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Introduction Computed Tomography (CT) scan is a helpful tool to assess the coronary arteries and the great vessels. However, its routine use in the assessment of patients with suspected prosthetic valve dysfunction (PVD) has not been studied thoroughly. Objective To determine the impact of routine cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) on diagnostic and therapeutic decisions in patients with suspected PVD. Methods and results This was a prospective cohort study that was conducted on 50 consecutive patients with suspected PVD who underwent both 64-slice ECG-gated CT and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). The gold standard was the intraoperative findings. Surgery was performed in forty-six patients. ECG-gated CT showed findings that were not detected by TEE in sixteen patients (32%) namely aortic root abscess, aortic pseudoaneurysm, paravalvular leakage (PVL), sclero-calcific disruption of sutures as cause of PVL, mechanical prosthesis occluder malfunction, an underlying thrombus as cause of malfunction and finally presence of aortic dissection. Furthermore, CTA findings dictated treatment changes in fourteen patients (28%). Conclusion This study demonstrates that ECG-gated CTA has a complementary role to TEE in patients with suspected PVD. CCTA is more accurate in diagnosis of periannular complications (Aortic root abscess and Pseudo-aneurysm) and in delineating their anatomical relation to surrounding cardiac structures. Therefore CCTA can have important role in deciding and planning the method of correction whether surgical or percutaneous and has to be considered after TEE in patients with a high suspicion on PVD.

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation. This is an open access article under the CC By-NC-ND License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4), The authors developed a global chronic total occlusion crossing algorithm following 10 steps: 1) dual angiography; 2) careful angiographic review focusing on proximal cap morphology, occlusion segment, distal vessel quality, and collateral circulation; 3) approaching proximal cap ambiguity using intravascular ultrasound, retrograde, and move-the-cap techniques; 4) approaching poor distal vessel quality using the retrograde approach and bifurcation at the distal cap by use of a dual-lumen catheter and intravascular ultrasound; 5) feasibility of retrograde crossing through grafts and septal and epicardial collateral vessels; 6) antegrade wiring strategies; 7) retrograde approach; 8) changing strategy when failing to achieve progress; 9) considering performing an investment procedure if crossing attempts fail; and 10) stopping when reaching high radiation or contrast dose or in case of long procedural time, occurrence of a serious complication, operator and patient fatigue, or lack of expertise or equipment. This algorithm can improve outcomes and expand discussion, research, and collaboration.

Background Transradial approach (TRA) is now considered the standard of care in many centres for elective and primary percutaneous intervention (PCI). The use of the radial approach in ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients has been associated with a significant reduction in major adverse cardiac events. However, it is still unclear if the side of radial access (right vs. left) has impact on safety and effectiveness of TRA in primary PCI. So this study was conducted to compare the safety, feasibility, and outcomes of right radial access (RRA) vs. left radial access (LRA) in the setting of primary PCI. Methods We retrospectively analysed the data of 400 consecutive patients presenting to our institution with STEMI for whom primary PCIs were performed via RRA and LRA. Results Mean age of the whole studied population was 57±12.8 years, with male predominance (77.2%). There were 202 cases in the RRA group and 198 in the LRA group, with no significant difference in demographics and clinical characteristics for patients included in both groups. There was no significant difference in procedure success rate (97.5% for RRA vs. 98.4% for LRA; P=0.77). In addition, no significant difference between both approaches was observed in the contrast volume, number of catheters, fluoroscopy time (FT), needle-to-balloon time, post-procedure vascular complications, in hospital reinfarction, stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or death. Conclusion Right radial access and LRA are equally safe and effective in the setting of primary PCI. Both approaches have a high success rate and comparable needle-to-balloon time.

© American Heart Association, Inc., Outcomes of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have improved because of advancements in equipment and techniques. With global collaboration and knowledge sharing, we have identified 7 common principles that are widely accepted as best practices for CTO-PCI. 1. Ischemic symptom improvement is the primary indication for CTO-PCI. 2. Dual coronary angiography and in-depth and structured review of the angiogram (and, if available, coronary computed tomography angiography) are key for planning and safely performing CTO-PCI. 3. Use of a microcatheter is essential for optimal guidewire manipulation and exchanges. 4. Antegrade wiring, antegrade dissection and reentry, and the retrograde approach are all complementary and necessary crossing strategies. Antegrade wiring is the most common initial technique, whereas retrograde and antegrade dissection and reentry are often required for more complex CTOs. 5. If the initially selected crossing strategy fails, efficient change to an alternative crossing technique increases the likelihood of eventual PCI success, shortens procedure time, and lowers radiation and contrast use. 6. Specific CTO-PCI expertise and volume and the availability of specialized equipment will increase the likelihood of crossing success and facilitate prevention and management of complications, such as perforation. 7. Meticulous attention to lesion preparation and stenting technique, often requiring intracoronary imaging, is required to ensure optimum stent expansion and minimize the risk of short- and long-term adverse events. These principles have been widely adopted by experienced CTO-PCI operators and centers currently achieving high success and acceptable complication rates. Outcomes are less optimal at less experienced centers, highlighting the need for broader adoption of the aforementioned 7 guiding principles along with the development of additional simple and safe CTO crossing and revascularization strategies through ongoing research, education, and training.

