Transcatheter aortic valve implantation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical expert opinion and consensus statement for Asia.

Objectives: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of patient with aortic valve stenosis is unknown and there is uncertainty on the optimal strategies in managing these patients.

Methods: This study is supported and endorsed by the Asia Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology. Due to the inability to have face to face discussions during the pandemic, an online survey was performed by inviting key opinion leaders (cardiac surgeon/interventional cardiologist/echocardiologist) in the field of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in Asia to participate.

Gender disparities in optimal lipid control among patients with coronary artery disease.

Coronary heart disease(CHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide in both men and women. Hypercholesterolemia is a major factor contributing to the incidence of CHD. Many lipid-lowering trials have shown statins to be effective medications for the primary and secondary prevention of CHD.

Efficacy and safety of simvastatin in Asian and non-Asian coronary heart disease patients: a comparison of the GOALLS and STATT studies.

Background: Asians are thought to be more responsive to the lipid-lowering effects of statins than non-Asians although there are no head-to-head trials that examine this perception.

Objective: To compare the results of the GOALLS and STATT studies that used similar titrate-to-goal protocols with 20 mg up to 80 mg simvastatin in Asian and non-Asian coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.

Methods: GOALLS (N = 198; included non-Asians and Asians) and STATT (N = 133; included Asians only) were both multi-center, open-label 14-week studies in CHD patients with serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels 115 mg/dL-180 mg/dL and triglycerides (TG) levels < or = 400 mg/dL.