Journal of Invasive Cardiology最新文献

Objectives: Oral anticoagulation therapy (OAC) is often contraindicated in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) because of the high hemorrhagic risk. Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) can prevent thromboembolic events while avoiding long-term anticoagulation. However, a short period of antithrombotic therapy (AT) is still recommended after LAAO, and, therefore, it is unclear whether patients with CAA can be candidates for LAAO. The aim of the study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of LAAO in patients with CAA and AF.

Methods: In this sub-study of the LOGIC (Left atrial appendage Occlusion in patients with Gastrointestinal or IntraCranial bleeding) registry, the authors considered only patients with previous intracranial (IC) bleeding, and patients with CAA were compared with patients who did not have CAA. Outcomes of interest were death from any causes and cardiovascular death, ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack and systemic embolization, and any bleeding and major bleeding at 12 months.

Results: The analysis included 270 patients, 49 (18%) of whom had CAA. Patients with CAA were more frequently discharged without AT after LAAO compared with patients who did not have CAA (36.7% vs 6.8%, P less than .001), and this was confirmed at the 1-year follow-up (30.4% vs 14.1%, P = .001). There were no significant differences in all-cause or cardiovascular mortality, or ischemic or hemorrhagic endpoints at 1 and 12 months.

Conclusions: LAAO seems to be safe and effective in reducing both ischemic and hemorrhagic risk in patients with AF and CAA. Although patients with CAA are more likely to be discharged without AT after LAAO, there are no significant differences in ischemic and hemorrhagic outcomes compared with patients with a history of IC bleeding from other causes.

Prevention, prompt diagnosis, and rapid treatment are crucial for improving outcomes of complications that occur during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The authors summarize studies on PCI complications published between January 1, 2023, and May 1, 2024, including coronary dissection, no reflow, perforation, and equipment loss/entrapment.

Objectives: The association of contrast volume to the risk of contrast-related acute kidney injury (CR-AKI) appears to have resulted in a change in daily practice toward using lower contrast volume for all patients. Distal transradial access (dTRA) has advantages in terms of faster haemostasis and lower rates of proximal radial artery occlusion. The present study aimed to describe the authors' experience with the combination of ultra-low contrast (ULC) strategy and dTRA for routine coronary procedures in a real-world and broad population of all-comers patients.

Methods: Of 6852 patients consecutively included into the DISTRACTION registry from February 2019 to July 2024, successful ULC coronary procedures via dTRA were achieved in 4328 (63.2%). Related data were retrospectively assessed.

Results: Most patients were male with acute coronary syndromes, and the mean patient age was 63.6 ± 15 years. Access-site crossover occurred in only 3% of cases. Right dTRA was the most frequently utilized primary access site, and was almost always performed with standard 6-French radial sheaths. ULC strategy was feasible for every scenario, with the overall contrast volume less than or equal to 40 mL for 96.4% of all patients, regardless of coronary bypass surgical grafts presence, percutaneous coronary intervention immediately following coronary angiography, anatomical or clinical complexity, or unavailability of intravascular ultrasound guidance. Neither major complications nor major adverse cerebrovascular and cardiac events directly related to dTRA were recorded. The rates of CR-AKI were very low (1.1%).

Conclusions: When performed by experienced operators, the minimalist combination of ULC strategy and dTRA for routine coronary procedures, regardless of baseline creatinine clearance, appears to be safe and feasible.

Objectives: The use of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) in patients with calcified coronary and peripheral arterial disease is now commonplace; however, its use in procedures specific to congenital heart disease is rare, with a very limited published case-based experience to date. The authors report the outcomes of 4 patients with congenital heart disease who underwent IVL-assisted transcatheter procedures in the effort to inform future operators as to the potential benefits and risks of this technology in this patient population.

Methods and results: Four patients underwent IVL-assisted transcatheter procedures including branch pulmonary artery stenting, aortic coarctation stenting, and transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement. All 4 patients underwent successful IVL-assisted implantation of large stents in highly calcified native or surgically implanted biological conduits without significant complications.

Conclusions: The use of IVL-assisted interventions in patients with severe native or surgical calcified vascular conduits is feasible and may be a useful adjunct in conduit stent implantation and dilation. Vascular injury during angioplasty of calcified vessels and conduits remains a concern despite the use of lithotripsy, and covered stent implantation should be considered prior to aggressive dilation in order to reduce the risk of catastrophic rupture.