B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) may be a good biomarker to risk-stratify patients who have asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis and no left ventricular dysfunction. BNP levels of 200 pg/mL and higher were tied to more aortic valve-related deaths and heart failure hospitalizations over 5 years, Japanese investigators reported in Heart.
Experiments on explanted hearts suggested a trigger for coronary artery inflammation: Where flow is perturbed, hemodynamic stress results in local mechanical injury allowing the entry of blood cells into the arterial intima, triggering inflammation-driven atherogenesis. (European Heart Journal)
Coronary CT angiography was a good gatekeeper to invasive coronary angiography (ICA) in non-emergent cases of suspected coronary artery disease, according to a randomized trial in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging. One-year event rates for the selective referral arm — only 23% of whom went on to ICA — were non-inferior to event rates associated with direct referral.
A wireless microcatheter for endovascular stroke thrombectomy was associated with lower odds of successful clot passage than a microwire, but patients ended up with fewer subarachnoid hemorrhages and vessel perforations. (Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery)
Tandem occlusions in the anterior circulation had better outcomes with additional stenting of the extracranial lesion in a registry study of thrombectomy with the Solitaire device. (Stroke)
Alcohol septal ablation for symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy had favorable long-term survival — in the hands of a single operator at a single center. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology)
Drug-coated balloons worked better than plain balloon angioplasty in femoropopliteal in-stent restenosis, although durability beyond the 1-year outcomes examined remains an open question, according to a meta-analysis in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions.
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
