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Background: Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) causes hypertension (HTN) and threatens renal function (RF). The HERCULES Trial is a prospective, multicenter trial of renal stenting in patients with uncontrolled HTN and ARAS evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the RX Herculink Elite Renal Stent System (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA)., Methods: A total of 202 patients (241 total lesions; 78 bilateral lesions) were enrolled between August 2007 and October 2009. The primary endpoint was 9-month binary restenosis determined by duplex ultrasound and/or angiography. Secondary endpoints included changes in blood pressure, antihypertensive medications, and RF between baseline and 9 months. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) was measured at baseline, 24 hr and 30 days postprocedure., Results: Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) at baseline was 162 mm Hg. Nearly 70% of patients were receiving three or more antihypertensive medications (mean 3.4 medications per patient). Baseline serum creatinine was 1.2 ± 0.4 and 61.5% of subjects had estimated glomerular filtration <60. The restenosis rate was 10.5% at 9 months. The study device, procedure, and clinical success rates were 96.0, 99.2, and 98.0%, respectively. Freedom from major adverse events was 94.8%. At 9 months, the mean SBP significantly decreased (mean 145, paired t test P < 0.0001) after stenting with no change in medications. There was no correlation between SBP reduction and baseline BNP or BNP reduction., Conclusions: HERCULES demonstrates clinically and statistically significant SBP reduction in patients with uncontrolled HTN, low in-stent restenosis, and complication rates. This study highlights that when appropriate patients are selected for renal artery stenting, impressive reductions in blood pressure may be anticipated. Although the magnitude of absolute reduction in SBP was related to baseline SBP, elevated baseline BNP levels were not predictive of reduction in SBP. Further studies for predictors of clinical response following percutaneous renal revascularization are needed., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objective: Many medical procedures undergo rapid evolution and process of care improvements after introduction. National outcome standards are useful to help physicians, institutions, and other stakeholders evaluate the quality of their programs and take action when suboptimal outcomes are identified. The purpose of this analysis was to derive contemporary risk-adjusted stroke rates from a large, contemporary, independently assessed outcome database within 30 days after carotid artery stenting (CAS) in the United States., Methods: The second phase of carotid ACCULINK/ACCUNET post approval trial to uncover rare events (CAPTURE 2) is an ongoing prospective, multicenter, clinical trial conducted to assess CAS outcomes in the general practice setting after device approval for high surgical risk patients (symptomatic with >50% stenosis or asymptomatic with >80% stenosis). A neurologist examined the patients before the procedure, at 1 day and 30 days after CAS. The primary endpoint was a composite of death, any stroke, or myocardial infarction (MI) within the periprocedural period. Strokes and neurologic events suspected to be strokes were adjudicated by an independent clinical events adjudication committee. Logistic regression analysis including stepwise logistic and multivariable modeling was performed to determine clinical predictors of periprocedural stroke outcome and generate a parsimonious model that could be used for a clinical standard., Results: Five thousand two hundred ninety-seven consecutive patients (5297) had CAS performed by 459 physicians at 186 sites before the data cutoff of January 10, 2009. The 30-day rate of stroke was 2.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.3-3.2). Multivariable predictors of periprocedural stroke included age, symptomatic status, and dwell time of embolic protection device. A parsimonious model P(i) = 1/(1+e (-(-3.83 + 0.51 x (symptomatic) + 0.31 x (age >or=80) + 0.62 x (age >or=80 x symptomatic))), including symptomatic and octogenarian status and the term of the interaction of the two, was established based on consideration of clinical predictors, clinical interaction, and practicability., Conclusion: CAS outcomes in patients at high surgical risk have comparable periprocedural outcomes to published randomized trials of endarterectomy for patients at standard surgical risk. A model is presented for calculating a contemporary national standard for risk-adjusted stroke rates. Quality improvement measures could be based on relative performance to this benchmark and could improve overall outcomes for patients undergoing CAS.