Neurocognitive function in procedures correcting severe aortic valve stenosis: patterns and determinants.

Background: Neurocognitive changes occurring after a surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure for the correction of severe aortic stenosis (AS) have not been widely addressed and, if addressed, have produced conflicting results. The purpose of this study is to identify the pre-procedural neurocognitive pattern and its determinants in a setting of elderly (>65 years) patients with severe AS undergoing SAVR or TAVI and the changes occurring at a 2-3 month follow-up. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study included in the Italian Registry on Outcomes in Aortic Stenosis Treatment in Elderly Patients. Patients were assessed both before and after (2-3 months) the procedure using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. Data on periprocedural demographics, clinical factors, and outcome measures were collected. Results: Before the procedure, 70% of the patients demonstrated a MoCA score <23 points, which was indicative of cognitive dysfunction. The factors associated with neurocognitive dysfunction were age, functional capacity, chronic heart failure, and hemoglobin levels. After the procedure, there was an overall improvement in the MoCA score of the patients, but 28% of the patients showed a reliable worsening of their condition. The factors associated with MoCA worsening were platelet transfusions and the amount of red blood cell units transfused. Conclusion: The correction of severe AS leads to an improvement in neurocognitive function after 2-3 months. This improvement does not differentiate between SAVR and TAVI after matching for pre-procedural factors. The only modifiable factor associated with pre-procedural neurocognitive function is anemia, and anemia correction with red blood cell transfusions is associated with a worsening of neurocognitive function. This leads to the hypothesis that anemia correction before the procedure (with iron and/or erythropoietin) may limit the risk of a post-procedural worsening of neurocognitive function.

Time course of ischemic and bleeding burden in consecutive patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (FOCUS-ONE Registry).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ischemic or bleeding events might occur after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), with the potential to hamper clinical outcomes. This study aimed to characterize the average daily ischemic risks (ADIRs) and the average daily bleeding risks (ADBRs) over 1-year in all consecutive patients undergoing TAVR. METHODS: ADBR included all bleeding events according to VARC-2 definition, and ADIR included cardiovascular deaths, myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. ADIRs and ADBRs were assessed within different timeframes post TAVR: acute (0-30 days), late (31-180 days), and very late (>181 days). Generalized estimating equations were used to test the least squares mean differences for the pairwise comparison of ADIRs and ADBRs. Our analysis was performed in the overall cohort and according to antithrombotic strategy (LT-OAC vs No LT-OAC). RESULTS: Ischemic burden was higher than bleeding burden, independently from the indication to LT-OAC, and in all timeframes examined. In the overall population, ADIRs were three-fold ADBRs (0.0467 [95% CI, 0.0431-0.0506] vs 0.0179 [95% CI, 0.0174-0.0185]; p < 0.001*). While ADIR was significantly higher in the acute phase, ADBR was relatively stable in all timeframes analysed. Of note, in LT-OAC population, OAC + SAPT group showed lower ischemic risk and higher bleeding events compared with OAC alone (ADIR: 0.0447 [95% CI: 0.0417-0.0477] vs 0.0642 [95% CI: 0.0557-0.0728]; p < 0.001*, ADBR 0.0395 [95% CI: 0.0381-0.0409] vs 0.0147 [95% CI: 0.0138-0.0156]; p < 0.001*). CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing TAVR Average daily risk fluctuates over time. However, ADIRs overcome ADBRs in all timeframes, especially in the acute phase and regardless of antithrombotic strategy adopted.

Collateral presence and extent do not predict myocardial viability and ischemia in chronic total occlusions: A stress-CMR study.

