Impact of Sex on Outcomes With Femoral Artery Closure Devices Versus Manual Compression in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background And Aims: Femoral artery access is widely used despite recent increase in radial access for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Femoral artery closure devices are used to shorten vascular closure time and reduce bleeding. We sought to examine sex-based outcomes of femoral artery vascular closure devices (VCD) in patients undergoing PCI.

Heparin Dosing During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Obesity.

Unfractionated heparin is the most common anticoagulant used during percutaneous coronary intervention. Practice guidelines recommend an initial weight-based heparin bolus dose between 70 and 100 U/kg to achieve target activated clotting time (ACT) of 250-300 seconds. The impact of severe obesity on weight-based heparin dosing is not well studied.

Femoral Artery Closure Devices vs Manual Compression During Cardiac Catheterization and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: Femoral arterial access remains widely used despite recent increase in radial access for cardiac catheterization and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Various femoral artery closure devices have been developed and are commonly used to shorten vascular closure times, with variable rates of vascular complications observed in clinical trials. We sought to examine the rates of contemporary outcomes during diagnostic catheterization and PCI with the most common femoral artery closure devices.

Prediction of Ischemic Events after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Thrombelastography Profiles and Factor XIIIa Activity.

Background: High plasma fibrin clot strength (MA) measured by thrombelastography (TEG) is associated with increased risk of cardiac events after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs). Factor XIIIa (FXIIIa) cross-links soluble fibrin, shortens clot formation time (TEG-K), and increases final clot strength (MA).

Methods: We analyzed platelet-poor plasma from patients with previous PCI.

Simultaneous administration of high-dose atorvastatin and clopidogrel does not interfere with platelet inhibition during percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Reloading with high-dose atorvastatin shortly before percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) has been proposed as a strategy to reduce periprocedural myonecrosis. There has been a concern that statins that are metabolized by cytochrome P450 3A4 may interfere with clopidogrel metabolism at high doses. The impact of simultaneous administration of high doses of atorvastatin and clopidogrel on the efficacy of platelet inhibition has not been established.

Factor XIII Val34Leu polymorphism and recurrent myocardial infarction in patients with coronary artery disease.

Factor XIII (FXIII) is necessary for cross linking of fibrin strands and generation of stable fibrin clot. FXIII Val34Leu is a common genetic single nucleotide polymorphism that has been associated with accelerated fibrin stabilization and reduced rate of fibrinolysis. The contribution of Val34Leu to long term risk of recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with coronary stenting has not been conclusively established.

Cytochrome P450 3A4*22, PPAR-α, and ARNT polymorphisms and clopidogrel response.

Recent candidate gene studies using a human liver bank and in vivo validation in healthy volunteers identified polymorphisms in cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 gene (CYP3A4*22), Ah-receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) genes that are associated with the CYP3A4 phenotype. We hypothesized that the variants identified in these genes may be associated with altered clopidogrel response, since generation of clopidogrel active metabolite is, partially mediated by CYP3A activity. Blood samples from 211 subjects, of mixed racial background, with established coronary artery disease, who had received clopidogrel, were analyzed.

C-reactive protein and fibrin clot strength measured by thrombelastography after coronary stenting.

Inflammation is implicated in the progression of coronary artery disease and the molecular processes of inflammation and thrombosis are closely intertwined. Elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) have been associated with an elevated risk of adverse ischaemic events after coronary stenting and hypercoagulability. Heightened whole blood clot strength measured by thrombelastography (TEG) has been associated with adverse ischaemic events after stenting.

A comparison of the use of traditional hand injection versus automated contrast injectors during cardiac catheterization.

Objective: To compare the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and vascular complications in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization using traditional manual contrast injection techniques with those in which an automated contrast injector device was used.

Background: It has been suggested that use of automated contrast injectors in coronary interventions could reduce complications by reducing contrast volume usage and allowing the use of smaller sheaths.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study with review of patient's electronic medical charts and the Heartbase registry.

Protease activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) mediated platelet aggregation is dependent on clopidogrel response.

Introduction: Clopidogrel inhibits ADP mediated platelet aggregation through inhibition of the P2Y12 receptor by its active metabolite. Thrombin induces platelet aggregation by binding to protease activated receptor-1 (PAR-1), and inhibition of PAR-1 has been evaluated in patients treated with clopidogrel to reduce ischemic events after acute coronary syndromes. Residual PAR-1 mediated platelet aggregation may be dependent on extent of clopidogrel response.

Successful use of the Impella device in giant cell myocarditis as a bridge to permanent left ventricular mechanical support.

Idiopathic giant cell myocarditis is a rare condition with a poor prognosis. Patients with giant cell myocarditis typically die of refractory ventricular arrhythmias or progressive congestive heart failure in about 3 months. The benefit of immunosuppressive therapy varies among patients with giant cell myocarditis, and no factors that would predict which patients will respond to therapy have been identified.

