Jailed Balloon Technique Versus Jailed Wire Technique for Side Branch Ostium Protection in Bifurcation Lesions: Evidence from Three-dimensional Optical Coherence Tomography Analysis.

Background: There is controversy regarding the effectiveness the of jailed wire technique (JWT) and jailed balloon technique (JBT) in preserving the side branch (SB) during treatment. This study compares the protective effect of JBT versus JWT on the SB ostium area in coronary bifurcation lesions using three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (3D-OCT).

Methods: We obtained data from coronary heart disease patients who received OCT-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for bifurcation lesions.

Validation of the Cut-Plane Method for Accurate Measurement of Side-Branch Ostium Area in Coronary Bifurcation Lesions: A 3D-OCT Analysis.

Objective: This study aimed to validate the effectiveness, accuracy, and feasibility of the cut-plane method for measuring the side branch (SB) ostium area in three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (3D-OCT) pullbacks performed in the main branch (MB).

Methods: A total of 109 sets of OCT pullbacks from the MB and SB of coronary artery bifurcation lesions were analyzed using Vivolight OCT software. Measurements of the SB ostium area from the MB and SB pullbacks were analyzed.

Sex Differences in Clinical Outcomes Associated With Quantitative Flow Ratio-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: FAVOR III China (Comparison of Quantitative Flow Ratio Guided and Angiography Guided Percutaneous Intervention in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease) reported improved clinical outcomes in quantitative flow ratio (QFR) relative to angiography-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but the clinical impact of QFR-guided PCI according to sex remains unknown.

Objectives: The authors sought to compare sex differences in the 2-year clinical benefits of a QFR-guided PCI strategy and to evaluate the differences in outcomes between men and women undergoing contemporary PCI.

Methods: This study involved a prespecified subgroup analysis of the FAVOR III China trial, in which women and men were randomized to a QFR-guided strategy or a standard angiography-guided strategy.

Improved heart function and cardiac remodelling following sacubitril/valsartan in acute coronary syndrome with HF.

Aims: This study sought to assess the effect of treatment of sacubitril/valsartan (S/V) on improving cardiac function and reversing cardiac remodelling in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) complicated with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods And Results: We enrolled 275 ACS patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction after PCI. The patients were divided into the routine and S/V groups according to the treatment drugs.

Intracoronary nicorandil induced hyperemia for physiological assessments in the coronary artery lesions.

Objective: Maximal hyperemia is a key element of invasive physiological examination. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of intracoronary (IC) nicorandil in comparison with adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) intravenous (i.v.

[Dual-specificity Phosphatase 1 Suppresses Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Calcification by Optical Atrophy 1-related Pathway].

Objective To investigate the effect of dual-specificity phosphatase 1/optical atrophy 1 (DUSP1/OPA1) signaling pathway on vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) calcification.Methods An model of VSMC calcification was induced by exposure to β-glycerophosphate and calcium chloride.VSMC calcification was assessed by Alizarin Red S staining and calcium content by ELISA.

Feasibility and Safety of the Novel Vivolight Frequency Domain Optical Coherence Tomography System: A Multicenter Study.

Objective: The study sought to assess the effectiveness and safety of the novel P60 Vivolight frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) system (Shenzhen Vivolight Medical Device & Technology).

Methods: A total of 90 patients were enrolled from 3 institutions. The pullbacks were performed with both the P60 Vivolight OCT system and the Ilumien Optis OCT system (Abbott Vascular).

Prognostic value of quantitative flow ratio measured immediately after drug-coated balloon angioplasty for in-stent restenosis.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate prognostic value of quantitative flow ratio (QFR) in drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty for in-stent restenosis (ISR).

Background: There is a high incidence of recurrent ISR after DCB angioplasty. QFR is a novel method for fast computation of fractional flow reserve for the target vessel based on quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) and fluid dynamics algorithms.

Coronary Angiography-Derived Index of Microvascular Resistance.

