CardioExchange Archive

April 26th, 2011

FDA Briefs: New Stent Approved, Advisory Committee Meeting on ACCORD Lipid

Larry Husten, PHD

Boston Scientific said on Monday that it had received FDA approval for a third-generation drug-eluting stent, the ION Paclitaxel-Eluting Platinum Chromium Coronary Stent System. The “unique platinum chromium (PtCr) alloy” is specifically designed for use in the coronary arteries. The FDA announced that the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee would meet on May 19 to […]

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April 3rd, 2011

2-Year Outcomes of the RESOLUTE All Comers Trial

Larry Husten, PHD

The Resolute zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES) is now starting to demonstrate good long-term results. At an interventional featured clinical study session at the ACC in New Orleans and in a simultaneous publication in the Lancet, Sigmund Silber and colleagues presented the 2-year findings of the RESOLUTE All Comers trial comparing the ZES with the Xience V […]

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March 16th, 2011

CABG vs. PCI for Angina Relief: Lessons from SYNTAX

David Cohen, MD MSc

CardioExchange welcomes David J. Cohen, Director of Cardiovascular Research at St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, to discuss the latest analysis from the SYNTAX randomized trial. The study has just been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and Dr. Cohen is the lead author. Questions to Dr. Cohen come […]

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March 3rd, 2011

Pennsylvania Hospital: 141 Patients Received Unnecessary Stents

Larry Husten, PHD

A hospital in western Pennsylvania says that at least 141 heart patients received coronary stents that weren’t needed, according to an article by Luis Fabregas in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, PA has informed the patients, and the two interventional cardiologists who performed the procedures have resigned. The hospital says that it will cooperate with […]

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February 27th, 2011

Examining an Ad for a Platelet-Inhibition Test

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

I’ve recently seen in medical journals an advertisement that features an image of a clot within a stent and this headline in all capital letters: “Low Levels of Platelet Inhibition May Have Significant Consequences.” The final two words, “Significant Consequences,” are in a very large font, and the entire ad has an ominous black background. Below […]

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February 18th, 2011

A Case of Clopidogrel Nonresponsiveness?

Tariq Ahmad, MD, MPH and James Fang, MD

This latest installment in our case discussion series is submitted by Tariq Ahmad, MD, MPH. We encourage members to submit cases that they believe warrant discussion. Selected cases will be presented to the community, and case authors will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. A 70-year-old woman presents to the ED with an anterior STEMI. She […]

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January 11th, 2011

Absorbable Stent Approved: Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA

Have questions about the new stent that just received CE Mark approval in Europe? Here’s a reality checklist. 1. What’s it called? The bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) from Abbott Laboratories is named ABSORB (clever, huh?). 2. What are its advantages over a drug-eluting stent (DES)? Don’t know yet.  It may eliminate the need for long-term intensive antiplatelet […]

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January 10th, 2011

World’s First Drug Eluting Bioresorbable Stent Gains CE Mark Approval

Larry Husten, PHD

Abbott announced today that it had received CE Mark approval for Absorb, its bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) device. The device props a narrowed coronary artery open but then dissolves within 2 years, leaving the patient without a permanent implant. One hope for the device is that it will allow stent patients to safely discontinue dual […]

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November 16th, 2010

What Does BASKET PROVE Have to Prove?

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

What to make of new findings that DES are just as good as BMS for treating lesions in large coronary arteries? David Hillis and Rick Lange provide a brief tour of the relevant issues. Getting a handle on the study… Previous data suggested that the use of DES in large native coronary arteries confers no benefit and […]

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November 3rd, 2010

Do Your Patients Wait to Fill Their Plavix and Effient Prescriptions After Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation?

Chris Smith, RN

I recently read an article in the journal Circulation that contained an alarming finding about patients who receive drug-eluting stents. Apparently, 1 in 6 did not fill their clopidogrel prescriptions immediately after discharge from a hospital in one of three large integrated health care systems. The median delay was 3 days. Furthermore, during a median follow-up […]

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