Cardiac events after non-cardiac surgery in patients with previous coronary intervention in the drug-eluting stent era.

The peri-operative risk for patients with coronary drug-eluting stents (DES) who subsequently have non-cardiac surgery (NCS) is unclear. We performed this retrospective study of all patients in our institution who had coronary intervention and subsequent NCS from 2003 through December 2008 to evaluate the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients who received DES compared to those who received bare-metal stents (BMS) or had percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) during the same time period. The main outcome measures were 30-day post-operative myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, target vessel revascularization (TVR) and cardiac death.

Percutaneous alcohol septal ablation following surgical myectomy.

Background: The management strategy for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy generally begins with medical therapy. When this fails to control symptoms, consideration is given to mechanically eliminate the obstruction caused by a thickened and bulging interventricular septum to blood flowing out of the left ventricle. The literature is abundant with data about the safety and efficacy of both surgical myectomy and the newer and now more widely utilized percutaneous alcohol septal ablation procedure.

Impact of proton pump inhibitors on the effectiveness of clopidogrel after coronary stent placement: the clopidogrel Medco outcomes study.

Study Objective: To investigate the potential impact of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) on the effectiveness of clopidogrel in preventing recurrent ischemic events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent placement.

Design: Population-based, retrospective cohort study.

Data Source: National medical and pharmacy benefit claims database comprising approximately 19 million members.

Drug-eluting stent thrombosis in routine clinical practice: two-year outcomes and predictors from the TAXUS ARRIVE registries.

Background: Stent thrombosis (ST) is an uncommon but serious complication of drug-eluting and bare metal stents. To assess drug-eluting stent ST in contemporary practice, we analyzed 2-year data from the 7492-patient ARRIVE registry.

Methods And Results: Patients were enrolled at the initiation of percutaneous coronary intervention with no inclusion/exclusion criteria beyond use of the paclitaxel-eluting TAXUS stent.

Two-year results of paclitaxel-eluting stents in patients with medically treated diabetes mellitus from the TAXUS ARRIVE program.

Drug-eluting stents decrease revascularization compared with bare metal stents in diabetic patients, but few studies have compared drug-eluting stent use in diabetic versus nondiabetic patients. The objective of this study was to assess whether paclitaxel provides equivalent revascularization decrease in diabetic and nondiabetic patients. The ARRIVE registries enrolled 7,492 patients receiving TAXUS Express stents, including 2,112 with medically treated diabetes; results were compared with those in the remaining 5,380 nondiabetic patients.

Correlates of adverse events during saphenous vein graft intervention with distal embolic protection: a PRIDE substudy.

Objectives: We sought to identify correlates of 30-day adverse events among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of saphenous vein grafts (SVG).

Background: Although the use of distal embolic protection devices during SVG intervention reduces major adverse cardiac events (MACE), many patients still experience MACE despite distal embolic protection, and the major predictors of MACE among these patients are not well-characterized.

Methods: Correlates of 30-day MACE and peri-procedural creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) elevation were assessed among 631 patients undergoing SVG intervention with distal embolic protection enrolled in the PRIDE (PRotection during saphenous vein graft Intervention to prevent Distal Embolization) study, a randomized comparison of the TriActiv System (Kensey-Nash Corp.

Sudden cardiac death complicating alcohol septal ablation: a case report and review of literature.

Over the years, alcohol septal ablation has become an effective and well-accepted modality in the treatment of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy refractory to standard medical therapy. Malignant tachyarrythmias infrequently complicates the procedure and are usually self-terminating. We describe a case of alcohol septal ablation complicated by sudden cardiac death occurring immediately following the procedure requiring prolonged resuscitative efforts with eventual complete recovery.

Alcohol septal ablation for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Since its original description in 1994, alcohol septal ablation (ASA) has emerged as a minimally invasive modality for treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy compared to surgical myomectomy. This catheter-based intervention relies on the injection of absolute alcohol into the septal perforator to induce a controlled infarction of the hypertrophied septum and consequently abolish the dynamic outflow obstruction. This gradient reduction has been correlated with a significant clinical improvement in the patient's symptomatology and with left ventricular remodeling.

Increased incidence of stent thrombosis in patients with cocaine use.

Introduction: Coronary stent thrombosis is a rare occurrence in the era of dual-antiplatelet therapy. It is not known whether patients who use cocaine have a higher risk of thrombosis following coronary stent placement.

Methods: We studied 247 consecutive patients who underwent coronary stent placement at an inner-city hospital.

Randomized evaluation of the TriActiv balloon-protection flush and extraction system for the treatment of saphenous vein graft disease.

Objectives: The Protection During Saphenous Vein Graft Intervention to Prevent Distal Embolization (PRIDE) study compared outcomes with the TriActiv System (Kensey Nash Corp., Exton, Pennsylvania), a balloon-protection flush and extraction device, with an embolic protection group during treatment of saphenous venous grafts (SVGs).

Background: Treatment of SVGs with embolic protection reduces adverse cardiac events.