Interventional Cardiology

This cardiac subspecialty uses minimally invasive, catheter-based technologies in a cath lab to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease (CAD). The main focus in on percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) to revascularize patients with CAD that is causing blockages resulting in ischemia or myocardial infarction. PCI mainly consists of angioplasty and implanting stents. Interventional cardiology has greatly expanded in scope over recent years to include a number of transcatheter structural heart interventions.

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Live in Las Vegas: SCAI.19 Expands Focus on Live Cases

SCAI has diversified its planning committees and expanded the focus on live cases for its 2019 scientific sessions, says Program Chair Sunil Rao, MD.

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Catheter-directed therapy treatments for pulmonary embolism on the rise

Catheter-directed therapy (CDT) is being used to treat pulmonary embolism (PE) more and more by healthcare providers, according to new research published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

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25% of PCI patients rehospitalized within 6 months

Around a quarter of heart patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are readmitted to the hospital for unplanned reasons within six months of their procedure, researchers report in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.

PCI use, survival trending up for elderly STEMI patients with cardiogenic shock

Percutaneous coronary intervention is being offered to a greater proportion of older adults with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock over the past two decades—a trend that’s been paralleled by declining mortality rates, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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ICUs overused for STEMI patients

More than 80% of stable patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are treated in the intensive care unit despite only 16% of them experiencing complications that require an ICU stay, according to a U.S. registry analysis published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.

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Domestic tasks take harsher toll on proceduralist moms’ career satisfaction

Domestic responsibilities put a damper on career satisfaction for proceduralist mothers more than for physician mothers in nonprocedural specialties, suggests a study published April 10 in JAMA Surgery.

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Comic illustrations enhance informed consent before coronary angiography

A new pilot study out of Germany suggests a comic-style graphic supplement can improve the informed consent process before coronary angiography by putting patients at ease and helping them understand the procedure.

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FDA approves therapy to reduce infarct size in LAD STEMI after PCI

Once the artery has been opened with PCI, the treatment involves mixing a patient’s own blood with oxygenated saline and then infusing that superoxygenated mixture to the targeted ischemic area for 60 minutes.