BACKGROUND: Well-developed collaterals are assumed as a marker of viability and ischemia in chronic total occlusions (CTO). We aim to correlate viability and ischemia with collateral presence and extent in CTO patients by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). METHODS: Multicentre study of 150 CTO patients undergoing stress-CMR, including adenosine if normal systolic function, high-dose-dobutamine for patients with akinetic/>2 hypokinetic segments and EF ≥35%, otherwise low-dose-dobutamine (LDD); all patients underwent late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging. Viability was defined as mean LGE transmurality ≤50% for adenosine, as functional improvement for dobutamine-stress-test, ischemia as ≥1.5 segments with perfusion defects outside the scar zone. RESULTS: Rentrop 3/CC 2 defined well-developed (WD, n = 74) vs poorly-developed collaterals (PD, n = 76). Viability was equally prevalent in WD vs PD: normo-functional myocardium with ≤50% LGE in 52% vs 58% segments, p = 0.76, functional improvement by LDD in 48% vs 52%, p = 0.12. Segments with none, 1-25%,26-50%,51-75% LGE showed viability by LDD in 90%,84%,81%,61% of cases, whilst in 12% if 76-100% LGE (p < 0.01). There was no difference in WD vs PD for ischemia presence (74% vs 75%, p = 0.99) and extent (2.7 vs 2.8 segments, p = 0.77). CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort of CTO patients, presence and extent of collaterals did not predict viability and ischemia by stress-CMR. Scar extent up to 75% LGE was still associated with viability, whereas ischemia was undetectable in 25% of patients, suggesting that the assessment of CTO patients with CMR would lead to a more comprehensive evaluation of viability and ischemia to guide revascularization.

Clinical impact and evolution of mitral regurgitation after TAVI using the new generation self-expandable valves.

BACKGROUND: Concomitant mitral regurgitation (MR) impaired prognosis in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). It has been suggested that the use of first generation self-expandable valve in patients with significant MR is associated with worse outcome as compared with balloon expandable valve. However, the impact of newer generation transcatheter devices on MR has not been investigated so far. We aim to assess the prognostic impact of MR in patients undergoing TAVI with the first-generation vs. the latest generation of self-expandable valves. METHODS: We analyzed 2964 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI. Patients were classified into 4 groups according to the degree of baseline MR and the generation of self expandable valve implanted. RESULTS: Of 1234 patients with moderate or severe MR, 817 were treated with first generation and 417 patients with second generation valves. Whereas, of 1730 patients with no or mild MR, 1130 were treated with first generation and 600 patients with second generation valves. Although, concomitant moderate-severe MR was found to be an independent predictor of mortality after TAVI, the use of newer generation self expandable valves was associated with higher survival rate at 1 year irrespective of the degree of preprocedural MR. At multivariable analysis the use of newer generation valve was associated with MR improvement throughout 1 year follow-up. CONCLUSION: Baseline moderate-severe MR is associated with an increase in mortality after TAVI. However, the degree of preprocedural MR doesn't impact survival when a second generation self expandable valve is used.

Cardiac magnetic resonance for ischaemia and viability detection. Guiding patient selection to revascularization in coronary chronic total occlusions: The CARISMA_CTO study design.

BACKGROUND: It is debated whether percutaneous revascularization (PCI) of total coronary chronic occlusion (CTO) is superior to optimal medical therapy (OMT) in improving symptoms, left ventricular (LV) function and major adverse cardiac/cerebrovascular events (MACCE). Furthermore, CTO-PCI is a challenging technique, with lower success rate than in other settings. A systematic analysis of baseline LV function, infarction extent and ischaemic burden to predict response to revascularization has never been performed. PURPOSES: To establish a CMR protocol to identify patients (pts) who can benefit most from CTO-PCI. Myocardial viability/ischaemia retains high biological plausibility as predictors of response to revascularization. Therefore, baseline viability (necrotic tissue extent, response to inotropic stimulation) and ischaemia (perfusion defect, wall motion abnormality during stress) will be studied as potential predictors of mechanical LV segmental improvement and ischaemic burden reduction in CTO territory (primary endpoint), LV remodelling and global function, Seattle Angina Questionnaire, and MACCE improvement (secondary endpoints) in the follow-up. METHODS: Pts with CTO suitable for PCI undergo stress-CMR for viability/ischaemia assessment. Pts with normal LV function undergo adenosine, those with moderately-reduced ejection fraction (EF) and wall motion abnormalities high-dose dobutamine, pts with EF <35% low-dose dobutamine. All pts undergo late gadolinium enhancement and repeat the same scan at 12 ±â€¯3 months, regardless of PCI success or decision for OMT. CONCLUSIONS: A multi-parameter CMR protocol tailored on pts characteristics to study viability/ischaemia could help in identifying responders in terms of LV function, ischaemic burden and clinical outcome among pts suitable for CTO-PCI, improving selection of best candidates to percutaneous revascularization.

Patient selection and percutaneous technique of unprotected left main revascularization.

