Apr-08

This issue of the Journal of Invasive Cardiology includes original research, a Rapid Communication article, a Review, several case reports, two Clinical Images selections, and articles from the proceedings of the 30th Anniversary of Angioplasty and International Andreas Gruentzig Society meeting. Some of these articles are in this print edition and all are available on our website at www.invasivecardiology.com.
In the first original article, Dr. Anthony Bavry, from the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues from several United States centers, describe a multicenter, randomized clinical trial of the FISH, a novel device that incorporates the access sheath and closure component into one system. Their study showed that in selected patients, the FISH device was superior in achieving time to hemostasis and ambulation compared to manual pressure. Drs. Dominique Joyal and Robert Dieter have provided a commentary on vascular closure devices.
Dr. Yuji Oikawa and collaborators, from The Cardiovascular Institute and the Department of Cardiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, present their study assessing short- and long-term outcomes of patients with coronary artery aneurysms that occurred after undergoing directional coronary atherectomy. The authors conclude that nearly all coronary artery aneurysms should be managed conservatively.
In the next original research article, Dr. Maria De Vita and associates, from the Institute of Cardiology, Catholic University in Rome, Italy, present their study comparing thrombus aspiration versus standard percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the treatment of patients presenting with stent thrombosis. They found that the use of thrombus aspiration was safe and was associated with better angiographic outcomes compared to standard PCI. Drs. Madan Sharma and Yerem Yeghiazarians, from the University of California, San Francisco, have provided a commentary to accompany the De Vita et al article.
Next, Dr. Fuminobu Yoshimachi and colleagues, from the Department of Cardiology at Aomori Prefectural Central Hospital in Aomori City, Japan, present their study to evaluate a novel method of PercuSurge distal protection in a 5 French guiding catheter without an export aspiration catheter. They demonstrated that this approach was very successful and may be useful because it takes advantage of the flexibility and versatility of the 5 French system.
Drs. Elshershari, Cao and Hijazi, from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, and Rush University in Chicago, Illinois, present their study assessing immediate and follow-up results using transcatheter device closure of atrial septal defects in patients older than 60 years of age. They demonstrated that the technique is safe and effective as an alternative to surgery, and does lead to right heart remodeling. Dr. Srihari Naidu, from the Division of Cardiology at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York, has provided a commentary to accompany this article.
In the next research article, Dr. Micha Maeder and colleagues, from the Departments of Cardiology, Radiology and Radiooncology at the University Hospital in Basel, Switzerland, describe their study of long-term outcomes of intracoronary beta-irradiation for in-stent restenosis in bare-metal stents. Their study showed that there was still a significant rate of major adverse cardiac events beyond the first year after beta-irradiation.
In the last original research article, submitted by Dr. Warren Cantor, from Southlake Regional Health Center, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, and associates from other Canadian institutions, and the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in San Diego, California, the authors report on their research to study the changes in B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and serum unbound free fatty acid (FFAu) levels during the 24 hours following PCI. They found that BNP levels did increase at 18–24 hours post PCI in about 17% of the patients, whereas FFAu levels rose and normalized in the first 6 hours following the procedure.
This issue of the journal includes a Review article by Dr. Ronen Gurvitch and colleagues, from Royal Melbourne Hospital and Monash University in Melbourne, and the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. Their article provides an overview of the current state of protection devices and thrombectomy for native coronary artery ST-elevation myocardial infarction.
The Clinical Images special section, edited by Dr. David Rizik, from the Scottsdale Heart Group at Scottsdale Healthcare Hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, features a report by Drs. Dundon, Psaltis and Worthley, from the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Adelaide, Australia, on the utility of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in identifying anatomy that may not otherwise be well-characterized with available imaging modalities.
In the second Clinical Images article, published in the online edition, Drs. Thomopoulou, Sfirakis and Spargias, from the departments of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens, Greece, present images from their management of a patient who developed a thrombotic obstruction of the left main stem following aortic valve replacement.
This issue of the journal also includes a Rapid Communication selection in the online edition. Dr. Alex Hobson and colleagues from Southhampton University Hospitals, Newcastle University and Southhampton University Medical School in the United Kingdom, have provided a brief report on a series of cases in which stent thrombosis occurred in the setting of malignancy. The authors believe that known malignancy may be a risk factor for stent thrombosis and that unexplained stent thrombosis, especially when it recurs, may indicate the presence of an occult malignancy.
The April digital edition of the Journal also features several interesting case reports. In the first case report, Drs. Ashraf, Pathan and Kundi, from the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in Karachi, Pakistan, report on their use of percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty of coexisting mitral and tricuspid stenoses with a single-wire, double-balloon technique. In the next case report, Drs. Lee, Cho and Seo, from the Department of Cardiology at Soon Chen Hyang University Bucheon Hospital in Korea, present a case that demonstrates their successful use of subintimal tracking to recanalize an in-stent coronary chronic total occlusion.
Next, Dr. John Sullebarger and colleagues, from the Tampa General Hospital and the Florida Cardiovascular Institute in Tampa, have provided a description of five neurosurgical patients who were treated with PCI. In the last case report, Dr. Anil Kumar and colleagues, from the Department of Medicine, Sound Shore Medical Center of Westchester and New York Medical College in New Rochelle, report on a patient presenting with a rare coronary anomaly in which an anomalous right ventricular branch provided collateral circulation to an occluded right coronary artery.
Please be sure to see the online edition of the journal for very informative presentations and discussions that occurred at the 30th Anniversary of Angioplasty and International Andreas Gruentzig Society meeting held in Zurich, Switzerland, in September of 2007. These include a discussion on a “frugal approach” to coronary angioplasty by Dr. Bernhard Meier of the University Hospital in Bern, Switzerland; a history of carotid angioplasty and stenting, from the perspective of Dr. Jacques Théron, of the CHU Cean, Hôpital Côte Nacre, in Caen, France; an overview of the advances in transcatheter exclusion of the left atrial appendage in atrial fibrillation, by Drs. Paul Chiam and Carlos Ruiz, of Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute of New York; and finally, a presentation on the state-of-the-art of mitral valvuloplasty is provided by Drs. Dominique Himbert, Eric Brochet, Bernard Iung and Alec Vahanian, of Hôpital Bichat, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, France. It is my hope that our readers will find the articles in this issue of the Journal to be timely and useful in the daily management of their cardiac patients.

Sincerely,
Richard E. Shaw, PhD, FACC, FACA Editor-in-Chief