Circulatory Support in PCI; TEVAR vs Surgery; Varying Thrombectomy Techniques

High-risk patients getting elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) had fewer procedure-related adverse events when given mechanical circulatory support — despite having worse ejection fraction and more complex coronary artery disease at baseline, European operators reported in EuroIntervention.

Untreated early subclinical leaflet thrombosis after transcatheter aortic valve replacement wasn’t statistically different from no early leaflet thrombosis in terms of adverse events at 2 years in registry data (10.7% vs 16.9%, P=0.63). (Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions)

Myocardial perfusion mapping on cardiac MRI could differentiate between coronary artery disease and microvascular dysfunction in stable angina, as validated against fractional flow reserve and the index of microcirculatory resistance. (JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging)

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair for intact descending thoracic aortic aneurysms yielded better mean survival than open surgery but a higher late hazard of death, according to a study based on propensity-matched Medicare data. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology)

Carotid plaques were associated with cortical cerebral microinfarcts, which play a role in dementia, in a small Japanese study. “Carotid atherosclerosis could be a potential therapeutic target for cognitive impairment,” investigators suggested in Stroke.

For infants with acute thrombosis of the superior vena cava and the innominate vein following a major surgery, stent-retriever thrombectomy is a good treatment, a five-person case series showed. Residual thrombotic material can be taken care of with additional balloon dilatation. (Catheterization & Cardiovascular Interventions)

The most popular technique in mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke was direct aspiration without a balloon guide, according to survey results published in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery. The 80 participants reported variation in their use of the “Solumbra technique,” or stent retriever use combined with aspiration.