Plaque and Incidence of Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Although an association has been reported between the microvascular complications of diabetic patients and their poor prognosis after cardiovascular events related to advanced atherosclerosis, it is not clear whether there is a relation between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the severity of plaque vulnerability. Fifty-seven diabetic patients with coronary artery disease, classified as non-DR (n = 42) or DR (n = 15), underwent angioscopic observation of at least 1 entire coronary artery. The number of yellow plaques (NYP) through the observed coronary artery was counted and their color grades, defined as 1 (light yellow), 2 (yellow), or 3 (intense yellow), were evaluated.

Neoatherosclerosis: Coronary stents seal atherosclerotic lesions but result in making a new problem of atherosclerosis.

Chronic inflammation of the native vessel wall with infiltration of lipid-laden foamy macrophages through impaired endothelium results in atherosclerosis. Percutaneous coronary intervention, including metallic stent implantation, is now widely utilized for the treatment of atherosclerotic lesions of the coronary artery. Bare-metal stents and the subsequently developed drug-eluting stents seal the atherosclerosis and resolve lumen stenosis or obstruction of the epicardial coronary artery and myocardial ischemia.

Microvascular resistance in response to iodinated contrast media in normal and functionally impaired kidneys.

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is considered to result from intrarenal vasoconstriction, and occurs more frequently in impaired than in normal kidneys. It was hypothesized that iodinated contrast media would markedly change renal blood flow and vascular resistance in functionally impaired kidneys. Thirty-six patients were enrolled (32 men; mean age, 75.

Impact of Brain Natriuretic Peptide, Calcium Channel Blockers, and Body Mass Index on Recovery Time from Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in Patients With Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) is generally recognized to have a good prognosis, but it can be rarely aggravated. We sought to investigate the clinical characteristics of TC and to evaluate the effects of clinical parameters on predicting delayed recovery. We enrolled consecutive patients with TC admitted to our hospital from January 1991 to January 2014.