Feasibility of intravascular lithotripsy for calcific coronary lesions: A multi-institutional experience.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the safety and performance of intravascular lithotripsy in the treatment of severe calcified atherosclerotic lesions. BACKGROUND: The modification of severe calcified atherosclerotic lesions with noncompliant or specialty balloons, as well as orbital or rotational atherectomy has limitations and may be ineffective, increasing the risk of periprocedural complications and worsening long-term results. Intravascular lithotripsy has recently been shown to be a safe and feasible alternative to the above methods. METHODS: All consecutive patients treated with Shockwave Medical Intravascular Lithotripsy (S-IVL) between May 2019 and June 2020 were included in current analysis. Device safety and efficacy were the critical endpoints of the study. The primary safety endpoint was 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE). In turn, device and clinical success were the primary performance endpoints. RESULTS: In total, 46 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were treated with S-IVL before stent deployment (65% male; age, 71 ± 7 years). Device success was achieved in 45 (97.8%) patients with reduction of diameter stenosis from 80% to 5.2% with an acute gain of 2.5 mm. Clinical success was demonstrated in 95.6% of cases. During the 30-day follow-up, one sudden death was recorded, regarded as probable subacute stent thrombosis. During 6-month follow up one target lesion and target vessel revascularizations occurred. The rate of MACE after 6 month was 6.2%. CONCLUSIONS: S-IVL appears to be a safe and effective treatment modality in coronary calcium modification to optimize stent expansion. In selected cases this device obviates the need for more complex lesion preparation strategies such as atherectomy.

Early outcome of magnesium bioresorbable scaffold implantation in acute coronary syndrome-the initial report from the Magmaris-ACS registry.

OBJECTIVES: The Magmaris-ACS Registry is the first assessment of the Magmaris implantation in the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) population. BACKGROUND: Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BRS), the newest coronary stent technology, was developed to overcome the limitations of the metallic drug-eluting stents (DES). Current promising data of the Magmaris in patients with stable angina have encouraged to validate the second generation BRS in ACS indications. METHODS: The study population consisted of the consecutive patients who underwent PCI with the Magmaris BRS in the settings of ACS. Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction were excluded from enrolment. Baseline demographic and angiographic characteristics, as well as 30-day and 6-month clinical, follow up were prospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Fifty patients were enrolled at mean age 62.9 ± 8.4 years (unstable angina-52% and non-ST-segment myocardial infarction [NSTEMI]-48%). Treated fifty-one de novo lesions were located in LAD (37%), LCx (14%), and RCA (49%), respectively. Angiographic success in the target lesion was 100%. One case of recurrent ischemia was observed a day after the index procedure, due to the significant distal edge dissection a regular metallic DES overlapping Magmaris was implanted. No other in-hospital events occurred (procedural success 98%). Six-Month follow up showed none device-oriented endpoints such as cardiac mortality, target vessel myocardial infarction or target vessel revascularization. None early scaffold thrombosis was reported. CONCLUSION: The use of the Magmaris BRS in non-ST elevation ACS patient is associated with a procedural safety and promising early angiographic and clinical outcomes. Long-term follow-up and further evaluation in large prospective randomized controlled trials are needed.

Safety and Effectiveness of Coronary Sinus Reducer in the Therapy of Refractory Angina Pectoris-Mid-Term Results of the Real-Life Cohort.

Background: Despite continuous improvements in revascularization techniques, refractory angina without potential revascularization options remains a relevant clinical issue with significant impact on the patient's quality of life. Recently, a novel device, the Coronary Sinus Reducer (CSR), has been introduced into clinical practice as a therapeutic option for patients with disabling angina pectoris. In this single-center, observational study, we evaluated the mid-term (3-month) safety and efficacy of the CSR in a real-world cohort. Methods: The study population consisted of 55 patients with refractory angina without potential revascularization options, who were predominantly men (87.3%) with a high cardiovascular risk factor burden and advanced angina (baseline CCS angina class 3.15 ± 0.6). In terms of procedure safety, all patients underwent successful device deployment with only one periprocedural complication. Results: At the 3-month follow-up, we observed a statistically significant improvement in angina control measured CCS class and SAQ-7 total questionnaire along with increased abolition of physical limitation-6-MWT (233.3 ± 107.1 vs. 305.2 ± 126.8; p < 0.0001). Additionally, we observed significant improvement in terms of quality of life measurements SF-36, the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire, and the EQ-VAS. Conclusions: Our real-world data suggest that CSR implantation is a relatively safe procedure and appears to be particularly effective in relieving angina symptoms and improving quality of life in subjects with refractory angina.

Safety and Efficacy of Orbital Atherectomy in the All-Comer Population: Mid-Term Results of the Lower Silesian Orbital Atherectomy Registry (LOAR).

