Clinical Outcomes and Predictors of All-Cause Mortality After Complex High-Risk and Indicated Revascularization Using Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

The concept of complex and high-risk indicated procedures using percutaneous coronary intervention (CHIP-PCI) has recently been defined. However, few studies have investigated the prognosis of patients after CHIP-PCI. We enrolled 322 consecutive patients who underwent CHIP-PCI.

Impact of C-Reactive Protein on Long-Term Cardiac Events in Stable Coronary Artery Disease Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

Aim: Chronic inflammation is associated with atherosclerosis development. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events and is associated with chronic inflammation. We aimed to investigate the influence of C-reactive protein (CRP), an important marker of inflammation, on the clinical outcomes of patients with CKD and stable coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation without the use of a contrast medium: a combination of the intracardiac echocardiography and pressure wave monitoring guided approach.

In cryoballoon ablation (CBA), a contrast medium is commonly used to confirm balloon occlusion of the pulmonary veins (PVs). However, a contrast medium cannot always be used in patients with renal dysfunction and allergy. The present study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of CBA without the use of a contrast medium.

Disappearance pattern and the last remaining earliest pulmonary vein potential during cryoballoon ablation in predicting recurrence and conduction gap site of pulmonary veins.

Electrophysiological studies have rarely evaluated the sites prone to pulmonary vein (PV) conduction gap during cryoballoon ablation (CBA) for atrial fibrillation (AF). In addition, no studies have analyzed the sequence of PV potentials just before PV isolation during CBA for AF. Of the 238 patients who underwent first-time CBA for paroxysmal AF, 115 PVs of 29 patients who underwent repeat session due to recurrence after the procedure were retrospectively evaluated in the study.

Impact of the clinical frailty scale on clinical outcomes and bleeding events in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is a simple tool to assess patients' frailty and may help to predict adverse outcomes in elderly patients. The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of CFS on clinical outcomes and bleeding events after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We enrolled 266 consecutive patients with STEMI who underwent primary PCI in between January 2015 and June 2018.

Impact of skeletal muscle mass on clinical outcomes in patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Low skeletal muscle mass is one of the components of sarcopenia. However, the prognostic impact of skeletal muscle mass on clinical outcomes in patients after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) remains unclear. Therefore, we assessed the impact of skeletal muscle mass on future cardiovascular events in patients undergoing TAVR.

Earliest pulmonary vein potential-guided cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation.

No studies have evaluated both the time-to-isolation (TTI) and the sequence of pulmonary vein (PV) potentials in cryoballoon ablation (CBA) for atrial fibrillation (AF). This study aimed to prospectively evaluate the acute results of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using a novel CBA technique-the earliest potential (EP) of PV-guided CBA-in paroxysmal AF. We pressed a balloon against the earliest PV potential site during PVI when TTI could not be achieved within 60 s (EP-guided CBA group).