Publications by authors named "Juan Carlos Rama-Merchan"

Article Synopsis
  • This article reports on the annual activities of the Interventional Cardiology Association of the Spanish Society of Cardiology for 2022.
  • A total of 111 centers participated, revealing a 4.8% increase in diagnostic studies and a significant 22% rise in PCIs on the left main coronary artery, while the overall PCI numbers remained stable.
  • Key trends included a preference for the radial approach in 94.9% of cases, increased use of drug-eluting balloons and intracoronary imaging, and a continuous rise in noncoronary procedures, especially those related to heart valve and structural heart issues.
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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the agreement between fractional flow reserve (FFR) and instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) in patients with intermediate stenosis in the left main coronary artery (LMCA), finding an 80% concordance between the two methods.
  • The research involved 300 patients and emphasized the role of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) for assessing cases where FFR and iFR results disagreed, identifying minimal lumen areas as a factor in decision-making.
  • Over a 20-month follow-up, deferral of revascularization based on iFR and IVUS showed a lower incidence of major adverse cardiac events compared to those who underwent revascularization, suggesting that deferring treatment
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  • The study examines how the COVID-19 outbreak affected the treatment and outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in Spain, focusing on changes in patient care before and after the pandemic.
  • Results showed a 27.6% decrease in STEMI patient treatments and a significant rise in in-hospital mortality during COVID-19 (7.5% vs 5.1%) despite consistent use of primary percutaneous coronary intervention as a treatment strategy.
  • The findings indicate that COVID-19 led to longer ischemic times for patients and a notable incidence of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections during hospitalization, highlighting the challenges faced in managing STEMI cases during the pandemic.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the treatment and outcomes of patients with STEMI in Spain, comparing cohorts treated before and after the pandemic began.
  • It found a significant decrease in both suspected and confirmed STEMI patients, along with a longer ischemic time for those treated during COVID-19; however, the reperfusion strategy remained largely unchanged.
  • In-hospital mortality increased during the COVID-19 period, with a reported rate rising from 5.1% to 7.5%, highlighting a concerning trend in patient outcomes despite consistent treatment methods.
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Iodinated contrast media (CM) are the leading cause of acute renal failure of toxic origin. Between 21% and 50% of patients that receive them develop contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). All prophylactic measures used so far have failed to provide effective prevention.

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Objectives: The aims of this registry were to determine the incidence, predictors, and prognostic value of periprocedural acute kidney injury (AKI) after left atrial appendage closure (LAAC).

Background: No data exist on the occurrence of AKI after LAAC.

Methods: A total of 355 patients undergoing LAAC were included in the study.

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Introduction And Objectives: Many patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation are still left without protection due to a contraindication for anticoagulants. This study aimed to establish the occurrence of stroke and major bleeding events in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and left atrial appendage closure with long-term follow-up and to explore the factors associated with higher long-term mortality.

Methods: Analysis of a multicenter single cohort prospectively recruited from 2009 to 2015.

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Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the late clinical outcomes of percutaneous LAA closure in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and contraindication to oral anticoagulation.

Methods: Consecutive AF patients with contraindications to oral anticoagulation who underwent successful LAA closure between December 2008 and March 2013 at four centers were included.

Results: A total of 101 patients (median age 76 [IQR 69-80] years, 48% women, mean CHADS-VASc 5 ± 2; HAS-BLED 4 ± 1) were included.

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We present the case of a patient with a high-output fistula between the right superficial femoral artery and femoral vein after left atrial appendage closure successfully treated with a PK-Papyrus covered coronary stent using a 6F guiding catheter. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time a PK-Papyrus coronary stent has been used in this setting.

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Pulmonary vein (PV) stenosis (PVS) is a known complication of PV isolation procedures for AF (atrial fibrillation). PV angioplasty and stenting have been used as an effective therapy for PVS, yet high rates of restenosis are common. Experience with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in evaluating the PVS morphological characteristics and appropriate stent deployment is very limited.

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The most common etiology of tricuspid stenosis is rheumatic, and in most cases it is associated with valvular regurgitation. Interestingly, there have been reports of tricuspid stenosis without associated valvular regurgitation, mostly related to pacemaker leads. Percutaneous tricuspid valvuloplasty may be a therapeutic alternative to surgery in cases of pure tricuspid stenosis without other concomitant valvulopathies.

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Fully bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) are a new approach to the percutaneous treatment of coronary artery disease. The BVS have not yet been fully tested in complex lesions, including chronic total occlusion (CTO). We report a CTO case successfully treated with a second-generation bioabsorbable drug-eluting scaffold.

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Introduction And Objectives: Percutaneous paravalvular leak closure is a complex procedure with varying success rates; the lack of closure devices specifically designed for this purpose has hampered this technique. The characteristics of the Amplatzer Vascular Plug III appear to be well suited for paravalvular leak closures; however, the available data are limited to case reports or small series of patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the feasibility and efficacy of paravalvular leak with this device.

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Aims: Characterization of neointimal tissue is essential to understand the pathophysiology of in-stent restenosis (ISR) after drug eluting stent (DES) implantation. Using optical coherence tomography (OCT), we compared the morphologic characteristics of ISR between first and second generation DES.

Methods And Results: OCT was performed in 66 DES-ISR, defined as > 50% angiographic diameter stenosis within the stented segment.

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Mechanical aortic valve prostheses are considered a limiting factor when contemplating percutaneous closure of mitral paravalvular leaks using a retrograde approach. However, transfemoral artery access and a retrograde approach have advantages over a trans-septal anterograde approach when the paravalvular defect is large with a significant gradient or when the defect is medial to the mitral valve. We describe a novel technique of mitral paravalvular leak closure in the presence of a mechanical aortic valve prosthesis, which we performed successfully in 3 patients.

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