I would like to welcome our new subscribers who attended Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) 2009. The meeting was a success and we are proud to be CRT's official journal. The meeting reflected the latest trends in interventional cardiology—the increase in the utilization of drug-eluting stents, the growing interest in percutaneous valve intervention, the dilemma regarding the responsiveness to antiplatelet therapy, and the progress made in endovascular medicine regarding chronic limb ischemia intervention. We anticipate covering these topics in upcoming issues of CRM. In the current issue, various topics emphasizing unresolved issues in interventional cardiology are presented.
Our first clinical original article is from Delhaye et al. in which they aimed to determine whether pre-procedural high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels, in addition to other known prognostic factors, are associated with clinical outcome in a cohort of 560 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation. Next, Shammas et al. sought to investigate the procedural success and long-term outcomes of patients receiving the Taxus stent in the setting of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction in a busy single-center interventional program. Bonello et al. investigated whether or not bivalirudin continues to show similar efficacy and reduced bleeding when compared to heparin without glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor infusion in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Pokrajac et al. evaluated the efficacy of beta-endovascular brachytherapy using the CORONA centering catheter in patients with superficial femoropopliteal artery restenosis in a single-arm Phase II trial.
In their review of the literature and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer And User facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database, Chhatriwalla et al. report that drug-eluting stent fracture can be associated with stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction, and angina. Parakh et al. then discuss the intricacies and impact of alcohol septal ablation in the treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. In the first of four case reports, Cevik et al. report a unique coronary artery to hepatic vein fistula case and describe its pathogenesis based on coronary arterial vasculogenesis in the embryologic period. Banerjee and Brilakis describe three saphenous vein graft cases during which the use of the Proxis device not only provided embolic protection, but also served as a guide catheter anchor allowing distal stent delivery after failed attempts using conventional techniques. A rare case of simultaneous late stent thrombosis within drug-eluting stents in two coronary arteries following premature cessation of clopidogrel therapy is then presented by Prasad et al. Finally, Dimas et al. describe an unusual, yet increasingly recognized cause of acute myocardial infarction in patients in whom the left internal mammary artery has been utilized as an aortocoronary bypass graft: the combination of systemic hypotension with proximal left subclavian artery stenosis.
Part one of our special feature once again presents select abstracts from Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) 2009, held March 4–6 in Washington, DC. Categories include cardiovascular pharmacology, peripheral intervention, drug-eluting stents, chronic total occlusion, restenosis, percutaneous valve intervention, carotid stenting, cardiac CTA, vulnerable plaque, gene therapy, and complex coronary intervention. Part two will appear in issue 10:4. Our image of the issue, from Kahveci et al., presents the case of a 61-year-old male seen in the emergency unit after a 1-hour history of chest pain. The electrocardiogram showed a regular sinus rhythm with depression of the ST segment in all leads except V1 and aVR and with elevation of the ST segment in the aVR lead.
Two FDA advisory panel meetings were held in the past few months. The first, a meeting of the Circulatory System Devices Panel was held to discuss and vote on the final clinical data presented in the premarket approval application (PMA) for the TherOx Aqueous Oxygen (AO) System. The panel finally voted (9–5–0) to recommend that the PMA application for the TherOx AO System be found “Not Approvable.” Next, a meeting of the same panel was held to discuss and vote on the PMA application for the Atritech, Inc. WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure Technology. The panel voted (7-5-0) to recommend that the PMA application for the WATCHMAN device be found “Approvable with Conditions.” We welcome your comments on these important recommendations.
Lastly, a reminder that we will gladly consider manuscripts rejected by other journals due to “low priority” if the reviewers' comments and your responses are enclosed with your submission. Without the need for peer review, these papers will go through an expedited editorial review process to determine their suitability for publication in CRM.
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