Correlates of Hemodynamic Instability During Non-Emergent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Refining High-Risk Criteria for Utilizing Mechanical Circulatory Support.

Background: Previous studies using high-risk criteria to select patients for mechanical circulatory support (MCS) during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have not consistently shown a benefit in reducing adverse outcomes. Identifying correlates for intra-procedural hemodynamic instability (HI) may improve patient selection for MCS.

Methods: Consecutive, hemodynamically stable patients undergoing non-emergent PCI between 2018 and 2022 were reviewed.

Vulnerable or High-Risk Plaque: A JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging Position Statement.

The concept of high-risk plaque emerged from pathologic and epidemiologic studies 3 decades ago that demonstrated plaque rupture with thrombosis as the predominant mechanism of acute coronary syndrome and sudden cardiac death. Thin-cap fibroatheroma, a plaque with a large lipidic core covered by a thin fibrous cap, is the prototype of the rupture-prone plaque and has been traditionally defined as "vulnerable plaque." Although knowledge on the pathophysiology of plaque instability continues to grow, the risk profile of our patients has shifted and the character of atherosclerotic disease has evolved, partly because of widespread use of lipid-lowering therapies and other preventive measures.