Redo renal denervation using a multi-electrode radiofrequency system in patients with persistent therapy-resistant hypertension

Objectives Renal sympathetic denervation has been studied as a potential therapeutic option for patients with therapyresistant hypertension; however, a significant proportion of patients do not show a significant reduction in blood pressure and are classified as non-responders. The objective of the present study was to assess whether a redo renal denervation procedure increases response rates. Methods We present a case series of three consecutive renal denervation non-responders treated with the multi-electrode radiofrequency St. Jude EnligHTN catheter after an average of 22 months. Patients were followed for 6 months. Results Mean age was 66 years and two patients were male. Patients were previously treated using either ReCor’s Paradise system, the Vessix V2 system or the Covidien OneShot system. Mean office blood pressure one year after the initial procedure was 187/102mmHg with a mean 24 h ambulatory blood pressure of 166/102mmHg. All patients underwent a successful redo procedure using the EnligHTN system because of persistent therapy-resistant hypertension. At 6 months a significant drop in both office and ambulatory blood pressure of -27/-6mmHg and -15/-13mmHg, respectively, was observed. No significant renal artery stenosis was observed at 6 months. Conclusions In patients with therapy-resistan

Prevalence and consequences of noncardiac incidental findings on preprocedural imaging in the workup for transcatheter aortic valve implantation, renal sympathetic denervation, or MitraClip implantation

Background: Dedicated data on the prevalence of incidental findings (IF) stratified according to overall clinical relevance and their subsequent correlation to outcome are lacking. The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence and consequences of noncardiac IF on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging in the workup for interventional cardiovascular procedures. Methods: A total of 916 patients underwent preprocedural computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging in the workup for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), renal sympathetic denervation (RDN), or MitraClip implantation. Results: IF were found in 395 of 916 patients (43.1%), with an average of 1.8 IF per patient. Classifying the IF resulted in 155 patients with minor, 171 patients with moderate, and 69 patients with major IF. The intended procedure was delayed or canceled in only 15 of 916 (1.6%) of the patients because of the presence of potential malignant IF. In patients that did undergo the intended procedure (n = 774), the presence of a moderate or major IF (23.8%) did not impact 1-year mortality compared to no or minor IF (adjusted HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.56-1.44, P value =.65). These findings were consistent among patients referred for TAVI, RDN, or MitraClip. Conclusions: IF are frequent in patients referred for cardiovascular procedures. IF did not result in a delay or cancellation of the intended procedure in the vast majority of cases, irrespective of their clinical relevance. The presence of a major or moderate IF did not significantly impact 1-year mortality

Fractional flow reserve guided percutaneous coronary intervention optimization directed by high-definition intravascular ultrasound versus standard of care

Background Post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a significant predictor of major adverse cardiac events (MACE). The rationale for low post procedural FFR values often remains elusive based on angiographic findings alone, warranting further assessment using an FFR pullback or additional intravascular imaging. It is currently unknown if additional interventions intended to improve the PCI, decrease MACE rates. Study design The FFR REACT trial is a prospective, single-center randomized controlled trial in which 290 patients with a post PCI FFR b0.90 will be randomized (1:1) to either standard of care (no additional intervention) or intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-directed optimization of the FFR (treatment arm). Eligible patients are those treated with angiographically successful PCI for (un)stable angina or non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (MI). Assuming 45% of patients will have a post PCI FFR b0.90, approximately 640 patients undergoing PCI will need to be enrolled. Patients with a post PCI FFR ≥ 0.90 will be enrolled in a prospective registry. The primary end point is defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel MI and clinically driven target vessel revascularisation (target vessel failure) at 1 year. Secondary end points will consist of individual components of the primary end point, procedural success, stent thrombosis and correlations on clinical outcome, changes in post PCI Pd/Pa and FFR and IVUS derived dimensions. All patients will be followed for 3 years. Conclusion The FFR-REACT trial is designed to explore the potential benefit of HD-IVUS-guided PCI optimization in patients with a post PCI FFR b0.90 (Dutch trial register: NTR6711). (Am Heart J 2019;213:66-72.

Long-term outcome in patients treated with first- versus second-generation drug-eluting stents for the treatment of unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis

Objective and background: The study aim is to provide long-term clinical outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for unprotected left main coronary arteries (ULMCA) stenosis with the first-generation (1st-gen) drug-eluting stents (DES) in comparison to 2nd-gen DES, since t

Polarimetric signatures of coronary thrombus in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Background: Intravascular polarization-sensitive optical frequency domain imaging (PS-OFDI) offers a novel approach to measure tissue birefringence, which is elevated in collagen and smooth muscle cells, that in turn plays a critical role in healing coronary thrombus (HCT). This study aimed to quantitatively assess polarization properties of coronary fresh and organizing thrombus with PS-OFDI in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods and Results: The POLARIS-I prospective registry enrolled 32 patients with ACS. Pre-procedural PS-OFDI pullbacks using conventional imaging catheters revealed 26 thrombus-regions in 21 patients. Thrombus was manually delineated in conventional OFDI cross-sections separated by 0.5 mm and categorized into fresh thrombus caused by plaque rupture, stent thrombosis, or erosion in 18 thrombus-regions (182 frames) or into HCT for 8 thrombus-regions (141 frames). Birefringence of coronary thrombus was compared between the 2 categories. Birefringence in HCTs was significantly higher than in fresh thrombus (∆n=0.47 (0.37–0.72) vs. ∆n=0.25 (0.17–0.29), P=0.007). In a subgroup analysis, when only using thrombus-regions from culprit lesions, ischemic time was a significant predictor for birefringence (ß (∆n)=0.001 per hour, 95% CI [0.0002–0.002], P=0.023). Conclusions: Intravascular PS-OFDI offers the opportunity to quantitatively assess the polarimetric properties of fresh and organizing coronary thrombus, providing new insights into vascular healing and plaque stability.</p

