Clinical Cardiology Alert – February 1, 2019
February 1, 2019
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Late Mortality With Paclitaxel-Coated Balloons and Stents in Peripheral Arterial Disease
A newly published meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials concerning paclitaxel-coated balloons and stents in femoral popliteal disease patients revealed a marked increase in all-cause death at two and five years.
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TAVR Beneficial for Patients With Severely Reduced Ejection Fraction
In patients with low-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis and severe left ventricular dysfunction, transcatheter aortic valve replacement was associated with significant improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction and similar mortality compared to patients with milder left ventricular dysfunction.
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The Natural History of Tricuspid Regurgitation
A retrospective analysis of patients with moderate or severe tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR) and who underwent an earlier echo with no or mild TR showed that progression of TR was independently associated with age, female sex, new device leads, and right ventricular or tricuspid annular dilation.
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In-Ambulance Troponin Measurements
A study of triaging suspected non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome patients by employing in-ambulance troponin measurements augmented the predictive value for 45-day major adverse cardiac events. This could help identify very high-risk patients who would benefit from urgent coronary angiography.
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Are Frequent PVCs Causing Left Ventricular Dysfunction?
Premature ventricular contraction-induced cardiomyopathy was phenotypically different than a tachycardia-mediated cardiomyopathy in a swine model. Paced ventricular bigeminy led to left ventricular dyssynchrony, a decline in left ventricular ejection fraction associated with biventricular myocardial fibrosis, and a widening of the sinus QRS.