Amulet vs Watchman Comparison Still Muddy Any Which Way LAA Leaks Are Defined
SAN FRANCISCO — Two mainstream devices for percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure continued to lead to similar clinical outcomes in the SWISS-APERO trial. Among patients randomized to the Amplatzer Amulet and the Watchman 2.5/FLX, the incidence of patent LAAs at 13 months reached 53.6% and 48.8%, respectively, on coronary CT angiography (risk ratio [RR] […]
Ultrasound Guidance No Advantage for PCI Access
BOSTON — Routine ultrasound guidance for accessing the femoral vein for percutaneous coronary procedures didn’t cut down on bleeding and vascular complications, the UNIVERSAL trial showed. The primary combined endpoint of major bleeding and major vascular complications at 30 days showed no advantage to the imaging technique added to fluoroscopy, reported Sanjit S. Jolly, MD, […]
Routine Stress Testing Didn’t Offer Benefits to High-Risk Patients Post-PCI
BARCELONA – Routine functional testing after percutaneous cardiac interventions (PCI) did not boost clinical outcomes at 2 years in high-risk patients, according to the POST-PCI trial. The composite endpoint of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina was experienced by 5.5% of patients who got routine functional testing versus 6.6% in […]
Chronic Total Occlusion PCI Is Getting Safer — At Least Until the Pandemic
ATLANTA — Percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic total occlusion (CTO PCI) has improved in success rates, but the pandemic might have impacted complication rates, a registry study showed. Technical and procedural success rates steadily improved over time from 2016 to 2021, rising from 81.6% to 88.1% and 80.0% to 87.0%, respectively (both P<0.0001). And the […]
Lithotripsy Advantage in Calcified Peripheral Vessels Holds Up at 1 Year
ATLANTA — Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) beat percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for keeping calcified peripheral artery lesions open at 1 year, the Disrupt PAD III trial showed. Primary patency at 1 year was 80.5% for the IVL arm compared with 68.0% for the PTA arm (P=0.017), reported William Gray, MD, co-director of the Lankenau Heart Institute […]
One Month of DAPT Reasonable in Patients at High Bleeding Risk
Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for 1 month after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) lowered bleeding rates and was non-inferior for ischemic events compared with 3-month DAPT in patients at high bleeding risk, according to results of the MASTER DAPT trial. Among the 4,579 patients in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population, major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding occurred […]