CardioExchange Archive

April 27th, 2015

Through the Fog of Data on Endovascular Therapy for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Rory J Spiegel, MD

Perspective on an array of trials of endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke — and on the potential consequences of early trial cessation.

---

April 13th, 2015

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: April 13th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include the TOTAL trial and surgical ablation of AF during mitral-valve surgery.

---

March 16th, 2015

A Requiem for Routine Thrombectomy?

Larry Husten, PHD

Primary PCI is the treatment of choice in the early period of an acute MI. One limitation is the risk of dislodging part of the clot, leading to new downstream blockages of the microvasculature. One strategy that has been under development for a long time is thrombectomy, in which a device extracts the clot prior […]

---

February 19th, 2015

A Close Examination of Recent Studies of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Rory J Spiegel, MD

Rory Spiegel takes a close look at the MR CLEAN, EXTEND-IA, and ESCAPE trials.

---

February 12th, 2015

Three Trials Show Benefits of Thrombectomy in Stroke Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Three new studies offer important additional evidence that early treatment with current thrombectomy devices that extract clots from blood vessels in the brain can lead to improved outcomes in carefully selected stroke patients. The trials were stopped early based on efficacy following positive findings last year from another trial, MR CLEAN. The three new trials […]

---

December 24th, 2014

An Examination of MR CLEAN

Rory J Spiegel, MD

Rory Spiegel examines why the MR CLEAN trial of interventional therapy for acute ischemic stroke succeeded where its predecessors failed.

---

December 17th, 2014

Dutch Trial Gives Support to Thrombectomy for Ischemic Stroke

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new trial provides the first substantial evidence that thrombectomy may be beneficial in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Previous thromboectomy trials have been disappointing; some experts have speculated this may be due to the use of early-generation devices, long treatment delays, and difficulties in recruiting suitable patients into the trials. The Multicenter Randomized Clinical […]

---