Distal protection devices during percutaneous coronary and carotid interventions

Distal embolization of particulate matter complicates percutaneous coronary and peripheral interventions more often than had been recognized until recently. A number of distal protection devices are under development. The PercuSurge GuardWire™ is a balloon occlusion thrombectomy device approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for saphenous vein graft intervention. A number of filter devices utilize an expandable filter mounted on the angioplasty guidewire to facilitate entrapment of particles and safe removal. The Parodi Anti-Emboli System™ is an example of a catheter occlusion device that establishes protection by reversing blood flow in the target vessel

Prehospital 12-Lead Electrocardiogram within 60 Minutes Differentiates Proximal versus Nonproximal Left Anterior Descending Artery Myocardial Infarction

<p>Introduction: Acute anterior myocardial infarctions caused by proximal left anterior descending (LAD) artery occlusions are associated with a higher morbidity and mortality. Early identification of high-risk patients via the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) could assist physicians and emergency response teams in providing early and aggressive care for patients with anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI). Approximately 25% of US hospitals have primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) capability for the treatment of acute myocardial infarctions. Given the paucity of</p> <p>hospitals capable of PCI, early identification of more severe myocardial infarction may prompt</p> <p>emergency medical service routing of these patients to PCI-capable hospitals. We sought to determine if the 12 lead ECG is capable of predicting proximal LAD artery occlusions.</p> <p>Methods: In a retrospective, post-hoc analysis of the Pre-Hospital Administration of Thrombolytic Therapy with Urgent Culprit Artery Revascularization pilot trial, we compared the ECG findings of</p> <p>proximal and nonproximal LAD occlusions for patients who had undergone an ECG within 180 minutes of symptom onset.</p> <p>Results: In this study, 72 patients had anterior STEMIs, with ECGs performed within 180 minutes of symptom onset. In patients who had undergone ECGs within 60 minutes (n¼35), the mean sum of ST elevation (STE) in leads V1 through V6 plus ST depression (STD) in leads II, III, and aVF was 19.2 mm for proximal LAD occlusions and 11.7 mm for nonproximal LAD occlusions (P¼0.007). A sum STE in V1 through V6 plus STD in II, III, and aVF of at least 17.5 mm had a sensitivity of 52.3%, specificity of 92.9%, positive predictive value of 91.7%, and negative predictive value of 56.5% for proximal LAD occlusions. When the ECG was performed more than 60 minutes after symptom onset (n¼37), there was no significant difference in ST-segment deviation between the 2 groups.</p> <p>Conclusion: The sum STE (V1-V6) and STD (II, III, aVF) on a 12-lead ECG can be used to predict proximal LAD occlusions if performed within the first hour of symptom onset. This should be considered a high-risk finding and may prompt prehospital direction of such patients to PCI-capable hospitals. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(4):408–413.]</p

Coronavirus disease-19 and cardiovascular disease: A risk factor or a risk marker?

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 causes the clinical syndrome of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) which has become a global pandemic resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. While the virus primarily affects the respiratory system, it also causes a wide variety of complex cardiac manifestations such as acute myopericarditis, acute coronary syndrome, congested heart failure, cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrhythmias. There are numerous proposed mechanisms of cardiac injury, including direct cellular injury, pro-inflammatory cytokine storm, myocardial oxygen-demand mismatch, and systemic inflammation causing multi-organ failure. Additionally, medications commonly used to treat COVID-19 patients have various cardiovascular side effects. We aim to provide a succinct review about the pathophysiology and cardiac manifestations of COVID-19, as well as treatment considerations and the various adaptations made to the current healthcare structure as a result of the pandemic

One-Year Mortality in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement for Stenotic Bicuspid versus Tricuspid Aortic Valves: A Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression

Objective. To assess 1-year mortality after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients with bicuspid aortic stenosis (AS). Background. Clinical trials have proven the beneficial effect of TAVR on mortality in patients with tricuspid AS. Individuals with bicuspid AS were excluded from these trials. Methods. A meta-analysis using literature search from the Cochrane, PubMed, ClinicalTrials, SCOPUS, and EMBASE databases was conducted to determine the effect of TAVR on 1-year mortality in patients with bicuspid AS. Short-term outcomes that could potentially impact one-year mortality were analyzed. Results. After evaluating 380 potential articles, 5 observational studies were selected. A total of 3890 patients treated with TAVR were included: 721 had bicuspid and 3,169 had tricuspid AS. No statistically significant difference between the baseline characteristics of the two groups of patients was seen outside of mean aortic gradient. Our primary endpoint of one-year all-cause mortality revealed 85 deaths in 719 patients (11.82%) with bicuspid AS compared to 467 deaths in 3100 patients (15.06%) with tricuspid AS, with no difference between both groups [relative risk (RR) 1.03; 95% CI 0.70-1.51]. Patients with bicuspid AS were associated with a decrease in device success (RR 0.62; 95% CI 0.45-0.84) and an increase in moderate-to-severe prosthetic valve regurgitation (RR 1.55; 95% CI 1.07-2.22) after TAVR compared to patients with tricuspid AS. The effect of meta-regression coefficients on one-year all-cause mortality was not statistically significant for any patient baseline characteristics. Conclusion. When comparing TAVR procedure in tricuspid AS versus bicuspid AS, there was no difference noted in one-year all-cause mortality