Predictores de la reserva de flujo fraccional posprocedimiento: Subanálisis del estudio FFR-SEARCH

Introduction and objectives: Patients with a low post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) fractional flow reserve (FFR) are at a higher risk for future adverse cardiac events. The objective of the current study was to assess specific patient and procedural predictors of post-PCI FFR. Methods: The FFR-SEARCH study is a prospective single-center registry of 1000 consecutive all-comer patients who underwent FFR measurements after an angiographically successful PCI with a dedicated microcatheter. Mixed effects models were used to search for independent predictors of post-PCI FFR. Results: The mean post-PCI distal coronary pressure divided by the aortic pressure (Pd/Pa) was 0.96 ± 0.04 and the mean post-PCI FFR, 0.91 ± 0.07. After adjusting for the independent predictors of post-PCI FFR, the left anterior descending coronary artery as the measured vessel was the strongest predictor of post-PCI FFR (adjusted β = –0.063; 95%CI, –0.070 to –0.056; P < .0001) followed by the postprocedural minimum lumen diameter (adjusted β = 0.039; 95%CI, 0.015-0.065; P = .002). Additionally, male sex, in-stent restenosis, chronic total coronary occlusions, and preand post-dilatation were negatively associated with postprocedural FFR. Conversely, type A lesions, thrombus-containing lesions, postprocedural percent stenosis, and stent diameter were positively associated with postprocedural FFR. The R2 for the complete model was 53%. Conclusions: Multiple independent patient and vessel related predictors of postprocedural FFR were identified, including sex, the left anterior descending coronary artery as the measured vessel, and postprocedural minimum lumen diameter.Introducción y objetivos: Los pacientes con una reserva fraccional de flujo (FFR) reducida tras intervención coronaria percutánea (ICP) tienen mayor riesgo de futuros eventos cardiacos adversos. El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar predictores específicos de pacientes y procedimientos para el valor de FFR tras una ICP. Métodos: El estudio FFR-SEARCH es un registro prospectivo de un solo centro que incluyó 1.000 pacientes consecutivos que se sometieron a una evaluación de la FFR tras una ICP con éxito angiográfico utilizando un microcatéter específico. Se utilizaron modelos de efectos mixtos para buscar predictores independientes de FFR tras la ICP. Resultados: La media de presión distal dividida entre la presión aórtica tras la ICP fue de 0,96 ± 0,04, y la media de la FFR tras la ICP fue de 0,91 ± 0,07. Tras ajustar por predictores independientes de FFR tras la ICP, la arteria descendente anterior izquierda como vaso medido fue el predictor más fuerte (β ajustado = −0,063; IC95%, −0,070 a −0,056; p < 0,0001), seguida del diámetro luminal mínimo posprocedimiento (β ajustado = 0,039; IC95%, 0,015 a 0,065; p = 0,002). Además, el sexo masculino, la reestenosis del stent, las oclusiones totales crónicas y la pre- y posdilatación se correlacionaron negativamente con la FFR posprocedimiento. Por el contrario, las lesiones de tipo A, las lesiones con trombos, el porcentaje de estenosis posprocedimiento y el diámetro del stent se correlacionaron positivamente con la FFR posprocedimiento. El R2 para el modelo completo fue del 53%. Conclusiones: Se identificaron diversos predictores independientes relacionados con los pacientes y con los vasos para la FFR posprocedimiento, incluyendo el sexo, la arteria descendente anterior izquierda como vaso medido y el diámetro luminal mínimo posprocedimiento

Incidence and predictors of outcomes after a first definite coronary stent thrombosis.

AIMS Stent thrombosis (ST) is a rare but potentially fatal complication of coronary artery stenting. Little is known about the optimal treatment strategy at the time of a ST event. We identified the incidence and predictors of adverse cardiac events after treatment of a definite ST. METHODS AND RESULTS 695 patients with definite ST were included between 1996 and 2017 in 2 academic medical centres. The primary endpoint was the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) and target vessel revascularization (TVR) (MACE). Mean age was 62.8 ± 12.1 years and 76.3% were male. ST occurred at a median of 22 days (IQR 3-551 days); 50.8% were early and 49.2% were late/very late ST. At 60 months follow-up, MACE was 43.7%, cardiac death 19.5%, MI 17.9%, TVR 24.8%, and repeat definite ST was 12.1% (10.5% in target vessel). Independent predictors of MACE were cardiogenic shock (HR 2.54; 95%CI 1.75-3.70; p&lt;0.001), ST in LAD (HR 1.76; 95%CI 1.32-2.35; p&lt;0.001) prior CVA/TIA (HR 1.68; 95%CI 1.08-2.62; p=0.020), peripheral vascular disease (HR 1.55; 95%CI 1.00-2.39; p=0.046), multivessel disease (HR 1.53; 95%CI 1.12-2.08; p=0.007), and final TIMI flow 2-3 (HR 0.54; 95% CI 0.34-0.85; p=0.009). No specific treatment of ST influenced MACE, however, new generation P2Y12 inhibitors reduced the risk of MI (HR 0.56; 95% CI 0.32-0.99; p=0.049). CONCLUSIONS The incidence of adverse events remains high after a first episode of ST. New generation P2Y12 inhibitors reduce the risk of MI. Additional stenting, GpIIb/IIIa inhibitors and thrombectomy did not improve outcomes following ST