CardioExchange Archive

March 14th, 2013

Fibrinolysis Now or Primary PCI Later?

Frans Van de Werf, MD,PhD, Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

CardioExchange’s Rick Lange and David Hillis ask Frans Van de Werf, principal investigator for the STREAM study, about his study group’s findings and their implications for clinical practice. THE STUDY In the STREAM trial, investigators compared two treatment strategies in STEMI patients presenting early after symptom onset who were unable to undergo primary PCI within 1 hour: […]

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March 10th, 2013

ACC.13: Is Cangrelor an Antiplatelet CHAMPION?

Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

Deepak Bhatt sheds light on findings from the CHAMPION PHOENIX trial and their implications for clinical practice.

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February 22nd, 2013

SYNTAX After 5 Years: Any Change in Results (or Your Practice)?

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

The 5 year results of the SYNTAX (SYNergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with TAXus and cardiac surgery) trial are now published.  SYNTAX assessed the optimal revascularization strategy for patients with left main and/or 3-vessel disease by randomly assigning such patients to CABG or PCI (with a first-generation paclitaxel-eluting stent) and then determining the rate of […]

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February 14th, 2013

No Aspirin After DES? Is This The Wild, Wild WOEST?

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

According to the recently published results of the WOEST trial, patients receiving anticoagulation thereapy who undergo stenting have better outcomes with clopidogrel only than with clopidogrel plus aspirin. Rick Lange and David Hillis ask: Are you ready to stop prescribing aspirin to these patients?

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February 7th, 2013

Arms and the Interventionalist

Megan Coylewright, MD MPH, Michael Tempelhof, MD MSc, Micah Eimer, MD, L. David Hillis, MD, Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and John Ryan, MD

According to an ESC consensus document published last week, radial artery access should be the “default” choice for PCI. CardioExchange’s John Ryan interviewed cardiologists and interventional cardiologists at different stages of their careers to find out how they view radial artery catheterization, and if the views differ among interventional fellows, faculty, and those in leadership roles. Dr. […]

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February 6th, 2013

FFR vs. iFR: All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

David Hillis and Rick Lange consider new evidence that iFR is not an acceptable substitute for FFR. Does the need for adenosine administration hinder the use of FFR to guide management decisions?

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January 8th, 2013

Could You Be Accused of Doing Unnecessary PCI?

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

A recent rash of lawsuits and physician suspensions for “unnecessary PCI” have given many interventionalists pause. Rick Lange and David Hillis ponder the implications of these incidents on clinical practice.

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December 20th, 2012

Is “Zapping the Kidneys” Miraculous?

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

Renal denervation for resistant hypertension is generating a lot of excitement. In this blog, Rick Lange and David Hillis take stock of the evidence and the efforts underway to explore the potential scope of indications for the procedure.

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September 19th, 2012

Stopping DAPT for DES Before 12 Months: Cutting-Edge or Dangerous?

Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

Dr. Deepak Bhatt ponders the clinical implications of two studies suggesting that early discontinuation of dual antiplatelet therapy is safe — and concludes that the findings will probably not change his practice.

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August 28th, 2012

‘Rather Than … FAME, Give Me Truth’

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

The FAME 2 trial adds fuel to the debate regarding what measurements should guide decisions about revascularization.

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