Vascular & Endovascular

This channel includes news on non-coronary vascular disease and therapies. These include peripheral artery disease (PAD), abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysm (AAA and TAA), aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism (PE), critical limb ischemia (CLI), carotid artery and stroke interventions, venous interventions, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and interventional radiology therapies. The focus on most of these therapies is minimally invasive, catheter-based procedures performed in a cath lab.

‘Fundamental for all patients’: Exploring the benefits of palliative care for stroke survivors
Approximately 800,000 strokes occur each year in the United States alone. A majority of people survive, due in part to key advances in patient care over the years, but they often go forward without receiving the long-term help they need to recover and thrive.
Advancing AI for vascular surgery will require a commitment to data integrity
For artificial intelligence to truly transform care, the healthcare industry must address certain challenges. Jens Eldrup-Jorgensen, MD, a veteran vascular surgeon and member of the Society for Vascular Surgery, explains in a guest editorial.
Industry concerns over paclitaxel-coated devices may have put PAD patients at risk
Back in 2019, the FDA issued a warning about the use of paclitaxel-coated devices when treating peripheral artery disease. The agency took back that warning in 2023, but it appears to have made a significant impact on patient care.
Genetic predisposition to depression increases CVD risk in women, but not men
The heightened risks were even seen in women who were never diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. It remains unclear why the same trend was not seen in men.
Clopidogrel vs. aspirin: Tracking the chronic maintenance period after PCI for different risk groups
As more high-risk patients undergo PCI, what is the best antiplatelet strategy following an initial event-free period of DAPT? Does it change after complex PCI? Researchers aimed to answer these questions, and many others, with new findings published in JAMA Cardiology.

Study debunks myth that vaginal estrogen therapy raises risk for CVD, cancer

Low-dose vaginal estrogen therapy—a treatment used to relieve genital and urinary discomfort in women during menopause—isn’t associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer, researchers reported in Menopause Dec. 17.

December 19, 2018

Appropriate use criteria give edge to endovascular therapies for treating PAD

Several professional societies collaborated to release appropriate use criteria for peripheral artery intervention (PAI), a field the authors acknowledged still has an emerging evidence base that is likely to change these recommendations in the future.

December 18, 2018

FDA approves multisite vessel closure system for EP procedures

The FDA has granted premarket approval to Cardiva Medical’s vascular closure system for use during electrophysiology procedures such as cardiac ablation and left atrial appendage closure, the company announced Dec. 18.

December 18, 2018

Two trials paused after study linked paclitaxel-coated devices to late mortality

Two trials designed to test the use of drug-eluting devices in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) were halted soon after a meta-analysis linked paclitaxel-coated balloons and stents to a significantly increased risk of death beyond one year post-implantation.

December 17, 2018

How one hospital is using sonic waves to treat arterial calcification

Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire, England, is now one of the few heart centers in the world using Shockwave Medical’s intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) system to treat calcified arteries, the hospital announced after its first successful procedure on Nov. 16.

December 17, 2018

Report names Alaska No. 1 in protecting kids from tobacco

A report issued Dec. 14 by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association and Truth Initiative, among other public health groups, ranked Alaska No. 1 in the nation for funding programs that protect high-school aged kids against tobacco use and help current smokers quit.

December 14, 2018

Paclitaxel-coated devices linked to late mortality in PAD treatment

The use of paclitaxel-coated balloons and stents in the femoropopliteal arteries of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) was associated with relative mortality increases of 68 percent and 93 percent at two and five years of follow-up, respectively, according to a meta-analysis published Dec. 6 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

December 11, 2018

Stroke patients see similar odds of readmission with thrombectomy, thrombolysis

About 1 in 8 patients who received endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke during a two-year period in the U.S. were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, according to an analysis of the Nationwide Readmissions Database published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.

December 10, 2018

Vascular & Endovascular

‘Fundamental for all patients’: Exploring the benefits of palliative care for stroke survivors

Advancing AI for vascular surgery will require a commitment to data integrity

Industry concerns over paclitaxel-coated devices may have put PAD patients at risk

Genetic predisposition to depression increases CVD risk in women, but not men

Clopidogrel vs. aspirin: Tracking the chronic maintenance period after PCI for different risk groups