Increasing evidence suggests that percutaneous coronary intervention with newer generation drug-eluting stents may be an acceptable alternative, or even preferred in selected cases to the surgical approach, in patients with left main disease. This review will discuss the anatomic factors, the clinical variables, and the procedural strategies to consider, including physiology assessment and imaging guidance, in order to optimize outcomes.

Prediction of patient-specific post-operative outcomes of TAVI procedure: The impact of the positioning strategy on valve performance.

Prosthesis positioning in transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedures represents a crucial aspect for procedure success as demonstrated by many recent studies on this topic. Possible complications, device performance, and, consequently, also long-term durability are highly affected by the adopted prosthesis placement strategy. In the present work, we develop a computational finite element model able to predict device-specific and patient-specific replacement procedure outcomes, which may help medical operators to plan and choose the optimal implantation strategy. We focus in particular on the effects of prosthesis implantation depth and release angle. We start from a real clinical case undergoing Corevalve self-expanding device implantation. Our study confirms the crucial role of positioning in determining valve anchoring, replacement failure due to intra or para-valvular regurgitation, and post-operative device deformation.

Adjusted indirect comparison of new oral anticoagulants for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Vit-K antagonists are the therapy of choice to prevent thromboembolic events due to atrial fibrillation since many years. New oral anticoagulants (NOA) showed encouraging results vs. warfarin but there are no data directly comparing different NOA. We performed an adjusted indirect meta-analysis. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched. Efficacy end points were the cumulative rate of thomboembolic stroke (TES) and systemic embolism (SE). Main safety end point was the rate of hemorrhagic stroke (HS). RESULTS: Three RCTs (50578 patients) were included. Overall, NOA were comparable to warfarin according to the cumulative risk of TES and SE, as well as for TES alone. NOA were associated with a reduced rate of SE [OR 0.64 (0.44, 0.94], P=0.02]. Compared to warfarin, NOA were associated with a significantly reduced risk of HS [OR 0.43 (0.34, 0.55), P<0.001, NNT to avoid a HS 153] and all cause death [OR 0.90 [0.84, 0.96], P=0.03, NNT to save one fatality 43]. Head to head comparison showed that in terms of cumulative rate of TES/SE, as well as of TES, none of the NOA was significantly superior to the others (all Ps>0.05). Rivaroxaban showed superiority in the prevention of SE. Dabigatran 150 mg/twice daily was associated with the largest reduction in the risk of HS vs. warfarin and vs. other NOA. Overall mortality was quite comparable across NOA. CONCLUSION: Overall superiority of NOA over warfarin is largely influenced by the reduction of HS. Dabigatran 150 mg/twice daily seems to have the best risk/benefit profile.

Multi-Link Vision stent vs. first-generation drug-eluting stents: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Since its introduction, the cobalt chromium alloy MULTI-LINK VISION stent (MLV) has been extensively investigated thus leading to the largest amount of data so far available for a bare metal stent. Aim and METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis (according to Cochrane collaboration guidelines) aiming at summarizing the real world safety and efficacy of MLV stent. Endpoints of interest were: major adverse events [(MAE) combination of overall death and non-fatal myocardial infarction, MI], and target vessel revascularization (TVR). Rate of stent thrombosis was also assessed. RESULTS: Eleven studies finally retrieved totalling 5539 patients [7 study registries, 4243 patients and 4 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing MLV vs. first generation of drug-eluting stent (DES) (paclitaxel or sirolimus eluting), (RCTs) 1296 patients]. Across study registries, at a mean follow-up of 11.1 months, MLV was associated with a 5.3% risk of MAE, 3% of death, 2.3% of MI and a 9% of TVR. Risk of ST was 0.5%. Compared to first generation of DES in RCTs, at a mean follow-up of 10.5 months, MLV achieved similar results in terms of MAE, death and MI. On the other hand, MLV was associated with a double risk of TVR [OR 2.01 (1.34-3.01), P < 0.001, number needed to treat 18 (13-40)]. Overall, in stent late loss with MLV was 0.81 mm (±0.51), while the in segment late loss was 0.61 mm (±0.5). Risk of stent thrombosis was equivalent. Of note, performance of MLV in terms of safety, efficacy and risk of repeat revascularization was quite consistent across all the published studies, despite inherent differences in study design, clinical setting, complexity of the lesions and ethnicity. CONCLUSION: Compared to first-generation DES, MLV showed substantial equivalence with respect to hard clinical endpoints. Data are consistent in study registries and RCTs meaning that the overall performance of MLV is quite predictable and reproducible into the wide spectrum of clinical settings.

