Impact of High Lipoprotein(a) Levels on Delayed Wound Healing in Patients With Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia After Peripheral Endovascular Therapy.

Background: Elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels are a causal risk factor for peripheral artery disease. However, data on their effect on delayed wound healing in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) are limited. The present study assessed the association between elevated Lp(a) levels and delayed wound healing in patients with CLTI.

Pulmonary Vein Intervention for Severe Pulmonary Vein Stenosis After Atrial Fibrillation Ablation - A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Pulmonary vein (PV) stenosis (PVS) is a serious complication of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. The objective of this study was to describe interventional treatments for PVS after AF ablation and long-term outcomes in Japanese patients.

Methods and results: This multicenter retrospective observational study enrolled 30 patients (26 [87%] male; median age 55 years) with 56 severe PVS lesions from 43 PV interventional procedures.

Impact of a Less Than 50% Residual Stenosis Following Vessel Preparation in Femoropopliteal Drug-Coated Balloon Angioplasty.

Purpose: Drug-coated balloon (DCB) has been established as first-line therapy in femoropopliteal (FP) intervention, and successful vessel preparation (VP) is considered a key element. However, the clinical impact of successful VP remains unknown. This retrospective study examined the clinical impact of successful VP in DCB FP intervention.

Effect of High-Dose Drug-Coated Balloon Repetition After Drug-Coated Balloon Failure.

Purpose: Although the optimal treatment for femoropopliteal (FP) drug-coated balloon (DCB) restenosis lesions remains debatable, the effectiveness of DCB repetition for DCB restenosis has been reported. However, the optimal DCB repetition strategy is not yet established. Thus, this study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of high-dose DCB repetition with those of low-dose DCB repetition for FP DCB restenosis lesions.

Subcutaneous ICDs implantation following removal of normally functioning non-infected transvenous ICDs in two young patients.

Unlabelled: In young patients with transvenous implantable cardioverter defibrillations (TV-ICDs), the possibility of device infection or lead fracture would be high in their long lifetimes. Furthermore, the risk of lead removal will gradually increase over the years. We reported two cases of subcutaneous ICDs implantation following removal of TV-ICDs.

Clinical outcome for heart failure hospitalizations in patients with leadless pacemaker.

Introduction: The long-term performance of leadless pacemaker (LPM) has not been well evaluated.

Methods: Between September 2017 and January 2021, 929 consecutive patients who underwent pacemaker implantation were grouped according to the types of pacemakers: LPM (LPM group,  = 368) and conventional pacemaker (PM group,  = 561).

Results: The median follow-up duration was 1.

Use of Proprotein Converse Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Inhibitor to Treat Cholesterol Crystal Embolisms after Catheterization: A Report of Three Cases.

Cholesterol crystal embolism (CCE) is a serious complication that occurs after cardiac and vascular procedures. CCE involves multiple organs, and the prognosis and renal function of patients is poor. Although the efficacy of steroid, statin, and low-density lipoprotein apheresis has been reported, no definitive treatment has been established.

New lesion after endovascular therapy of femoropopliteal lesions for intermittent claudication.

Background: Although the incidence of target lesion revascularization (TLR) was decreased in patients who underwent endovascular therapy (EVT) for femoropopliteal (FP) lesions, the clinical impact of newly developed lesions could not be disqualified in those patients.

Methods: Between January 2012 and December 2018, 911 patients with intermittent claudication (IC) who have not been previously treated for this condition underwent a successful EVT for de novo FP lesions in a multicenter registry (WATERMELON registry: neW lesion AfTer EndovasculaR therapy for interMittEnt cLaudicatiON).

Results: The mean follow-up duration was 3.

Clinical outcomes of polymer-free, paclitaxel-coated stents vs stent grafts in peripheral arterial disease patients with femoropopliteal artery lesions.

Objective: Zilver PTX polymer-free, paclitaxel-coated stents and Viabahn stent grafts are effective for the treatment of femoropopliteal lesions. The aim of this study was to compare clinical outcomes between the two devices in patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease in real-world settings.

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective study concerned a clinical database of 445 patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (Rutherford categories 1-6) who underwent either Zilver PTX or Viabahn implantation for a femoropopliteal lesion of 10 cm or longer with reference vessel diameters of 4.

Clinical impact of intravascular ultrasound-guided balloon angioplasty in patients with chronic limb threatening ischemia for isolated infrapopliteal lesion.

Background: To estimate the impact of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) who underwent balloon angioplasty for isolated infrapopliteal lesion.

Methods: The study was performed as a single-center, prospective maintained database, retrospective analysis. Between January 2013 and December 2018, consecutive 155 CLTI patients (155 limbs) who primarily underwent balloon angioplasty for de novo isolated infrapopliteal atherosclerotic lesions with Rutherford category class 4 or 5 were identified (IVUS-guided: 92 patients, angio-guided: 63 patients) and included in the analysis.

Combination therapy of heparin-bonded covered stent and bare-nitinol stent assessed by intravascular ultrasound.

To examine clinical outcomes for combination therapy of heparin-bonded covered stent [VIABAHN™ stent (VIA)] and bare-nitinol stent (BNS), and to determine independent predictors of restenosis after VIA implantation assessed by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). A retrospective analysis was conducted on VIA use in the femoropopliteal artery of 71 patients (81 lesions) treated between June 2012 and November 2018. We divided the treated lesions into two groups; that is, whether BNS was added at the proximal site of the VIA or not (combination of VIA and BNS group [COM; n = 21] vs.

Ten-year clinical outcomes for patients undergoing lower extremity endovascular interventions.

Background: Midterm outcomes after endovascular therapy (EVT) had been well-evaluated; however, 10-year outcomes after EVT are rarely reported.

Methods: A total of 713 patients underwent successful EVT for de novo lesions without acute limb ischemia. We divided patients according to lesion location: aortoiliac lesions only (AI group; n = 260); femoropopliteal lesions with or without aortoiliac lesions (FP group; n = 336); and below-the-knee lesions with or without other lesions (BTK group; n = 117).

Clinical impact of improvement in the ankle-brachial index after endovascular therapy for peripheral arterial disease.

Predictive ability of changes in the ankle-brachial index (ABI) after revascularization for long-term clinical outcomes remains unclear. Pre- and postprocedural ABI were recorded for 1307 consecutive patients who underwent their first successful EVT for symptomatic aortoiliac (n = 710) or femoropopliteal (n = 597) lesions. The patients were divided into two groups according to the increase in ABI: ∆ABI ≥ 0.

Mortality Risk Following Application of a Paclitaxel-Coated Stent in Femoropopliteal Lesions.

Purpose: To examine if endovascular therapy (EVT) with paclitaxel-coated stents increases the mortality risk in patients with symptomatic lower limb peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of paclitaxel-coated stent use in the femoropopliteal segment of 1535 symptomatic (Rutherford category 2 to 4) patients treated between January 2010 and December 2016 at 4 hospitals in Japan. The risk of all-cause mortality was examined between the 285 patients (mean age 73±8 years; 213 men) treated with a paclitaxel-coated stent (PTX-coated group) and 1250 patients (mean age 73±9 years; 872 men) not exposed to a paclitaxel-coated device (PTX-free group) during EVT.

Cable externalization at the proximal portion of the superior vena cava coil in Riata implantable cardioverter defibrillator leads.

Many Riata (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA) implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) leads have reportedly developed cable externalization.