Pullback Pressure Gradient-An Emerging Concept in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.

Fractional flow reserve fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is currently recommended in the management of patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). Pullback pressure gradient (PPG) index is an emerging concept that provides a fully quantitative measure of the longitudinal distribution of CAD. It can be derived from FFR, as well as other non-hyperemic indices, and is a novel metric of assessing the focality or diffuseness of CAD.

Meta-analysis Comparing Long-Term Clinical Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention versus no Intervention in Patients with Chronic Total Occlusion.

Unlabelled: Chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has substantially improved due to increasing operator experience and advancements in equipment, techniques, and management algorithms. However, the overall benefit of CTO PCI remains controversial, particularly since only a few randomized trials have been reported to date.

Methods: We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of CTO PCI.

Early Hemodynamic Recovery after a Successful Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Cardiogenic Shock Secondary to Severe Bicuspid Aortic Stenosis.

Pulmonary edema secondary to severe aortic stenosis is an emergency condition that carries a high risk of mortality and is resistant to treatment using standard heart failure therapies. We present here a patient with severe aortic stenosis, complicated by poor left ventricular function and cardiogenic shock, who has immediate hemodynamic recovery after successful balloon aortic valvuloplasty and transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures. This case presentation highlights the efficacy of using the TAVI procedure in the management of severe aortic stenosis complicated by acute heart failure and cardiogenic shock with immediate improvement of hemodynamic parameters more effectively sooner after the procedure.

The Dilemma of Repeat In-Stent Restenosis: Can Intravascular Lithotripsy Provide an Alternative Approach to an Age-old Problem?

In-stent restenosis (ISR) has always been considered a conundrum for interventional cardiologists. Despite many technical advances in the past 20 years aimed at reducing its occurrence, this area of interventional cardiology remains challenging. Here, we present a novel use of intravascular lithotripsy therapy (IVL) in a patient with repeat ISR, in whom IVL treatment has provided excellent procedural and follow-up results.

Right Ventricular Free Wall Rupture Complicating Anterior STEMI.

Ventricular free wall rupture is a rare but devastating complication. We report right ventricular free wall rupture complicating anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction caused by a wrap-around left anterior descending coronary artery. In acute cardiac tamponade, a rapid and systematic evaluation of the likely source of bleeding is paramount to prevent disastrous outcomes.

Clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention in high-risk patients turned down for surgical revascularization.

Aims: There are limited data on outcomes of PCI in surgical turndown patientsespecially in those presenting with ACS.

Methods And Results: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of patients who were turned down for CABG and had PCI between 2013 and 2020. All consecutive patients (449), ACS (n = 245) and no-ACS (n = 204) were included.

Colchicine in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease with or Without Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.

Background And Objectives: Whether the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine has a differential treatment effect according to diabetes mellitus status in patients with coronary artery disease has never been studied. Therefore, the aim of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate whether the use of colchicine in patients with coronary artery disease with diabetes was associated with a higher magnitude of benefits compared to patients with coronary artery disease without diabetes.

Methods: Electronic databases were searched through June 2020 to identify randomized clinical trials using colchicine in patients with coronary artery disease.