New 2010 ESC Guidelines For Percutaneous Coronary Interventions Reinforce Importance Of FFR In Treatment Of Coronary Artery Disease
St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) applauds the updated class and level of evidence for Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR)-guided treatment in the Guidelines on Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) announced Monday at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress in Stockholm. Supporting this change are the very strong one and two year data from the landmark FAME (Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) vs. Angiography in Multivessel Evaluation) trial, which demonstrated improved outcomes for patients with multivessel coronary artery disease whose treatment was guided by St... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)...
POSTED 09/01/2010 at 08:00 AM --

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Instantaneous coronary collateral function during supine bicycle exercise
Conclusion
In patients with non-occlusive CAD, collateral flow instantaneously doubles during supine bicycle exercise as compared with the resting state.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00947050. (Source: European Heart Journal)...
POSTED 09/01/2010 at 02:09 AM --

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Early routine percutaneous coronary intervention after fibrinolysis vs. standard therapy in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: a meta-analysis
Conclusion
Early routine PCI after fibrinolysis in STEMI patients significantly reduced reinfarction and recurrent ischaemia at 1month, with no significant increase in adverse bleeding events compared to standard therapy. Benefits of early PCI persist at 6–12 month follow-up. (Source: European Heart Journal)...
POSTED 09/01/2010 at 02:09 AM --

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Heparin dose during PCI after initial fondaparinux treatment of ACS
Source: JAMA
Area: News
A controlled trial found no significant differences in major bleeding or complications during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between low and high doses of unfractionated heparin (UFH) in patients who had been treated with fondaparinux for acute coronary syndromes (ACS).
Fondaparinux is commonly used as an antithrombotic agent in the management of patients with ACS: many of these patients will proceed to PCI, and it is recommended that UFH is used during the procedure. The most appropriate dose is, however, unclear and guidelines recommend both higher (European) and lower (US) doses: this trial aimed to determine whether there was any difference in clinical outcomes between standard dose and a fixed low dose. Participants were patients with ACS ......
POSTED 08/31/2010 at 06:00 PM --

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ESC: Low-Dose Heparin Doesn't Reduce PCI-Related Bleeding
Compared with standard unfractionated heparin, low-dose unfractionated heparin does not appear to
reduce peri-percutaneous coronary intervention bleeding and vascular access-site complications in patients with
non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes, according to research published online Aug. 31 in the Journal of
the American Medical Association to coincide with the European Society of Cardiology Congress, held from Aug. 28 to
Sept. 1 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Source: Modern Medicine)...
POSTED 08/30/2010 at 06:00 PM --

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ESC: Novel Antiplatelet Shows Promise (CME/CE, with video)
STOCKHOLM (MedPage Today) -- An investigational P2Y12 inhibitor -- elinogrel -- resulted in faster and greater platelet inhibition and similar clinical efficacy compared with clopidogrel (Plavix) in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention, a phase II study presented here showed. (Source: MedPage Today Cardiovascular)...
POSTED 08/30/2010 at 03:31 PM --

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Low-Dose vs Standard-Dose Unfractionated Heparin for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Acute Coronary Syndromes Treated With Fondaparinux: The FUTURA/OASIS-8 Randomized Trial [Original Contribution]
Conclusion Low-dose compared with standard-dose unfractionated heparin did not reduce major peri-PCI bleeding and vascular access-site complications.
Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00790907 (Source: JAMA)...
POSTED 08/30/2010 at 01:48 PM --

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Elective Placement Of Type Of Pump Within The Aorta Prior To Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Not Associated With Improved Outcomes
High-risk patients undergoing a coronary procedure such as placement of a stent who electively received an intra-aortic balloon pump (a device that can help improve blood flow) prior to the procedure did not experience a significantly lower overall rate of events such as heart attack, revascularization or death, according to a study in the August 25 issue of JAMA... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)...
POSTED 08/29/2010 at 03:00 AM --

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AJC: Radial approach for PCI ups rad dose area
The transition from a default transfemoral access approach for coronary angioplasty to a default transradial approach increased fluoroscopy time, according to a study published in the September edition of American Journal of Cardiology. The transradial approach increased dose-area product for diagnostic procedures, but not interventional procedures. (Source: Cardiovascular Business News)...
POSTED 08/27/2010 at 08:32 AM --

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AJC: Radial approach for PCI ups rad dose area
The transition from a default transfemoral access approach for coronary angioplasty to a default transradial approach increased fluoroscopy time, according to a study published in the September edition of American Journal of Cardiology. The transradial approach increased dose-area product for diagnostic procedures, but not interventional procedures. (Source: Cardiovascular Business News)...
POSTED 08/27/2010 at 08:32 AM --

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AJC: Radial approach for PCI ups rad dose area
The transition from a default transfemoral access approach for coronary angioplasty to a default transradial approach increased fluoroscopy time, according to a study published in the September edition of American Journal of Cardiology. The transradial approach increased dose-area product for diagnostic procedures, but not interventional procedures. (Source: Health Imaging News)...
POSTED 08/27/2010 at 08:32 AM --

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AJC: Radial approach for PCI ups rad dose area
The transition from a default transfemoral access approach for coronary angioplasty to a default transradial approach increased fluoroscopy time, according to a study published in the September edition of American Journal of Cardiology. The transradial approach increased dose-area product for diagnostic procedures, but not interventional procedures. (Source: Health Imaging News)...
POSTED 08/27/2010 at 08:32 AM --

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Prasugrel for the treatment of acute coronary syndromes with percutaneous coronary intervention: NICE technology appraisal guidance
(Source: Heart)...
POSTED 08/26/2010 at 07:54 AM --

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Meta-analysis of new P2Y12 inhibitors vs. clopidogrel in percutaneous coronary intervention
Source: J Am Coll Cardiol
Area: News
The new P2Y12 inhibitors have been evaluated in a meta-analysis of randomised trials to determine whether they decrease mortality after percutaneous intervention (PCI) compared with clopidogrel.
Eight studies were identified involving 48,599 patients, 94% of whom had acute coronary syndrome and 84% undergoing PCI. Data were examined for all randomised patients, PCI patients (any PCI), and PCI for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. The primary efficacy end point was all-cause mortality and the primary safety end point was the Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction major bleeding.
The following findings were reported:
. New P2Y12 inhibitors statistically significantly decreased death (odds ra......
POSTED 08/25/2010 at 06:00 PM --

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CABG, PCI, or medical management for multi-vessel coronary artery disease?
Source: Circulation
Area: News
Ten-year follow-up of a study comparing three management strategies for patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease provides useful data on the relative merits of each approach, with none clearly superior for overall mortality.
While there is good evidence on the treatment of some sub-sets of patients with coronary artery disease, there is still debate over the best way to treat others, such as those patients who are stable with preserved function, but have multi-vessel disease. Options for such patients are optimum medical therapy (MT), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and the MASS-II study (Medicine, Angioplasty, or Surgery Study) was set up to compare outcomes for these three options. O......
POSTED 08/25/2010 at 06:00 PM --

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Improved Outcomes Seen With Drug-Eluting Stents
Drug-eluting stents in percutaneous coronary intervention are associated with improved long-term
outcomes, with a benefit that continues for up to five years following the intervention, according to research
published in the Sept. 1 issue of Catheterization & Cardiovascular Interventions. (Source: Modern Medicine)...
POSTED 08/25/2010 at 06:00 PM --

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Improved Outcomes Seen With Drug-Eluting Stents
Drug-eluting stents in percutaneous coronary intervention are associated with improved long-term
outcomes, with a benefit that continues for up to five years following the intervention, according to research
published in the Sept. 1 issue of Catheterization & Cardiovascular Interventions. (Source: Modern Medicine)...
POSTED 08/25/2010 at 06:00 PM --

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P2Y12 Inhibitors Reduce Post-PCI Risk of Death
New P2Y12 inhibitors are associated with improved outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention
compared with clopidogrel, and appear especially beneficial for ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction patients,
according to research published online Aug. 25 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (Source: Modern Medicine)...
POSTED 08/25/2010 at 06:00 PM --

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Elective intra-aortic pump placement does not improve PCI outcomes
Elective intra-aortic balloon pump insertion prior to percutaneous coronary intervention does not reduce the risk for major adverse cardiac and cardiovascular events at hospital discharge in high-risk patients, UK researchers suggest. (Source: MedWire News - Cardiology)...
POSTED 08/24/2010 at 07:00 PM --

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Why do patients discontinue anti-platelet therapy after PCI?
Source: Circulation
Area: News
Nearly 15% of patients started on dual anti-platelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) will stop one or both of the drugs within a year, only a minority of them due to major bleeding events or major invasive procedures, according to a prospective follow-up study from Spain.
Dual anti-platelet therapy for at least 12 months is necessary after implantation of a drug-eluting coronary stent, to reduce the risk of stent thrombosis, however it is known that a significant proportion of patients will stop one or both drugs prematurely. The reasons for this are not well known, and the authors carried out this prospective observational study to identify factors involved in treatment interruptions. Participants were recruited between 28 ......
POSTED 08/24/2010 at 06:00 PM --

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