Pexelizumab and survival in cardiac surgery.

A recent international consensus conference on the reduction in mortality in cardiac anesthesia and intensive care included pexelizumab, a recombinant monoclonal antibody to the component 5 of the complement system, among the ancillary (i.e. non-surgical) drugs/techniques/strategies that might influence survival rates in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The consensus conferences state that "A subgroup analysis of a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials suggested that pexelizumab might reduce mortality (longest follow up available, up to 6 months) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Pexelizumab was not included among the most important topics of the consensus conference as it was the only topic that did not receive a sufficient percentage of votes from the audience (32% at the first round and 35% at the second round). Pexelizumab is no longer on the market, however, the concept of reducing the generalized inflammatory process accompanying cardiopulmonary bypass deserves further investigation.

Current concepts on antiplatelet therapy: focus on the novel thienopyridine and non-thienopyridine agents.

Thienopyridines are a class of drug targeting the platelet adenosine diphosphate (ADP) 2 receptor. They significantly reduce platelet activity and are therefore clinically beneficial in settings where platelet activation is a key pathophysiological feature, particularly myocardial infarction. Ticlopidine, the first of the class introduced to clinical practice, was soon challenged and almost completely replaced by clopidogrel for its better tolerability. More recently, prasugrel and ticagrelor have been shown to provide a more powerful antiplatelet action compared to clopidogrel but at a cost of higher risk of bleeding complications. Cangrelor, a molecule very similar to ticagrelor, is currently being evaluated against clopidogrel. Considering the key balance of ischemic protection and bleeding risk, this paper discusses the background to the development of prasugrel, ticagrelor, and cangrelor and aims to characterise their risk-benefit profile and possible implementation in daily practice.

What is the risk of intensifying platelet inhibition beyond clopidogrel? A systematic review and a critical appraisal of the role of prasugrel.

Thienopyridines are a class of drug targeting the platelet adenosine diphosphate 2 receptor. They have been shown to significantly reduce platelet activity exerting an important role in those clinical settings in which such an effect is beneficial. Ticlopidine was first to be introduced several years ago but it was quickly replaced by clopidogrel as it had a better risk/benefit profile. Recently, prasugrel has been developed and tested in several ex vivo studies and clinical trials showing able to provide a more powerful antiplatelet effect at the expense of a higher risk of bleeding complications. Great debate rose around its recent approval in the US as well as in Europe. This review aims at exploring the development and available clinical data of this third-generation thienopyridine while discussing its practical implementation in routine practice.

Myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention: a meta-analysis of troponin elevation applying the new universal definition.

AIM: Elevation of Troponin after scheduled percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a recognized consequence. We sought to evaluate the prognostic significance and impact of the newly published definition of PCI-related myocardial infarction (MI) according to which any troponin elevation >3 times the upper reference limit identify a peri-procedural MI. METHODS: Search of BioMedCentral, CENTRAL, mRCT and PubMed (updated May 2008). Outcomes of interest were: MACE [the composite of all cause death, MI, repeat target vessel PCI (re-PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)]; single end points were also assessed. RESULTS: Fifteen studies have been included totalling 7578 patients. Troponin elevation occurred in 28.7% of the procedures. The incidence of PCI-related MI according to the new definition was 14.5%. During the hospitalization, any level of raised troponin was associated with an increased risk of MACE [OR 11.29 (3.00-42.48), Number needed to harm (NNH) 5], death [OR 7.16 (1.95-26.27), NNH = 100], MI [OR 30.85 (6.05-157.38), NNH = 4] and re-PCI [OR 4.13 (1.23-13.88), NNH = 50]. Patients with PCI-related MI had an increased risk of death [OR 17.25 (2.71-109.96), NNH = 100] and re-PCI [OR 10.86 (3.2-36.94), NNH = 25]. At follow up of 18 months any troponin elevation was associated with an increased risk of MACE [OR 1.48 (1.12-1.96), NNH = 20], death [OR 2.19 (1.59-3.00), NNH = 50], MI [OR 3.29 (2.71-6.31), NNH = 33] and re-PCI [OR 1.47 (1.06-2.03), NNH = 25]. In patients with PCI-related MI the risk of MACE was further increased: OR 2.25 (1.26-4.00), NNH = 3. An increase of the troponin level below the cut-off was not associated with MACE. CONCLUSION: A diagnosis of MI according to the new guidelines applies to 15% of patients undergoing PCI and these patients are at high risk of further adverse events both during the hospital stay and at 18 months.