Management of postcatheterization femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (FAP) is problematic. Ultrasound-guided compression (UGC) is painful and cumbersome. Thrombin injection is costly and may cause thromboembolism. Ultrasound-guided para-aneurysmal saline injection (PASI) has been described but was never compared against other treatment methods of FAP. We aimed at comparing the success rate and complications of PASI versus UGC. We randomly assigned 80 patients with postcatheterization FAPs to either UGC (40 patients) or PASI (40 patients). We compared the 2 procedures regarding successful obliteration of the FAP, incidence of vasovagal attacks, procedure time, discontinuation of antiplatelet and/or anticoagulants, and the Doppler waveform in the ipsilateral pedal arteries at the end of the procedure. There was no significant difference between patients in both groups regarding clinical and vascular duplex data. The mean durations of UGC and PASI procedures were 58.14 ± 28.45 and 30.33 ± 8.56 minutes, respectively (p = 0.045). Vasovagal attacks were reported in 10 (25%) and 2 patients (5%) treated with UGC and PASI, respectively (p = 0.05). All patients in both groups had triphasic Doppler waveform in the infrapopliteal arteries before and after the procedure. The primary and final success rates were 75%, 92.5%, 87.5%, and 95% for UGC and PASI, respectively (p = 0.43). In successfully treated patients, there was no reperfusion of the FAP in the follow-up studies (days 1 and 7) in both groups. In conclusion, ultrasound-guided PASI is an effective method for the treatment of FAP. Compared with UGC, PASI is faster, less likely to cause vasovagal reactions, and can be more convenient to patients and physicians.

Two young Egyptian women with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) were diagnosed after the appearance of vascular complications despite the presence of family history and suggestive clinical features. The first patient was treated by repeated surgical excisions of disfiguring tendon xanthomas diagnosed as "lipomas". The second patient, presenting with embolic ischemia, had an amputation of the forearm and repeated reconstructive surgical procedures. Each patient was diagnosed as HoFH after presenting with typical angina to a cardiologist. The first patient had severe aortic stenosis, left main and multi-vessel coronary artery disease, and died at age 21 years. The second patient had multivessel coronary artery disease that was treated by Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents. These cases demonstrate that the delayed diagnosis of xanthomas and familial inheritance characteristic of HoFH leads to atherosclerosis and aortic stenosis early in life.

Management of acute limb ischemia (ALI) is largely based on the etiology of arterial occlusion (embolic vs. thrombotic). To our knowledge, the ability of duplex scanning to differentiate embolic from thrombotic occlusion has not been previously reported.To determine the ability of duplex scanning to differentiate embolic from thrombotic acute arterial occlusion.We prospectively recruited 97 patients (50.3 ± 19.7 years; 55% males) with 107 nontraumatic ALI in native arteries. All patients underwent surgical revascularization. Preoperative duplex scan detected arterial occlusion in the following arteries: iliac (11), femoral (38), popliteal (38), infrapopliteal (3), subclavian (3), axillary (1), brachial (9), and forearm arteries (4). We measured the arterial diameters at the site of occlusion (d(occl)) and at the corresponding contralateral healthy side (d(CONTRA)). The difference (Δ) between the two diameters was calculated as d(OCCL)-d(CONTRA). Duplex scan was also used to assess the state of the arterial wall whether healthy or atherosclerotic and the presence of calcification or collaterals. According to surgical findings, limbs were classified into embolic (E group=55 limbs) and thrombotic (T group=52 limbs) groups.Both groups were comparable regarding age, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, atrial fibrillation, and time of presentation. The status of arterial wall at the site of occlusion and presence of calcification or collaterals were all similar in both groups. Δ in the E group was 0.95 ± 0.92 mm vs. -0.13 ± 1.02 mm in the T group (P.001). A value of ≥ 0.5 mm for Δ had 85% sensitivity and 76% specificity for the diagnosis of embolic occlusion (CI 0.72-0.90, P.001), whereas a value of less than -0.5 mm for Δ had 85% sensitivity and 76% specificity for thrombotic occlusion (CI 0.72-0.90, P.001).In acute arterial occlusion, ≥ 0.5 mm dilatation or diminution in the occluded artery diameter is a useful duplex sign for diagnosing embolic or thrombotic occlusion, respectively.