Optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention or after acute coronary syndrome

To prevent recurrent ischaemic events, dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is the standard of care after percutaneous coronary intervention and in the treatment of acute coronary syndrome. Recent evidence supports an adjusted DAPT duration in selected patients. The current paper aims to encourage cardiologists to actively search for patients benefiting from either shorter or prolonged duration DAPT and proposes an algorithm to identify patients who are likely to benefit from such an alternative strategy. Individualised DAPT duration should be considered in high-risk anatomic and/or clinical subgroups or in patients at increased haemorrhagic risk with low ischaemic risk. Both thrombotic and haemorrhagic risk should be assessed in all patients. In patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention, the interventional cardiologist could advise on the minimal duration of DAPT. However, in contrast to the minimum duration of DAPT for stent thrombosis prevention, longer duration DAPT is aimed at prevention of spontaneous myocardial infarction, and not at stent thrombos

Prevalence, predictors, and prognostic implications of residual impairment of functional capacity after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Background: Patients with degenerative aortic stenosis (AS) referred for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) typically have advanced cardiac and vascular adverse remodeling and multiple comorbidities and, therefore, might not recover a normal functional capacity after valve replacement. We sought to investigate the prevalence, the predictors, and the prognostic impact of residual impairment of functional capacity after TAVI. Methods and results: Out of 790 patients undergoing TAVI with impaired functional capacity (NYHA II–IV

Side branch healing patterns of the Tryton dedicated bifurcation stent: a 1-year optical coherence tomography follow-up study

The bare-metal Tryton Side Branch (SB) Stent™ (Tryton Medical, Durham, NC, USA) is used with a drug-eluting stent (DES) in the main branch (MB) to treat bifurcation lesions. It is argued that a drug-eluting Tryton-version is needed to improve clinical outcomes, although previous registries have shown good clinical results. More insights in neo-intimal hyperplasia (NIH) growth patterns of the Tryton treatment strategy are needed to decide if and where to drug-coat the stent. Ten patients returned for follow-up angiography (mean follow-up time 393 ± 103 days) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) pullbacks from the MB were obtained in all patients and from the SB in six patients. A per-strut analysis showed an uncovered strut rate of 0.7 % and an incompletely-apposed strut rate of 0.8 %. Most incompletely-apposed struts were found at the bifurcation region, in the luminal half facing towards the SB. Mean NIH thickness in the proximal MB, distal MB and SB were 0.14 ± 0.11, 0.19 ± 0.11, and 0.34 ± 0.19 mm, respectively, with a variety of growth patterns observed in the SB. We found good vascular healing of the DES in the MB, while healing was less favourably in the SB part. Furthermore, we observed a variety of NIH growth patterns in this SB part and more studies are needed to investigate the relation between growth patterns and clinical outcomes

Social networks and political participation in a Sicilian community context

AbstractThis study shows the linkage between political and social participation, underlining the relevance of the motivational sphere. The aim is to evaluate politically relevant social capital by adopting a relational perspective and ego-network measures, so that we can understand the interdependence between cognitive maps, motivational factors and relational dimension, both in qualitative and quantitative dimensions

Accuracy of coronary computed tomography angiography for bioresorbable scaffold luminal investigation: a comparison with optical coherence tomography

To establish the accuracy of coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) for in-scaffold quantitative evaluation with opt

Quantitative assessment of the stent/scaffold strut embedment analysis by optical coherence tomography

The degree of stent/scaffold embedment could be a surrogate parameter of the vessel wall-stent/scaffold interaction and could have biological implications in the vascular response. We have developed a new specific software for the quantitative evaluation of embedment of struts by optical coherence tomography (OCT). In the present study, we described the algorithm of the embedment analysis and its reproducibility. The degree of embedment was evaluated as the ratio of the embedded part versus the whole strut height and subdivided into quartiles. The agreement and the inter- and intra-observer reproducibility were evaluated using the kappa and the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC). A total of 4 pullbacks of OCT images in 4 randomly selected coronary lesions with 3.0 × 18 mm devices [2 lesions with Absorb BVS and 2 lesions with XIENCE (both from Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA)] from Absorb Japan trial were evaluated by two investigators with QCU-CMS software version 4.69 (Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands). Finally, 1481 polymeric struts in 174 cross-sections and 1415 metallic struts in 161 cross-sections were analyzed. Inter- and intra-observer reproducibility of quantitative measurements of embedment ratio and categorical asses

Orphan nuclear receptor Nur77 affects cardiomyocyte calcium homeostasis and adverse cardiac remodelling

Distinct stressors may induce heart failure. As compensation, β-adrenergic stimulation enhances myocardial contractility by elevating cardiomyocyte intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i). However, chronic β-adrenergic stimulation promotes adverse cardiac remodelling. Cardiac expression of nuclear receptor Nur77 is enhanced by β-adrenergic stimulation, but its role in cardiac remodelling is still unclear. We show high and rapid Nur77 upregulation in cardiomyocytes stimulated with β-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol. Nur77 knockdown in culture resulted in hypertrophic cardiomyocytes. Ventricular cardiomyocytes from Nur77-deficient (Nur77-KO) mice exhibited elevated diastolic and systolic [Ca2+]i and prolonged action potentials compared to wild type (WT). In vivo, these differences resulted in larger cardiomyocytes, increased expression of hypertrophic genes

Atrial septal defect in adults is associated with airway hyperresponsiveness

Objective: The association between secundum atrial septal defects (ASD) and asthma-like dyspnea with consequent long-term pulmonary inhalant use, is poorly understood in adult ASD patients. Airway hyperresponsiveness is suggested to be the underlying mechanism of cardiac asthma from mitral valve disease and ischemic cardiomyopathy. We hypothesized that airway hyperresponsiveness may also be found in adult ASD patients. Our aim was to study airway responsiveness in adult ASD patients before percutaneous closure and at short-and long-term postprocedural follow-up. Methods: This prospective study included 31 ASD patients (65% female, mean age 49 ± 15y) who underwent spirometry and bronchoprovocation testing pre-and six-month postprocedurally, with additional bronchoprovocation at 2-year follow-up. Airway hyperresponsiveness was defined as ≥20% fall of forced expiratory volume in 1-second (FEV1) following <8.0 mg/mL of inhaled methacholine. Results: Airway hyperresponsiveness was found in 19/30 patients (63%[95%CI 45%-81%]; post hoc statistical power = 89%). Asthma-like symptoms wheezing, chest tightness, and cough were more frequently reported in airway hyperresponsive patients. Airway responsiveness was not influenced by successful percutaneous ASD closure, corresponding to persistence of asthma-like symptoms postclosure. Regardless of airway responsiveness, postprocedural right-sided reverse remodeling significantly improved dyspnea and pulmonary function. Conclusions: This study is the first to report a high prevalence of airway hyperresponsiveness in a cohort of unrepaired adult ASD patients, and confirms the association between asthma-like symptoms and ASD in adults. Attention to symptoms and pulmonary function should be given during clinical follow-up of adult ASD patients, both before and long after repair

The influence of implantation techniques on lesion oriented-outcomes in Absorb BVS and Xience EES lesions treated in routine clinical practice at complete three year follow-up: AIDA trial QCA substudy

It has been hypothesized that dedicated optimized Absorb BVS implantation techniques might mitigate the risk of adverse events such as target vessel