Use and performance of the evolut FX transcatheter aortic valve system.

Background: The next generation supra-annular, self-expanding Evolut FX transcatheter aortic valve (TAV) system was designed to improve catheter deliverability, provide stable and symmetric valve deployment, and assess commissural alignment during the procedure. The impact of these modifications has not been clinically evaluated.

Methods: Procedural information was collected by survey in 2 Stages: Stage I comprised 23 centers with extensive experience with Evolut TAV systems, and Stage II comprised an additional 46 centers with a broad range of balloon- and self-expanding system experience.

Sustained Mechanical Aspiration Thrombectomy for High Thrombus Burden Coronary Vessel Occlusion: The Multicenter CHEETAH Study.

Background: Poor myocardial reperfusion due to distal embolization and microvascular obstruction after percutaneous coronary intervention is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Prior trials have not shown a clear benefit of routine manual aspiration thrombectomy. Sustained mechanical aspiration may mitigate this risk and improve outcomes.

Safety and efficacy of Everolimus-Eluting bioabsorbable Polymer-Coated stent in patients with long coronary lesions: The EVOLVE 48 study.

Objectives: The EVOLVE 48 study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the SYNERGY 48 mm stent for the treatment of long lesions.

Background: Clinical evidence supporting the use of very long stents during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is limited. The bioabsorbable polymer SYNERGY stent has shown good long-term data in a broad population of patients undergoing PCI.

Impact of long-axis function on cardiac surgical outcomes in patients with radiation-associated heart disease.

Background: Malignancy-associated thoracic radiation leads to radiation-associated cardiac disease (RACD) that often necessitates cardiac surgery. Myocardial dysfunction is common in patients with RACD. We sought to determine the predictive value of global left ventricular ejection fraction and long-axis function left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) in such patients.

Increased aorto-mitral curtain thickness independently predicts mortality in patients with radiation-associated cardiac disease undergoing cardiac surgery.

Background: Thoracic radiation leads to radiation-associated cardiac disease (RACD), associated with substantial cardiac morbidity and mortality, often requiring complex cardiothoracic surgery. In patients with RACD, along with valvular lesions, the aorto-mitral curtain (AMC, junction between base of anterior mitral leaflet and aortic root) thickness is increased on transthoracic echocardiography. We sought to identify clinical and transthoracic echocardiography predictors of long-term mortality in patients with RACD.

Pulmonary fibrosis on multidetector computed tomography and mortality in patients with radiation-associated cardiac disease undergoing cardiac surgery.

Objective: In the long-term, malignancy-associated thoracic radiation leads to varying degrees of pulmonary fibrosis and radiation-associated cardiac disease, often requiring cardiothoracic surgery. We sought to determine whether pulmonary fibrosis affects mortality in patients with radiation-associated cardiac disease undergoing cardiothoracic surgery.

Methods: We studied 117 patients (aged 63 ± 15 years, 71% were women) with radiation-associated cardiac disease receiving multimodality imaging who underwent cardiothoracic surgery (21% redo) between 2000 and 2003.

Long-term survival of patients with radiation heart disease undergoing cardiac surgery: a cohort study.

Background: Thoracic radiation results in radiation-associated heart disease (RAHD), often requiring cardiothoracic surgery (CTS). We sought to measure long-term survival in RAHD patients undergoing CTS, to compare them with a matched control population undergoing similar surgical procedures, and to identify potential predictors of long-term survival.

Methods And Results: In this retrospective observational cohort study of patients undergoing CTS, matched on the basis of age, sex, and type/time of CTS, 173 RAHD patients (75% women; age, 63±14 years) and 305 comparison patients (74% women; age, 63±4 years) were included.

Pharmacotherapy During Saphenous Vein Graft Intervention.

Coronary revascularization using saphenous vein grafts is an important treatment modality for patients with severe coronary artery disease. Percutaneous intervention of these grafts is often the best option for patients who develop severe stenosis of the vein grafts. Use of adjunctive glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors does not confer added benefit with ischemic endpoints as compared with heparin alone, but it increases the risk of bleeding.