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Past, Present & Future of Transradial Angioplasty with Dr. Ferdinand Kiemeneij
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of transradial intervention (TRI), I talked with Dr. Ferdinand Kiemeneij, "the father of transradial intervention" who practices interventional cardiology at Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis (OLVG), Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We covered a wide range of topics regarding TRI, where angioplasty and stents are placed via the wrist, and we've just posted the two-part interview on Angioplasty.Org. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - June 30, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Training is Key to Adoption of Transradial Wrist Approach to PCI
An Editor's perspective piece about the transradial (wrist) approach to angioplasty and stents appears in the current issue of "Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions." Penned by Associate Editor J. Dawn Abbott, MD, the article, titled "Diffusion of Innovations and Adoption of Transradial Intervention," explores why it has taken so long (and continues to) for the transradial approach to be adopted widely in the U.S., given that the evidence from clinical trials has been clear, and that the economic and patient comfort benefits are evident. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - June 26, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Meta-Analysis Shows Benefit of Drug-Eluting Stents vs BMS Below the Knee
Guest post from Dr. Frank J. Criado, Editor in Chief of Vascular Disease Management, examines a recent meta-analysis of DES vs BMS for therapy below the knee. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - June 23, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

USA Today Claims Stents and Angioplasty "Often Unnecessary"
Yesterday's edition of USA Today carried an article by Peter Eisler titled, "Six common surgeries often done unnecessarily" — and, you guessed it, angioplasty and stents were at the top of the list. I was a bit taken aback because I was not aware of any new study, federal or independent, that concluded stents were being vastly over-used. And it turns out that there wasn't one. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - June 20, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Oldest Stent Patient is Also Oldest Transradial Patient
Pretty amazing! Last week a 104-year-old man from Noida, India became reportedly the oldest patient ever to receive an angioplasty and stent. As reported in the Hindustan Times, Hari Singh was admitted to Metro Hospital and Heart Institute on May 16 with chest pain. Angiography showed two 100% totally occluded arteries and a 90% blockage near the origin of his Left Anterior Descending (LAD) artery. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - May 25, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Transradial Approach Surging in the U.S.
Interventional cardiologists…listen up!! Stent and angioplasty procedures in the United States are now done through the wrist 15-20% of the time. This is a big change! And, according to Dr. Sanjit Jolly of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, in three to five years, half of all U.S. procedures will be done through the wrist. Get that interventional cardiologists? HALF! (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - May 15, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Andreas Gruentzig on "Complications"
The paradox of low occurrence of complications yet high impact on the individual has been around for a long time, but I always remember the comments of Andreas Gruentzig, the inventor of coronary angioplasty, when I interviewed him in 1985. Gruentzig, ever conscious of the patient, discussed the question of complications and had very specific thoughts about the physician's role. See the video. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - April 29, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Dr. Ajay Kirtane Named Co-Director of TCT 25
The TCT (Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics) annual meeting is, according to its organizers, the world's largest and most important conference in interventional cardiovascular medicine. And this year marks the 25th Anniversary of the TCT (note: the entire field of interventional cardiology is only 36 years of age). This year also marks Dr. Ajay Kirtane's role as an official Co-Director of the TCT, in recognition of his contributions and dedication to the meeting. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - April 29, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

FDA Panel Decision on Mitraclip Approval: It's Safe and "Sort of" Effective
Today's FDA Circulatory System Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee heard testimony from Abbott Vascular, surgeons, cardiologists and patients about the MitraClip Clip Delivery System and what its recommendations to the FDA would be regarding approval of the device. The votes were 8-0 on safety, 5-4 against efficacy, and 5-3 for a favorable risk-benefit ratio. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - March 20, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Transradial on the Hudson
For interventional cardiologists in the Northeast, the next few months offer two important transradial training opportunities…on both sides of the Hudson River: in New Jersey, on April 20, will be the Mid-Atlantic Radial Symposium (MARS2013); and in New York, on June 28-29, will be the NYCTRAC, organized by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - March 1, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

No More Financial Assistance for Plavix from Bristol-Myers But Are Generics Really the Same?
Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) is no longer offering its $37-a-month Plavix® Co-Pay Discount Card. And some patients are not happy about this. Additionally, according to the company's web site for "Patient Assistance Programs," the company is no longer making this life-saving drug available to patients who cannot afford it. This, of course, has something to do with the fact that brand-name Plavix has gone off patent and generic versions have been available since May 2012. But are the generic versions of clopidogrel really the same? (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - February 18, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

European Society of Cardiology: "Transradial Access Should Be 1st Choice for Angioplasty"
This is very big news. Today the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA) and the Working Group (WG) on Thrombosis of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) published their joint consensus document on the radial approach to PCI, online ahead of print in EuroIntervention. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - January 28, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Follow-up to Transradial Angioplasty on the Dr. Oz Show
Last month Dr. Oz did a segment on transradial angioplasty and featured Dr. Jennifer Tremmel. But while what Dr. Tremmel discussed was certainly of interest to Dr. Oz's lay audience, the story of how she came to practice the transradial approach is most instructive for those interventional cardiologists who are thinking about learning the radial technique. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - January 28, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Back to the Future: Drug-Eluting Angioplasty Balloons, Dissolving Stents, FFR and More
When I have interviewed Drs. Nico Pijls, Bernard De Bruyne, William Fearon, and Justin Davies, proponents of the modern-day fractional flow reserve (FFR) technology, I asked, "Isn't FFR the modern version of what Andreas Gruentzig was doing with pressure gradients when he first invented coronary angioplasty almost four decades ago?" And the answer was, "Absolutely, yes!" (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - January 24, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Transradial Training in the Northwest
Swedish Medical Center and the Seattle Science Foundation are teaming up once again to provide training in the transradial (or wrist) approach for interventional cardiologists. Titled "The Transradial Approach: A Case-based and Hands-on Training Course," this two-day course runs from March 1-2, 2013. The faculty consists of cardiology chief Dr. Peter J. Casterella and the staff at Swedish Medical Center, along with Dr. Sunil V. Rao from Duke. (Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear)
Source: Burts Stent Blog : The Voice in the Ear - January 14, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs