Most Promising Therapies in Interventional Cardiology.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The last 40 years of clinical research in interventional cardiology were extraordinarily innovative. This article will review the most promising up and coming interventional cardiovascular therapies, with a primary focus on the treatment of coronary artery disease. RECENT FINDINGS: From the first stent, to the first transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), and the left appendage closure technique, percutaneous interventions revolutionized the treatment of multiple diseases and dramatically improved the prognosis of many patients. While these advances have decreased the risk of mortality in some patients (such as ST-elevation myocardial infarction), 15% of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients still experience recurrent ischemic events within the first year, challenging us to develop new pharmaceutical targets and new devices. The continued emergence of data supporting inflammation as a risk factor and pharmacologic target as well as data supporting the importance of cholesterol efflux have identified novel therapeutic targets that may play a major role in the improvement of prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease. In addition, novel medical devices are being developed to allow even earlier detection of acute cardiac events and to support high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions. Advances in computing and the ability to analyze large datasets will allow us to use artificial intelligence to augment the clinician patient experience, both in and out of the catheterization laboratory, with live procedural guidance as well as pre- and post-operative prognostication tools.

Thrombus Burden of Deep Vein Thrombosis and Its Association with Thromboprophylaxis and D-Dimer Measurement: Insights from the APEX Trial.

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of betrixaban on the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and also the extent of thrombus and to assess the association of baseline D-dimer with subsequent thrombus burden. Methods In the APEX trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01583218), 7,513 acutely ill hospitalized medical patients were randomly assigned to extended-duration betrixaban (35­42 days) or enoxaparin (10 ± 4 days). D-dimer concentration was measured at baseline, and mandatory lower-extremity compression ultrasonography (CUS) was performed at 35 to 42 days. The thrombus burden of DVT was assessed by the number of non-compressible vascular segments in six target proximal veins and compared between treatment groups and D-dimer categories (≥2 × upper limit of normal [ULN] versus <2 × ULN). Results Compared with enoxaparin, extended-duration betrixaban reduced the DVT risk at 35 to 42 days (any-dose: relative risk [RR] = 0.76 [95% confidence interval: 0.61­0.94]; p = 0.013; full-dose: RR = 0.70 [0.55­0.90]; p = 0.005). Patients who received betrixaban were more likely to have a lower thrombus burden (p = 0.012 for any-dose and p = 0.001 for full-dose). Elevated D-dimer at baseline was independently associated with a 2.12-fold increased risk of developing DVT (p < 0.001). A greater thrombus burden was also observed in those with D-dimer ≥ 2 × ULN compared with <2 × ULN (p < 0.0001). Conclusion Extended-duration betrixaban reduced the number of venous segments with thrombosis at 35 to 42 days compared with enoxaparin. A positive D-dimer was associated with a greater extent of thrombus burden among acutely ill medical patients who developed DVT despite receiving thromboprophylaxis.