P ercutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has traditionally been performed using femoral arterial access.1 Risks associated with transfemoral PCI (f-PCI) include access site bleeding and major vascular complications, which are associated with a risk of subsequent morbidity, mortality, and costs.2 Alternative vascular access sites for PCI include the brachial, radial, and ulnar arteries.3 Data from singlecenter and small randomized trials comparing transradial PCI (r-PCI) with the femoral approach suggested a lower rate of bleeding and vascular complications associated with r-PCI. 4 More recently, a large randomized trial of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing coronary angiography or intervention, demonstrated that both radial and femoral approaches were equally effective and safe, with a lower rate of vascular complications in the radial approach cohort. 5 In addition, the high-risk subgroup of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction had a reduction in cardiovascular events, driven by an apparent reduction in mortality in the r-PCI group. A subsequent meta-analysis of observational and randomized studies showed that r-PCI was associated with a 78% reduction in bleeding in comparison with f-PCI. 6 Despite this growing body of evidence, data fromBackground-Radial access for percutaneous coronary intervention (r-PCI) is associated with reduced vascular complications; however, previous reports have shown that <2% of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures in the United States are performed via the radial approach. Our aims were to evaluate temporal trends in r-PCI and compare procedural outcomes between r-PCI and transfemoral PCI. Methods and Results-We conducted a retrospective cohort study from the CathPCI registry (n=2 820 874 procedures from 1381 sites) between January 2007 and September 2012. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the adjusted association between r-PCI and bleeding, vascular complications, and procedural success, using transfemoral PCI as the reference. Outcomes in high-risk subgroups such as age ≥75 years, women, and patients with acute coronary syndrome were also examined. The proportion of r-PCI procedures increased from 1.2% in quarter 1 2007 to 16.1% in quarter 3 2012 and accounted for 6.3% of total procedures from 2007 to 2012 (n=178 643). After multivariable adjustment, r-PCI use in the studied cohort of patients was associated with lower risk of bleeding (adjusted odds ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.54) and lower risk of vascular complications (adjusted odds ratio, 0.39; 95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.50) in comparison with transfemoral PCI. The reduction in bleeding and vascular complications was consistent across important subgroups of age, sex, and clinical presentation. Conclusions-There has been increasing adoption of r-PCI in the United States. Transradial PCI now accounts for 1 of 6 PCIs performed in contemporary clinical practice. In comparison with traditional femoral access, transradial PCI ...

Sinus of Valsalva aneurysms are rare cardiac anomalies which may be acquired or congenital, most commonly involving the right or noncoronary sinuses. The congenital aneurysms are more common and often caused by weakness at the junction of the aortic media and the annulus fibrosus. Acquired aneurysms are caused by conditions affecting the aortic wall, such as infections (syphilis, bacterial endocarditis, or tuberculosis), trauma, or connective tissue disorders. Unruptured aneurysms are usually found incidentally during diagnostic studies. More commonly, sinus of Valsalvaaneurysms are diagnosed after clinical sequelae of rupture. Diagnosis of sinus of Valsalva aneurysm is facilitated by echocardiography, contrast aortography, and more recently, magnetic resonance imaging. Repair is generally required for ruptured aneurysms; unruptured aneurysms encroaching on nearby structures, causing myocardial ischemia, or having the potential to rupture warrant repair. A review of the literature is presented focusing on anatomy, clinical presentation of ruptured and unruptured aneurysms, noninvasive diagnostic modalities, and techniques for repair of this anomaly.

In this early experience with ACD after PCI, their use was associated with higher vascular complication rates than hemostasis with manual compression.

In US hospitals from 2003 through 2011, most centers that provide septal reduction therapy performed few SM and ASA procedures, which is below the threshold recommended by the 2011 American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Low SM volume was associated with worse outcomes, including higher mortality, longer length of stay, and higher costs. More efforts are needed to encourage referral of patients to centers of excellence for septal reduction therapy.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine use and describe outcomes of radial access for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Background Transradial PCI (TRI) is associated with reduced risk of bleeding and vascular complications, as compared with femoral access PCI (FPCI). Studies have suggested that TRI may reduce mortality among patients with STEMI. Methods We examined 294,769 patients undergoing PCI for STEMI at 1,204 hospitals in the CathPCI Registry between 2007 and 2011. Patients were grouped according to access site used for PCI. The temporal trend in the rate of radial versus femoral approach was determined. For minimization of confounding, an inverse probability weighting analysis incorporating propensity scores was used to compare procedural success, post-PCI bleeding, door-to-balloon times, and in-hospital mortality between radial and femoral access. Results Over the 5-year period, the use of TRI versus FPCI in STEMI increased from 0.9% to 6.4% (p < 0.0001). There was no difference in procedural success. TRI was associated with longer median door-to-balloon time (78 vs. 74 min; p < 0.0001) but lower adjusted risk of bleeding (odds ratio [OR]: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.53 to 0.72; p < 0.0001) and lower adjusted risk of in-hospital mortality (OR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.57 to 0.99; p = 0.0455). Conclusions In this large national database, use of radial access for PCI in STEMI increased over the study period. Despite longer door-to-balloon times, the radial approach was associated with lower bleeding rate and reduced in-hospital mortality. These data provide support to execute an adequately powered randomized controlled trial comparing radial and femoral approaches for PCI in STEMI.

Our study shows that despite the evolution of medical technology and use of contemporary therapeutic measures, in-hospital mortality in CS-AMI patients who are managed invasively continues to rise. Additional research and targeted efforts are indicated to improve outcomes in this high-risk cohort.

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The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is highly infectious, carries significant morbidity and mortality, and has rapidly resulted in strained health care system and hospital resources. In addition to patientrelated care concerns in infected individuals, focus must also relate to diminishing community spread, protection of staff, case selection, and concentration of resources. The current document based on available data and consensus opinion addresses appropriate catheterization laboratory preparedness for treating these patients, including procedure-room readiness to minimize external contamination, safe donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) to eliminate risk to staff, and staffing algorithms to minimize exposure and maximize team availability.Case selection and management of both emergent and urgent procedures are discussed in detail, including procedures that may be safely deferred or performed bedside. K E Y W O R D S coronavirus, cathlab readiness, PPE