Assessing the landscape of percutaneous coronary chronic total occlusion treatment in Belgium and Luxembourg: the Belgian Working Group on Chronic Total Occlusions (BWGCTO) registry.

Important developments in materials, devices, and techniques have improved outcomes of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and resulted in a growing interest in CTO-PCI. The Belgian Working Group on Chronic Total Occlusions BWGCTO) working group aims to assess the evolution within the CTO-PCI landscape over the next years. From May 2016 onwards, patients undergoing CTO-PCI were included in the BWGCTO registry by 15 centres in Belgium and Luxemburg.

STACCATO (Assessment of Stent sTrut Apposition and Coverage in Coronary ArTeries with Optical coherence tomography in patients with STEMI, NSTEMI and stable/unstable angina undergoing everolimus vs. biolimus A9-eluting stent implantation): a randomised controlled trial.

Aims: To compare tissue coverage in coronary lesions stented with durable fluoropolymer-coated everolimus-eluting stents (EES) vs. biodegradable polymer-coated biolimus A9-eluting stents (BES).

Methods And Results: Sixty-four patients (64 lesions) with de novo coronary artery lesions were randomised to percutaneous treatment with XIENCE EES (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA) vs.

Optical coherence tomography study of healing characteristics of paclitaxel-eluting balloons vs. everolimus-eluting stents for in-stent restenosis: the SEDUCE (Safety and Efficacy of a Drug elUting balloon in Coronary artery rEstenosis) randomised clinical trial.

Aims: Little is known about the respective healing responses and clinical efficacy and safety of drug-eluting balloons (DEB) and the second generation of drug-eluting stents (DES) when used to treat in-stent restenosis (ISR). In this study, we set out to compare prospectively the healing characteristics, as assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT), of DEB versus DES after treatment of ISR in bare metal stents (BMS).

Methods And Results: Fifty patients with BMS ISR were randomised to treatment with a paclitaxel-eluting balloon vs.

The apical nipple sign: a useful tool for discriminating between anterior infarction and transient left ventricular ballooning syndrome.

Aims: Even after coronary angiography, transient left ventricular ballooning syndrome (TLVBS) can be misdiagnosed as ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) caused by transient thrombotic occlusion of the left anterior descending artery, as the appearance of the left ventricular angiograms is often very similar. As prognosis and antithrombotic treatment of these two conditions differ widely, it is desirable to make a correct diagnosis as early as possible.

Methods: Between January 1998 and August 2012, we identified 145 patients diagnosed with TLVBS in a single tertiary hospital, based on the Mayo criteria and (near) normalization of left ventricular function over weeks.

Time course of electrocardiographic changes in transient left ventricular ballooning syndrome.

Background: We sought to describe, for the first time, in detail the time course of electrocardiographic (ECG) changes in transient left ventricular ballooning syndrome (TLVBS) from acute onset until 1 year after presentation.

Methods: The serial ECGs of all patients identified with TLVBS who presented to our cardiology department from August 1998 to August 2012 were analyzed, from admission to 1-year follow-up, with respect to time from onset of symptoms.

Results: In total, 145 TLVBS episodes were identified in 139 patients.

Prospective evaluation of clinical outcomes in all-comer high-risk patients with aortic valve stenosis undergoing medical treatment, transcatheter or surgical aortic valve implantation following heart team assessment.

Objectives: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been proposed as a treatment alternative for patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS) at high or prohibitive risk for surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). We aimed to assess real-world outcomes after treatment according to the decisions of the multidisciplinary heart team.

Methods: At a tertiary centre, all high-risk patients referred between 1 March 2008 and 31 October 2011 for symptomatic AS were screened and planned to undergo AVR, TAVI or medical treatment.

Risk assessment for percutaneous coronary intervention of the unprotected left main coronary artery in a real-world population.

Background: Available clinical and angiographic scoring systems fail to predict clinical outcomes in real-world patients undergoing revascularization of the unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA).

Methods: We prospectively assessed major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in a real-world population undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ULMCA disease. Cumulative risk-adjusted mortality in our patients was compared with expected mortality at 30 days based on logistic EuroSCORE and SYNTAX SCORE.

Healing responses after bifurcation stenting with the dedicated TRYTON Side-Branch Stent™ in combination with XIENCE-V™ stents: a clinical, angiography, fractional flow reserve, and optical coherence tomography study: the PYTON (Prospective evaluation of the TRYTON Side-Branch Stent™ with an additional XIENCE-v™ everolimus-eluting stent in coronary bifurcation lesions) study.

Objectives: We evaluated healing responses with optical coherence tomography (OCT), and clinical and angiographic outcome after bifurcation stenting with the TRYTON Side-Branch Stent™.

Background: Dedicated bifurcation stents have been proposed as a potential alternative for treatment of true coronary bifurcation lesions.

Methods: We treated 20 consecutive patients with coronary bifurcation lesions and significant involvement of the side-branch (SB) with the TRYTON Stent and an additional XIENCE-V™ everolimus-eluting stent.

Automatic three-dimensional registration of intravascular optical coherence tomography images.

Intravascular optical coherence tomography (IV-OCT) is a catheter-based high-resolution imaging technique able to visualize the inner wall of the coronary arteries and implanted devices in vivo with an axial resolution below 20 μm. IV-OCT is being used in several clinical trials aiming to quantify the vessel response to stent implantation over time. However, stent analysis is currently performed manually and corresponding images taken at different time points are matched through a very labor-intensive and subjective procedure.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) in PCI for in-stent restenosis (ISR): rationale and design of the SEDUCE (Safety and Efficacy of a Drug elUting balloon in Coronary artery rEstenosis) study.

Background: The optimal treatment of bare metal stent restenosis is still not defined. The most employed contemporary option is the implantation of a drug-eluting stent (DES). However, this procedure implies the addition of a second metal layer in the vessel wall, which is linked to delayed healing.

Clinical outcome of coronary stenting after thoracic radiotherapy: a case-control study.

Objective: Patients with lymphoma, lung or breast neoplasia show significant improvement in their disease-specific survival after radiotherapy (RT), but these benefits may be offset by delayed effects of irradiation of the heart. We compared clinical outcome after coronary stenting in patients with neoplastic disease and previous thoracic RT with matched patients without previous RT.

Design: Single-centre retrospective case-control study.

A right ventricular infarction disguised as an anterior infarction due to an occluded isolated right ventricular branch.

We report a case of abrupt closure of the right ventricular branch of the right coronary artery due to stenting. This closure caused marked ST-elevations in the precordial leads suggesting a problem in the left coronary artery. This phenomenon is scarcely reported in the literature.

Symptomatic atraumatic dissection of a left internal mammary artery graft five years after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

The case of a spontaneous dissection of a left internal mammary artery grafted on to the diagonal branch and the left anterior descending artery is reported. The clinical and diagnostic features of this condition are discussed. Despite an extensive literature search, no such case was found.