BACKGROUND: Coronary calcifications represent a challenging subset for the interventional cardiologist performing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and are well-established risk factors for adverse outcomes. Adequate plaque modification prior to stent implantation is critical to achieve an optimal outcome following PCI. Recently, a novel orbital atherectomy device has been introduced into clinical practice to modify calcified plaques. We evaluated the mid-term safety and efficacy of OA in a high-risk "all-comers" population. METHODS: We evaluated 96 consecutive patients with severely calcified coronary lesions who underwent PCI facilitated by the orbital atherectomy device. RESULTS: In-hospital MACCE was 5.2% without target lesion revascularization. At 6-month follow-up, the MACCE rate was 10.4% with a concomitant TLR rate of 1%. CONCLUSIONS: Our mid-term data showed good safety and efficacy of orbital atherectomy as a plaque-modifying tool in an all-comers cohort with severely calcified coronary lesions.

Shockwave intravascular lithotripsy as a novel strategy for balloon undilatable heavily calcified chronic total occlusion lesions.

BACKGROUND: The successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in chronic total occlusion (CTO) improves the long-term outcome in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Heavy calcification remains one of the strongest predictors of an unfavorable outcome of PCI. In this case series study, shockwave intravascular lithotripsy (S-IVL)-a novel balloon-based coronary system facilitating modification of calcified coronary lesions was evaluated. METHODS: The study population consisted of five heavily calcified, undilatable-CTOs lesions treated with S-IVL selected out of all consecutive CTO-PCI patients performed at two high-volume cardiac centers. RESULTS: The registry included 5 patients successful CTO - S-IVL procedures with an average J-CTO of 2.6 points. In the short-term follow-up period, including the first 30 days, no cases of acute in-stent thrombosis, target lesion failure, or major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events were noted. CONCLUSIONS: The present data suggest that this approach can be safe and useful in the treatment of complex calcified CTO lesions.

Intravascular Lithotripsy as a Novel Treatment Method for Calcified Unprotected Left Main Diseases-Comparison to Rotational Atherectomy-Short-Term Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The unprotected calcified Left Main disease represents a high-risk subset for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and it is associated with a higher number of periprocedural complications and an increased rate of in-stent thrombosis and restenosis. Adequate lesion preparation plays a crucial role in achieving a favorable PCI outcome. Rotational Atherectomy (RA) is a well-established plaque-modifying method; nevertheless, the data regarding the effectiveness of RA in LM diseases is scarce. Recently, the novel ShockWave-Intravascular-Lithotripsy(S-IVL) device has been introduced to the PCI armamentarium in order to modify the calcified plaque. METHODS: We performed a retrospective evaluation of 44 consecutive subjects who underwent the LM-PCI, and who were supported by either the RA or S-IVL. RESULTS: The Rota group consisted of 29 patients with a mean syntax score of 28.0 ± 7.5. The S-IVL group was composed of 15 subjects with a syntax score of 23.3 ± 13.0 There were no statistical differences regarding MACE between the RA and Shockwave arms of the in-hospital group (10.3% vs. 6.7%), or in the six month (17.2% vs. 13.3%) follow-up group. CONCLUSIONS: RA and S-IVL could be safe and effective therapeutic strategies for calcified LM disease. Further studies with a higher number of participants and longer follow-up times are warranted to establish the potential benefits of RA and S-IVL for the management of LM stenosis.

Long-term clinical follow-up of the resorbable magnesium scaffolds in acute coronary syndrome patients.

BACKGROUND: Research on the resorbable magnesium scaffolds (RMSs) has shown their safety and effectiveness in stable clinical conditions. It seems that this new therapeutic option could be promising for selected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. AIMS: Our analysis aims to analyse the long-term performance of RMSs among ACS patients. METHODS: The study population consisted of consecutive ACS patients treated with the implantation of at least one RMS. The Magmaris ACS Registry was designed as a single-arm observational registry in the 'real-world' treatment practice setting. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 193 patients, predominantly male (78%), at a mean (SD) age of 64 (9) years and with the typical risk factors of ACS. Unstable angina (UA) was the indication for revascularisation in 32.1%, non-ST-segment myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in 65.8% and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) only in 2.1%. During the mean 24 months of follow-up, ten cases (5.2%) of target lesion failure (TLF) were diagnosed, of which five cases (2.6%) were clinically driven target lesion failure (CD-TLR), four cases (2.1%) of asymptomatic scaffold restenosis and one case (0.5%) of target vessel myocardial infarction (TV-MI). No cardiac deaths and 2 non-cardiac deaths (2.2%, both fatal strokes) were observed. No cases of scaffold thrombosis were observed during the median 24-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the RMSs in selected ACS patients is associated with procedural safety and promising early and long-term clinical efficacy and safety outcomes. Proper lesion selection is key to the long-term success of bioresorbable technology in this patient population.