The prevalence of endothelial dysfunction in patients with and without coronary artery disease

Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is frequently present in patients presenting with acute or stable coronary artery disease (CAD), but it is also found in patients presenting with chest pain without angiographic coronary lesions.

Impact of coronary artery disease and percutaneous coronary intervention on outcomes in patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is frequently present in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). While revascularisation affects peri-operative outcome in patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement, the impact of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients undergoing TAVI is not well established.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation or surgical aortic valve replacement as redo procedure after prior coronary artery bypass grafting

The perioperative risk for redo surgical aortic valve replacement (S-AVR) in patients with severe aortic stenosis and prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is increased. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) represents an alternative. We assessed the perioperative and mid-term clinical outcome of patients undergoing S-AVR or TAVI.

Comparison of arterial and venous coronary artery bypass flow measurements using 3-T magnetic resonance phase contrast imaging

Comparison of arterial and venous coronary artery bypass flow measurements using 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) phase contrast in correlation with intraoperative Doppler flow measurements.

Morphological and functional 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging of saphenous vein coronary artery bypass grafts

Evaluation of a novel non-invasive tool for postoperative follow-up of patients postelective saphenous vein coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) was performed. Ten patients were included. Their bypass grafts supplied the right coronary artery (7), marginal branches (1), diagonal branches (2), and the circumflex artery (n=1). Each bypass was examined intraoperatively using Doppler flow measurement. Patients were examined with a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner (MAGNETOM Verio, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) within one week postsurgery using MR-angiography with an intravasal contrast agent and velocity encoded phase-contrast flow measurements. Intraoperative Doppler flow measurements revealed regular flow patterns in all vascular territories supplied. The median intraoperative flow rate was 50 ml/min with an inter-quartile range (IQR) of 42-70 ml/min. The clinical postoperative course was uneventful. MRI showed all grafts to be patent. The median postoperative flow rate was 50 ml/min (IQR: 32-65 ml/min). MRI flow rates agreed well with intraoperative Doppler flow measurements (mean difference: -2.8±20.1 ml/min). This initial study demonstrates that 3-Tesla MRI flow measurements correlated well with Doppler thus reconfirming the graft patency postCABG. Further refinement and broader application of this technique may facilitate follow-up postCABG potentially replacing empiric clinical judgment by reliable non-invasive imaging.

Assessment of coronary artery disease by post-mortem cardiac MR

Minimally invasive or virtual autopsies are being advocated as alternative to traditional autopsy, but have limited abilities to detect coronary artery disease. It was the objective of this study to assess if the occurrence of chemical shift artifacts (CSA) along the coronary arteries on non-contrast, post-mortem cardiac MR may be used to investigate coronary artery disease.

Double-vessel coronary stenting via 5 french diagnostic catheters

The authors report on the use of 5 French diagnostic catheters to deliver a stent-on-a-wire system during a double vessel coronary intervention.

Long-term clinical outcomes of biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stents versus durable polymer sirolimus-eluting stents in patients with coronary artery disease (LEADERS): 4 year follow-up of a randomised non-inferiority trial

Background The effectiveness of durable polymer drug-eluting stents comes at the expense of delayed arterial healing and subsequent late adverse events such as stent thrombosis (ST). We report the 4 year follow-up of an assessment of biodegradable polymer-based drug-eluting stents, which aim to improve safety by avoiding the persistent inflammatory stimulus of durable polymers. Methods We did a multicentre, assessor-masked, non-inferiority trial. Between Nov 27, 2006, and May 18, 2007, patients aged 18 years or older with coronary artery disease were randomly allocated with a computer-generated sequence to receive either biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stents (BES) or durable polymer sirolimus-eluting stents (SES; 1:1 ratio). The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or clinically-indicated target vessel revascularisation (TVR); patients were followed-up for 4 years. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00389220. Findings 1707 patients with 2472 lesions were randomly allocated to receive either biodegradable polymer BES (857 patients, 1257 lesions) or durable polymer SES (850 patients, 1215 lesions). At 4 years, biodegradable polymer BES were non-inferior to durable polymer SES for the primary endpoint: 160 (18·7%) patients versus 192 (22·6%) patients (rate ratios [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·66–1·00, p for non-inferiority <0·0001, p for superiority=0·050). The RR of definite ST was 0·62 (0·35–1·08, p=0·09), which was largely attributable to a lower risk of very late definite ST between years 1 and 4 in the BES group than in the SES group (RR 0·20, 95% CI 0·06–0·67, p=0·004). Conversely, the RR of definite ST during the first year was 0·99 (0·51–1·95; p=0·98) and the test for interaction between RR of definite ST and time was positive (pinteraction=0·017). We recorded an interaction with time for events associated with ST but not for other events. For primary endpoint events associated with ST, the RR was 0·86 (0·41–1·80) during the first year and 0·17 (0·04–0·78) during subsequent years (pinteraction=0·049). Interpretation Biodegradable polymer BES are non-inferior to durable polymer SES and, by reducing the risk of cardiac events associated with very late ST, might improve long-term clinical outcomes for up to 4 years compared with durable polymer SES. Funding Biosensors Europe SA, Switzerland.

