Cath Lab Digest - April 2008 - (Page 56)

56 CLINICAL AND INDUSTRY NEWS APRIL 2008 BWH Names Director of Integrated Interventional Cardiovascular Program New Director Comes from Cleveland Clinic D eepak L. Bhatt, MD, has been named the new director of the Integrated Interventional Cardiovascular Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and the VA Boston Healthcare System (VA) effective July 1, 2008. In addition, Dr. Bhatt will also serve as the Chief of the Cardiology Section at the VA Boston Healthcare System and as Senior Investigator at the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Study Group, directed by Dr. Eugene Braunwald. “As Director of the Integrated Cardiovascular Intervention Program at BWH and the VA, I am excited to be working with a very talented group of interventional cardiologists who are highly skilled at both patient care and research, and very happy that my arrival will coincide with the opening of the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center at BWH in May 2008,” said Bhatt. Dr. Bhatt comes from the Cleveland Clinic, where he has worked on staff in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine since 2001 and more recently as associate director of the Cleveland Clinic Cardiovascular Coordinating Center since 2006. “I had a wonderful time at the Cleveland Clinic, a fantastic place from which I would have been happy to retire; however, the chance to work with this very talented group of academic interventionalists at Brigham and Women’s and the VA and the honor of being the Chief of Cardiology of the VA Boston Healthcare System is too great an opportunity to pass up,” said Bhatt. Dr. Bhatt’s research interests include preventive cardiology, as well as the optimal management of patients with heart attacks. He also has research interests in advanced techniques in cardiac, cerebral, and peripheral intervention. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He has been listed in Best Doctors in America for the past several years. “Dr. Bhatt is an outstanding interventional cardiologist and dedicated researcher. We are very pleased to have him join the cardiovascular team at BWH. His leadership and talent will complement the existing strengths of our Cardiovascular Division,” said Peter Libby, MD, chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at BWH. ■ Comparison of Anticoagulants for Angioplasty Show Similar Outcomes; Drug-Eluting Stent Appears Advantageous Over Uncoated Stent I n a comparison of anticoagulants and stents for use with angioplasty following a heart attack, the anticoagulants abciximab and tirofiban had similar outcomes for some cardiac measures within 90 minutes after the procedure, while patients who received stents that released the drug sirolimus had a lower risk of major adverse cardiac events within 8 months than patients who received uncoated stents, according to a JAMA study released March 30 to coincide with its presentation at the annual conference of the American College of Cardiology. The study was published in the April 16 issue of JAMA. Infusion with abciximab and implantation of an uncoated-stent is a treatment strategy used to reduce major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). It is uncertain whether there may be similar benefits in replacing abciximab with tirofiban, which could have clinical and economical implications. Marco Valgimigli, MD, PhD, of the Cardiovascular Institute, University of Ferrara, Italy, and colleagues evaluated the effect of high-dose tirofiban and sirolimus-releasing stents compared with abciximab infusion and uncoated-stent implantation in 745 patients with STEMI undergoing PCI. The trial was conducted in Italy, Spain, and Argentina between October 2004 and April 2007. The researchers found that among the 722 patients (97 percent) who had an interpretable electrocardiogram, at least 50 percent resolution of ST-segment elevation on the electrocardiogram at 90 minutes following PCI occurred in 302 of 361 patients (83.6 percent) and 308 of 361 patients (85.3 percent) in the abciximab and tirofiban groups, respectively. Ischemic and hemorrhagic outcomes were similar in these groups. At 8 months, the MACE rate was similar among those who received tirofiban (9.9 percent) and those who received abciximab (12.4 percent) but was higher among those who were treated with the uncoated stent (54 patients, 14.5 percent) compared with those who were treated with the sirolimusreleasing stent (29 patients, 7.8 percent). Revascularization (repeat procedure to unblock a blood vessel) was reduced from 10.2 percent with the uncoated stent to 3.2 percent with the sirolimusreleasing stent. “In summary, our study provides evidence that in a broad population of largely unselected patients undergoing PCI for STEMI, tirofiban therapy is associated with a noninferior resolution from STsegment elevation at 90 minutes postintervention compared with abciximab, and at 8-month followup, MACE are approximately halved by sirolimuseluting stent implantation compared with uncoated stents,” the authors write. ■ Source: JAMA 2008;299[15] Use of PressureWire® Yields a More Accurate Assessment of Translesion Pressure Gradients in Peripheral Vasculature, Two New Studies Report U se of a low profile PressureWire yields a more accurate assessment of translesion pressure gradients when compared to catheter-derived pressure gradient (CPG) measurements, according to a recent study.1 Researchers report that although CPG measurements derived from both a catheter and PressureWire correlated with anatomic stenosis, PressureWire gradient was more accurate in estimating the clinical significance of peripheral arterial lesions, thus reducing the risk of inappropriate intervention. The paper was based on a study of 20 lesions in 16 patients undergoing angiography for peripheral vascular disease. Continued on next page

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Cath Lab Digest - April 2008 Kaiser San Rafael Medical Center Orbital Atherectomy: A New Treatment for Complex Peripheral Arterial Disease Ask the Clinical Instructor: A Q&A Column for Those New to the Cath Lab Contents Clinical Editor’s Corner CEU Education Center The Missing Link in STEMI Interventions — Thrombus Aspiration during Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Predicting Stent Thrombosis Using A Clinical Risk Score Use of a New Guidewire: The Tigerwire Should I Stay or Should I Go? Weighing Options for New Opportunities Navigating Tortuous Coronary Sinus Anatomy Using a Bipolar Lead The National Society of Radiology Practitioner Assistants (NSRPA) Holds 9th Annual Educational Conference For Medical Imaging Physician Extenders and Mid-Level Healthcare Providers Cath Lab & Beyond: A Meeting Update The Ten-Minute Interview with… Dale Hansen RT, CVT Sometimes, You Just Know Twin Circumflex Arteries: A Rare Coronary Artery Anomaly What Do You Think? Meetings Calendar News from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Session and the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) Annual Scientific Sessions in Partnership with the ACC i2 Summit Clinical & Industry News Cath Laughs Classifieds Advertisers Index

Cath Lab Digest - April 2008

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