ABSTRACT: Objective. To examine the 1-year safety and clinical outcomes associated with the post-marketing early unselected use of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) in the United States. Background. The safety and effectiveness of SES has been assessed in selected patients enrolled in pivotal randomized trials. This PMS registry was initiated to examine the safety and effectiveness of SES in an unselected population. Methods. Consecutive patients who underwent implantation of ≥1 SES at 38 participating U.S. centers were enrolled in this registry. Results were compared accordi

The outcomes that can be expected after Cypher stent implantation have been well publicized and the results from other smaller and larger registries of drug-eluting stent (DES) implantations have been reported and have highlighted the differences in outcomes in “off-label” versus “on-label” usage. For example, the pooled-analysis of RAVEL, SIRIUS, E-SIRIUS and C-SIRIUS¹ and the NEW SIRIUS analysis² (pooled E-SIRIUS and C-SIRIUS) have reported on the 4- and 5-year outcomes of Cypher stents compared to the bare-metal equivalent. With regard to “off-label” versus

ABSTRACT: Background. Advances in interventional techniques have been dramatic in the last 10 years. The goal of this study was to evaluate the age-adjusted in-hospital mortality rate in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using a large database. Methods. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was utilized to calculate the age-adjusted mortality rate for PCI from 1988 to 2004 in patients over the age of 40 retrospectively. Specific ICD-9-CM codes for PCI were used for this study. Demographic data were also analyzed and adjusted for age. Resul

It has been postulated that women have higher adverse events with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) when compared with men, but as PCI has improved, it also appears this has been reduced or eliminated. In this issue of the Journal, authors Movahed et al1 examine a very large, broad cohort of women and men undergoing PCI for all indications and disturbingly find that age-adjusted mortality has been, and remains, significantly higher in women than in men.

The study examined patients from 1988 to 2004 in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, the largest all-payer inpatient care data

ABSTRACT: Objective. To evaluate the recanalization rate and clinical outcome in children with acute ischemic stroke following treatment with innovative mechanical thrombectomy devices. Patients and Methods. Three subjects aged 7–16 years presenting with acute cerebral vascular occlusions (thrombolysis in myocardial infarction [TIMI] 0) were treated with either the Penumbra System, operating on an aspiration platform, or the Phenox clot retriever device, a flexible wire compound with perpendicularly-oriented polyamid microfilaments. Target vessels were the internal carotid

ABSTRACT: Background. The coronary sinus (CS) travels in close proximity to the left circumflex (LCX) artery. Percutaneously placed CS devices used to treat mitral regurgitation (MR) therefore have the potential to impinge upon the LCX arterial distribution and compromise coronary flow. Objectives. In this study, we sought to analyze the anatomic relationship between the CS, LCX and mitral annulus (MA) in patients with right dominant (RCD), left dominant (LCD) and codominant (CCD) arterial systems using a novel systematic approach. Methods. We retrospectively studied 102 nor

Mitral regurgitation (MR), a common valvular disorder, is a heterogeneous condition that can be broadly categorized into primary (affecting the valve apparatus) or secondary (functional) etiologies. For appropriately selected patients, surgical mitral valve repair, when possible, is the preferred strategy over mitral valve replacement.¹ The evidence for device/surgical treatment of functional mitral regurgitation is less well established for patients with severe heart failure and conveys increased operative risk.² Several investigational percutaneous devices are being dev

ABSTRACT: Objectives. Compare outcomes of hybrid bare-metal stent (BMS)/sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) to BMS alone for the treatment of stenoses in small coronary arteries. Background. One approach to potentially reduce the risk of restenosis in long lesions with smaller distal reference diameters is to use a small (2.0–2.5mm) “BMS cap” (BMC) distally, telescoped in tandem with a SES(s) proximally, matched to a proximal segment where the diameter is ≥ 2.5 mm (creating a BMC/SES hybrid stent). Results from previous reports using “hybrid” drug-eluting stents and BM

ABSTRACT: Background. The optimal combination of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy following percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting (PCI-S) among patients requiring oral anticoagulation (OAC) is unknown. Objectives. We sought to compare the efficacy of a modified dual-antiplatelet regimen (daily aspirin and every other day clopidogrel) to conventional treatment (daily aspirin and daily clopidogrel) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES) among patients who are also discharged on warfarin. Methods. We performed a single

ABSTRACT: Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) frequently cause considerable morbidity and mortality with a high risk of further events within the following year, despite the use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Numerous studies have described the concept of acute, partial or complete thrombotic occlusion of the coronary artery, which occurs at the site of a friable atherosclerotic plaque with a lipid-rich necrotic core and a ruptured overlying thin fibrous cap (“culprit lesion”). Moreover, this process appears independent of the severity of the underlying stenosis