Ultrafiltration in patients with hypervolemia and congestive heart failure.

Fluid overload may occur in patients with myocardial dysfunction and different clinical problems. Myocoardial dysfunction may be a consequence of heart dilatation with reduced contractility, ventricular stiffness with diastolic dysfunction or the consequence of myocardial injury or circulating myocardial depressant factors as seen in sepsis. In all cases, cardiac support can be achieved by the optimization of fluid balance, the reduction in organ edema and the restoration of desirable levels of pre- and afterload. Several reports have shown that myocardial elastance can improve after hemofiltration with restoration of adequate fluid balance. In such conditions, continuous extracorporeal therapy may result in remarkable cardiovascular stability with maintenance of hemodynamic parameters, including mean arterial pressure, heart rate and systemic vascular resistance. Such stability, which is achieved through the slow continuous ultrafiltration and continuous refilling of the intravascular volume from the interstitium, enables the stability of the circulating blood volume and the preservation of organ perfusion. This is also crucial for renal recovery during acute renal failure.

Transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale in patients with cryptogenic stroke.

BACKGROUND: About 50% of patients with cryptogenic stroke have a patent foramen ovale (PFO). The recurrence rate of paradoxical embolism is higher if a PFO is detected. METHODS: Thirty-five patients with PFO and > or = 1 thromboembolic event due to paradoxical embolism were included in the study (23 males, 12 females, mean age 47.8 +/- 14 years, mean weight 75 +/- 15 kg). Twenty-three patients had a transient ischemic attack whereas 12 experienced an ischemic stroke. Twenty-nine patients had one thromboembolic event, 4 patients had two thromboembolic events, and 2 patients had three thromboembolic events. The implantation procedure was performed, as previously reported, under general anesthesia, fluoroscopic guidance and during transesophageal echocardiography. RESULTS: The implantation procedure was successful in all patients. There were no complications related to the procedure. Four different devices were implanted (Amplatzer 3 patients; Cardioseal 12 patients; Starflex 12 patients, PFO Star 8 patients). The procedure time and fluoroscopic time were 50 +/- 21.8 and 12.2 +/- 8.3 min respectively. At transesophageal echocardiography performed after the procedure, 11 patients had a trivial shunt. None of the patients had a residual shunt at 1 month of follow-up. The mean follow-up was 12.3 +/- 8 months (median 11.0 months, range 3-37 months). In no patient did recurrence of a thromboembolic event occur during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous PFO closure is a feasible and safe technique for the prevention of recurrent paradoxical embolism.

Extracorporeal ultrafiltration for the treatment of overhydration and congestive heart failure.

Fluid overload may occur in patients with congestive heart failure. Under normal conditions, this is treated with inotropic support and diuretics. However, when diuretics fail, fluid removal becomes uncontrolled and other therapeutic options must be undertaken. Extracorporeal ultrafiltration is a possible solution to restore a status of fluid balance close to normal. Several new technologies have made ultrafiltration available today in all centers and easy to be instituted. Acute isolated schedules of ultrafiltration may, however, be too aggressive and result in severe hemodynamic instability. For this reason, continuous extracorporeal techniques have been applied in such patients and the therapy is generally carried out with success. Excellent hemodynamic stability, a good cardiovascular response and often diuresis restoration are the most common effects encountered using continuous forms of extracorporeal fluid removal. The potential for a home-based application of these techniques represents a further stimulating concept to be investigated.

A novel approach to the treatment of chronic fluid overload with a new plasma separation device.

