Cangrelor in contemporary patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction pretreated with Ticagrelor: Pharmacodynamic data from the POMPEII study.

Background: There are limited data to assess pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles of patients with STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and receiving cangrelor after pretreatment with ticagrelor.

Methods: The PharmacOdynaMic effects of cangrelor in PatiEnts wIth acute or chronIc coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (POMPEII) registry (NCT04790032) is a prospective study conducted at Federico II University of Naples enrolling all patients undergoing PCI receiving cangrelor at operator's discretion. PD assessments were performed with 3 assays: (1) the gold standard light transmittance aggregometry (LTA) (20- and 5-μM adenosine diphosphate [ADP] stimuli); (2) VerifyNow P2Y-test; (3) Multiplate electrode aggregometry (MEA), ADP-test.

"You always think the worst …" Family members' experiences during the COVID-19 emergency: A qualitative descriptive study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of family members of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for COVID-19 during the first and second waves of the pandemic in Switzerland.

Design: A qualitative descriptive approach was used in this study.

Methods: Face-to-face in-depth semistructured interviews were used to explore the experiences of family members of surviving COVID-19 patients, who were admitted to the ICU.

Generalized Pairwise Comparisons to Assess Treatment Effects: JACC Review Topic of the Week.

A time-to-first-event composite endpoint analysis has well-known shortcomings in evaluating a treatment effect in cardiovascular clinical trials. It does not fully describe the clinical benefit of therapy because the severity of the events, events repeated over time, and clinically relevant nonsurvival outcomes cannot be considered. The generalized pairwise comparisons (GPC) method adds flexibility in defining the primary endpoint by including any number and type of outcomes that best capture the clinical benefit of a therapy as compared with standard of care.

Atrial Fibrillation Burden and Atrial Shunt Therapy in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common comorbidity in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and in heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF).

Objectives: This study sought to describe AF burden and its clinical impact among individuals with HFpEF and HFmrEF who participated in a randomized clinical trial of atrial shunt therapy (REDUCE LAP-HF II [A Study to Evaluate the Corvia Medical, Inc IASD System II to Reduce Elevated Left Atrial Pressure in Patients with Heart Failure]) and to evaluate the effect of atrial shunt therapy on AF burden.

Methods: Study investigators characterized AF burden among patients in the REDUCE LAP-HF II trial by using ambulatory cardiac patch monitoring at baseline (median patch wear time, 6 days) and over a 12-month follow-up (median patch wear time, 125 days).

Dispatch of Volunteer Responders to Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests.

Background: Systems for dispatch of volunteer responders to collect automated external defibrillators and/or to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in cases of nearby out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are widely implemented.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether the activation of a volunteer responder system to OHCAs was associated with higher rates of bystander CPR, bystander defibrillation, and 30-day survival vs no system activation.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational analysis within the ESCAPE-NET (European Sudden Cardiac Arrest network: Towards Prevention, Education, New Effective Treatment) collaborative research network.

Management of hemodynamically stable wide QRS complex tachycardia in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

Unlabelled: Management of hemodynamically stable, incessant wide QRS complex tachycardia (WCT) in patients who already have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is challenging. First-line treatment is performed by medical staff who have no knowledge on programmed ICD therapy settings and there is always some concern for unexpected ICD shock. In these patients, a structured approach is necessary from presentation to therapy.

Distal vs Conventional Radial Access for Coronary Angiography and/or Intervention: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.

Background: Emerging evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing distal radial access (DRA) with conventional radial access (RA) is available.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to provide a quantitative appraisal of the effects of DRA) vs conventional RA for coronary angiography with or without intervention.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.

Duration of antiplatelet therapy after complex percutaneous coronary intervention in patients at high bleeding risk: a MASTER DAPT trial sub-analysis.

Aim: To assess the effects of 1- or ≥3-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in high bleeding risk (HBR) patients who received biodegradable-polymer sirolimus-eluting stents for complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and/or acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods And Results: In the MASTER DAPT trial, 3383 patients underwent non-complex (abbreviated DAPT, n = 1707; standard DAPT, n = 1676) and 1196 complex (abbreviated DAPT, n = 588; standard DAPT, n = 608) PCI. Co-primary outcomes at 335 days were net adverse clinical events [NACE; composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and bleeding academic research consortium (BARC) 3 or 5 bleeding events]; major adverse cardiac or cerebral events (MACCE; all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and stroke); and Types 2, 3, or 5 BARC bleeding.