Spot drug-eluting stenting for long coronary stenoses: long-term results of a randomized clinical study

Preliminary results of a randomized trial have suggested that total lesion coverage with drug-eluting stents (DES) is not necessary in the presence of diffuse disease of nonuniform severity. In the present study, we report long-term results of this trial.

Clinical outcomes after PCI for acute coronary syndrome in unprotected left main coronary artery disease: insights from the Swiss Acute Left Main Coronary Vessel Percutaneous Management (SALVage) study

Unprotected left main (ULM) coronary artery disease is encountered in 3%-10% of coronary angiograms and is associated with high mortality. The survival of patients with ULM disease presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) depends on different variables and is lowest in those with cardiogenic shock (CS). The aim of the present study was to estimate the impact of baseline characteristics on the subsequent clinical outcome in patients treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of ULM for ACS.

Comparison of titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents with zotarolimus-eluting stents for coronary revascularization a randomized controlled trial

Objectives This study sought to compare the efficacy of passive stent coating with titanium-nitride-oxide (TiNO) with drug-eluting stents releasing zotarolimus (ZES) (Endeavor, Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota). Background Stent coating with TiNO has been shown to reduce restenosis compared with bare-metal stents in experimental and clinical studies. Methods In an assessor-blind noninferiority study, 302 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were randomized to treatment with TiNO or ZES. The primary endpoint was in-stent late loss at 6 to 8 months, and analysis was by intention to treat. Results Both groups were well balanced with respect to baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics. The TiNO group failed to reach the pre-specified noninferiority margin for the primary endpoint (in-stent late loss: 0.64 ± 0.61 mm vs. 0.47 ± 0.48 mm, difference: 0.16, upper 1-sided 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26; pnoninferiority = 0.54), and subsequent superiority testing was in favor of ZES (psuperiority = 0.02). In-segment binary restenosis was lower with ZES (11.1%) than with TiNO (20.5%; psuperiority = 0.04). A stratified analysis of the primary endpoint found particularly pronounced differences between stents among diabetic versus nondiabetic patients (0.90 ± 0.69 mm vs. 0.39 ± 0.38 mm; pinteraction = 0.04). Clinical outcomes showed a similar rate of death (0.7% vs. 0.7%; p = 1.00), myocardial infarction (5.3% vs. 6.7%; p = 0.60), and major adverse cardiac events (21.1% vs. 18.0%, hazard ratio: 1.19, 95% CI: 0.71 to 2.00; p = 0.50) at 1 year. There were no differences in rates of definite or probable stent thrombosis (0.7% vs. 0%; p = 0.51) at 1 year. Conclusions Compared with TiNO, ZES was superior with regard to late loss and binary restenosis. The concept of passive stent coating with TiNO remains inferior to drug-eluting stent technology in reducing restenosis. ([TIDE] Randomized Trial Comparing Titan Stent With Zotarolimus-Eluting Stent: NCT00492908)

Coronary collateral function in the transplanted heart: propensity score matching with coronary artery disease

The function of the coronary collateral circulation in heart transplant patients has not been investigated in a controlled fashion. Since it partly belongs to the microcirculation, which is affected by transplant vasculopathy, the hypothesis was tested that the coronary collateral circulation in heart transplant recipients is less developed than in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.

Analysis of 1 year virtual histology changes in coronary plaque located behind the struts of the everolimus eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold

Serial intravascular ultrasound virtual histology (IVUS-VH) after implantation of metallic stents has been unable to show any changes in the composition of the scaffolded plaque overtime. The everolimus-eluting ABSORB scaffold potentially allows for the formation of new fibrotic tissue on the scaffolded coronary plaque during bioresorption. We examined the 12 month IVUS-VH changes in composition of the plaque behind the struts (PBS) following the implantation of the ABSORB scaffold. Using IVUS-VH and dedicated software, the composition of the PBS was analyzed in all patients from the ABSORB Cohort B2 trial, who were imaged with a commercially available IVUS-VH console (s5i system, Volcano Corporation, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA), immediately post-ABSORB implantation and at 12 month follow-up. Paired IVUS-VH data, recorded with s5i system, were available in 17 patients (18 lesions). The analysis demonstrated an increase in mean PBS area (2.39 ± 1.85 mm(2) vs. 2.76 ± 1.79 mm(2), P = 0.078) and a reduction in the mean lumen area (6.37 ± 0.90 mm(2) vs. 5.98 ± 0.97 mm(2), P = 0.006). Conversely, a significant decrease of 16 and 30% in necrotic core (NC) and dense calcium (DC) content, respectively, were evident (median % NC from 43.24 to 36.06%, P = 0.016; median % DC from 20.28 to 11.36%, P = 0.002). Serial IVUS-VH analyses of plaque located behind the ABSORB struts at 12-month demonstrated an increase in plaque area with a decrease in its NC and DC content. Larger studies are required to investigate the clinical impact of these findings.

Evaluation of the second generation of a bioresorbable everolimus-eluting vascular scaffold for the treatment of de novo coronary artery stenosis: 12-month clinical and imaging outcomes

The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the prevention of early scaffold area shrinkage of the ABSORB BVS (Rev.1.1, Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, California) was sustained and not simply delayed by a few months.