Many patients with congestive heart failure suffer at some point in their therapy from severe fluid overload, and a significant proportion of patients become unresponsive to diuretic drug therapy. In this paper, we propose a new experimental approach to plasma purification and the treatment of severe fluid overload in acute care patients. Plasma can be extracted directly from the patient through an intracorporeal catheter temporarily placed within the inferior vena cava. Plasma separation is accomplished through a proprietary membrane placed on the tip of the catheter. A simple circuit performs plasma removal. The extracted plasma is then available for any type of treatment before being returned to the patient via a second lumen in the same catheter. Plasma flow rates between 3 and 8 ml/min have been achieved and animal tests led to the removal of more than 2,000 ml of plasma water in 24 h. The current varieties of blood purification or ultrafiltration techniques employ extracorporeal extraction of blood from the patient in order to perform treatment. Removal of the cellular component in the extracorporeal fluid circuit may reduce the current problems associated with extracorporeal circuits, such as cellular lysis and viscosity-related problems. Plasma treatment is already successfully performed in a variety of therapies, including renal replacement therapies and plasmapheresis. The therapy proposed here may extend the utility of plasma treatment to the acute cardiology patient. The system could become an important complementary therapy for patients with congestive heart failure for whom classic methods of treatment have failed or simply are not available.

Italian BiodivYsio open registry (BiodivYsio PC-coated stent): study of clinical outcomes of the implant of a PC-coated coronary stent.

UNLABELLED: Rapid technological developments have made new materials available for percutaneous coronary intervention procedures. The coronary stent in particular has undergone progressive structural improvements leading to the recent availability of a third generation of stents, namely, coated stents. The rapid evolution of the stent has often made its evaluation problematical, since trials are frequently confined to small groups of patients in single centers. The purpose of this registry was to verify the safety and efficacy of the BiodivYsio stent (a stent coated with phosphorylcholine polymer) in a broad population of patients who reflect the daily reality of coronary intervention in a cardiac catheterization laboratory. METHODS AND RESULTS: The registry was designed to collect the principal angiographic and clinical data of a consecutive series of Oreal worldO patients. Patients were treated with a BiodivYsio stent (Biocompatibles, Galway, United Kingdom) in 12 centers (11 Italian and 1 Swiss) between January 1998 and January 1999. Procedural, in-hospital, 30-day and six-month follow-up data were collected. The monitoring, data entry and statistical analyses were carried out by an independent center. During the study, 218 patients were enrolled; 165 (76%) male and 53 (24%) female, with an average age of 61.6 +/- 9.4 years (range, 36Eth 84 years). A total of 258 stents were implanted in 233 lesions (1.1 stents per lesion), of which 233 (90%) were the BiodivYsio PC coated stent, the remaining 25 implants were of other stent types. The percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and stenting procedure were carried out in 109 (50%) patients with unstable angina, 65 (30%) with stable angina, 29 (13%) with acute myocardial infarction, and 15 (7%) patients with silent ischemia. Procedural success was achieved in 217/218 (99.5%) patients. Optimal results were achieved in 212 (97.7%) patients. In 34 (15.6%) cases, patients were treated with periprocedural abciximab. During the hospitalization period, one (0.4%) death occurred on day 7 due to subacute occlusion of the stent, and 3 (1.4%) myocardial infarctions were reported. At 30-day follow-up, 211 (97.2%) patients were asymptomatic, as were 189 (87%) patients at clinical follow-up at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of a third-generation stent. The results demonstrate a high procedural success rate and a low incidence of major adverse cardiac events at short- and medium-term follow-up. It appears that the BiodivYsio stent should be considered safe in clinical and/or anatomical situations with a high risk of complications, confirming the hypothesis that PC may have non-thrombogenic properties. To corroborate these results, an appropriately designed study would be required to measure the stentOs efficacy in the most suitable clinical context, i.e., clinical situations that are at the highest risk of ischemic relapse.

Procedural results, in-hospital course and six-month follow-up after rescue compared to primary stenting in acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Although many previous reports showed a worse outcome after rescue compared to primary coronary angioplasty, a direct comparison of these two strategies in the era of stenting is lacking. METHODS: Fifty patients treated with rescue stenting were retrospectively compared to 61 patients treated with primary stenting during acute myocardial infarction over a 4-year period in our Laboratory. RESULTS: Baseline demographic and angiographic parameters were not significantly different in the two groups. Despite a significantly longer time-to-reperfusion in rescue stenting (4.7 +/- 2.7 vs 2.8 +/- 2.1 hours, p < 0.0001), procedural success rate (98 vs 97%), in-hospital mortality (6 vs 11%) and target vessel revascularization at 6 months (8 vs 10%) were similar in rescue compared to primary stenting. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that stenting may help improve results of rescue angioplasty, and support the concept that aggressive treatment after failed thrombolysis can be pursued with satisfactory results.