Our top 10 stories of June 2021, including: Analysis of the data for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in younger, low-risk aortic stenosis patients; short-duration dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) labelling for Abbott’s Xience stent, and; evidence of worsening outcomes for heart attack patients during the pandemic.
1. Caution needed for TAVI in younger, low-risk aortic stenosis patients
Pivotal trials of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in low-risk patients have demonstrated excellent clinical results but should be extrapolated “with caution” to younger patients. These are the comments of Charan Yerasi, Toby Rogers, Ron Waksman (all from Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC, USA) and colleagues writing in a state-of-the-art review published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.
2. Delaying CABG after AMI may not improve outcomes
A study looking at the timing of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) after the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), suggests that although patients who undergo CABG within 24 hours of AMI more often present in cardiogenic shock, there is no significant outcome difference with those who undergo CABG after 24 hours.
3. Pandemic contributes to worsening heart attack outcomes, study finds
Heart attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to result in heart failure compared with heart attacks one year earlier, according to research presented today at Heart Failure 2021 (29 June–1 July, virtual) an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
4. Xience stent receives US FDA approval for short-duration DAPT
Abbott has announced that its Xience family of stents has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for one-month (as short as 28 days) dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) labelling for high bleeding risk (HBR) patients in the USA.
5. Shockwave’s coronary IVL device gains TPT payment approval
Shockwave Medical has announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted approval for a Transitional Pass-Through (TPT) payment for Shockwave C2 Coronary intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) device, effective July 1 2021.
6. One in eight CABG patients readmitted within 30 days, meta-analysis finds
Nearly one in eight coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients are readmitted within 30 days of their procedure, the majority of which are readmitted for non-cardiac causes. This is according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of readmission after CABG published in the Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
7. Tendyne receives breakthrough designation for MAC patients
Abbott has received Breakthrough Device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its investigational Tendyne transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system in a subset of patients with severe mitral annular calcification (MAC).
8. Registry DAPT data “could support clinical trials”
Data captured in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) is similar in quality, depth and granularity when compared to data captured through clinical trials, according to research published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.
9. Royal Philips announces start of DEFINE GPS study
Royal Philips has announced the official start of the DEFINE GPS study, with the first patient being enrolled by the study’s principal investigator, Allen Jeremias at St. Francis Hospital, New York, USA.
10. Female aortic dissection patients presenting later, have higher mortality
Women who experience acute aortic dissection are older, have more advanced disease than men when they seek medical care, and are also more likely to die, according to research published online in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