A coronary angiography-derived index of microvascular resistance (caIMR) is proposed for physiological assessment of microvasular diseases in coronary circulation. The aim of the study is to assess diagnostic performance of caIMR, using wire-derived index of microvascular resistance (IMR) as the reference standard. IMR was demonstrated in 56 patients (57 vessels) with stable/unstable angina pectoris and no obstructive coronary arteries in three centers using the Certus pressure wire.

Safety and efficacy of intracoronary thrombolytic therapy via a new infusion catheter in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with large thrombus burden: a pilot study.

Background: A large intracoronary thrombus burden is associated with adverse clinical results. The optimal management of this scenario remains unknown. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of a new rapid infusion catheter combined with low-dose intracoronary thrombolysis in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with a large thrombus burden.

Noninvasive Quantitative Plaque Analysis Identifies Hemodynamically Significant Coronary Arteries Disease.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of automated quantitative analysis by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in identifying lesion-specific hemodynamic abnormality.

Methods: A total of 132 patients (mean age, 61 y; 86 men) with 169 vessels (with 30% to 90% diameter stenosis), who successively underwent invasive coronary angiography with evaluation of fractional flow reserve (values ≤0.8 were defined as lesion-specific hemodynamic abnormalities), were analyzed by CCTA.

Stress Myocardial Blood Flow Ratio by Dynamic CT Perfusion Identifies Hemodynamically Significant CAD.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of stress myocardial blood flow ratio (SFR), a novel parameter derived from stress dynamic computed tomographic perfusion (CTP), for the detection of hemodynamically significant coronary stenosis.

Background: A comprehensive cardiac computed tomographic protocol combining coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and CTP can provide a simultaneous assessment of both coronary artery anatomy and ischemia.

Methods: Patients with chest pain scheduled for invasive angiography were prospectively enrolled in this study.

Comparison of 2 Different Drug-Coated Balloons in In-Stent Restenosis: The RESTORE ISR China Randomized Trial.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the angiographic efficacy, clinical safety, and effectiveness of the Restore paclitaxel-coated balloon in a randomized trial designed to enable the approval of the new device in China.

Background: Drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty offers an effective treatment for in-stent restenosis. Restore is a new DCB with a SAFEPAX shellac-ammonium salt excipient that can avoid drug washing off during catheter delivery to the target lesion site.

Increased expression of ryanodine receptor type-2 during atrial fibrillation by miR-106-25 cluster independent mechanism.

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most frequently encountered cardiac arrhythmia in the clinical setting and the foremost cause of stroke, results from a progressive decrease in atrial refractoriness. In addition, defective calcium signaling has been shown to play a central role in AF pathogenesis. Recently it was shown that the miR-106b-25 cluster is suppressed in patients with AF, which increased ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) expression.

Corner Detection Based Automatic Segmentation of Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold Struts in IVOCT Images.

Bioresorbable Vascular scaffold (BVS) is a promising type of stent in percutaneous coronary intervention. Struts apposition assessment is important to ensure the safety of implanted BVS. Currently, BVS struts apposition analysis in IVOCT images still depends on manual delineation of struts, which is labor intensive and time consuming.

Automatic analysis of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds in intravascular optical coherence tomography images.

The bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) is a new generation of bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) for the treatment of coronary artery disease. A potential challenge of BVS is malapposition, which may possibly lead to late stent thrombosis. It is therefore important to conduct malapposition analysis right after stenting.

A randomised comparison of healing response between the BuMA Supreme stent and the XIENCE stent at one-month and two-month follow-up: PIONEER-II OCT randomised controlled trial.

Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the strut coverage of the XIENCE stent with that of the BuMA Supreme sirolimus-eluting cobalt-chromium stent, which has a shorter drug elution, on optical coherence tomography (OCT) one or two months after implantation.

Methods And Results: The PIONEER-II OCT trial was a multicentre, two-arm randomised trial, which comprised two cohorts: cohort-1 underwent an OCT imaging one month after coronary intervention (BuMA: 16 patients with 18 lesions, XIENCE: 15 patients with 17 lesions), whereas cohort-2 underwent OCT at two months (BuMA: 21 patients with 21 lesions, XIENCE: 23 patients with 28 lesions). The primary hypotheses were non-inferiority of the BuMA stent to the XIENCE stent in percent strut coverage at one month (cohort-1) or two months (cohort-2).

Automatic Side Branch Ostium Detection and Main Vascular Segmentation in Intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography Images.

Intravascular optical coherence tomography is the state-of-the-art imaging modality in percutaneous coronary intervention planning and evaluation, in which side branch ostium and main vascular measurements play critical roles. However, manual measurement is time consuming and labor intensive. In this paper, we propose a fully automatic method for side branch ostium detection and main vascular segmentation to make up manual deficiency.

Case report of a novel maneuver to facilitate wire access to the side branch in bifurcation intervention-balloon block and support technique.

Background: Despite advancements in the devices and techniques used for percutaneous coronary intervention, side branch (SB) wiring remains highly challenging in certain complex bifurcation intervention cases.

Methods And Results: In this report, we demonstrate the efficacy and safety of the balloon block and support technique (BBST), which comprises inflation of an appropriately sized balloon 1-2 mm distal from the carina in the distal main branch to facilitate wire access to the SB. Between June 2012 and July 2017, we utilized the BBST as a bail-out strategy for six bifurcation cases with difficult SB wiring.

Ripk3 promotes ER stress-induced necroptosis in cardiac IR injury: A mechanism involving calcium overload/XO/ROS/mPTP pathway.

Receptor-interacting protein 3 (Ripk3)-mediated necroptosis contributes to cardiac ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury through poorly defined mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that Ripk3 was strongly upregulated in murine hearts subjected to IR injury and cardiomyocytes treated with LPS and HO. The higher level of Ripk3 was positively correlated to the infarction area expansion, cardiac dysfunction and augmented cardiomyocytes necroptosis.

DUSP1 alleviates cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury by suppressing the Mff-required mitochondrial fission and Bnip3-related mitophagy via the JNK pathways.

Mitochondrial fission and selective mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy) form an essential axis of mitochondrial quality control that plays a critical role in the development of cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. However, the precise upstream molecular mechanism of fission/mitophagy remains unclear. Dual-specificity protein phosphatase1 (DUSP1) regulates cardiac metabolism, but its physiological contribution in the reperfused heart, particularly its influence on mitochondrial homeostasis, is unknown.

protects cardiac cells against hypoxia through modulation of glucose metabolism by targetting pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1.

Dysfunction of cardiac cells under hypoxia has been identified as an essential event leading to myocytes functional failure. MiRNAs are importantly regulatory small-noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression through the direct binding of 3'-UTR region of their target mRNAs. Recent studies have demonstrated that miRNAs are aberrantly expressed in the cardiovascular system under pathological conditions.

Melatonin protected cardiac microvascular endothelial cells against oxidative stress injury via suppression of IP3R-[Ca]c/VDAC-[Ca]m axis by activation of MAPK/ERK signaling pathway.

The cardiac microvascular reperfusion injury is characterized by the microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) oxidative damage which is responsible for the progression of cardiac dysfunction. However, few strategies are available to reverse such pathologies. This study aimed to explore the mechanism by which oxidative stress induced CMECs death and the beneficial actions of melatonin on CMECs survival, with a special focused on IP3R-[Ca]c/VDAC-[Ca]m damage axis and the MAPK/ERK survival signaling.

Melatonin protects cardiac microvasculature against ischemia/reperfusion injury via suppression of mitochondrial fission-VDAC1-HK2-mPTP-mitophagy axis.

The cardiac microvascular system, which is primarily composed of monolayer endothelial cells, is the site of blood supply and nutrient exchange to cardiomyocytes. However, microvascular ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) following percutaneous coronary intervention is a woefully neglected topic, and few strategies are available to reverse such pathologies. Here, we studied the effects of melatonin on microcirculation IRI and elucidated the underlying mechanism.