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Background: Physiological patterns of coronary artery disease (CAD) have emerged as potential determinants of functional results of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and of vessel-oriented clinical outcomes (VOCE)., Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the impact of angiography-derived physiological patterns of CAD on post-PCI functional results and long-term clinical outcomes., Methods: Pre-PCI angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR) virtual pullbacks were quantitatively interpreted and used to determine the physiological patterns of CAD. Suboptimal post-PCI physiology was defined as an angiography-derived FFR value ≤ 0.91. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of VOCE at the longest available follow-up., Results: Six hundred fifteen lesions from 516 patients were stratified into predominantly focal (n = 322, 52.3%) and predominantly diffuse (n = 293, 47.7%). Diffuse pattern of CAD was associated with lower post-PCI angiography-derived FFR values (0.91 ± 0.05 vs. 0.94 ± 0.05; p = 0.001) and larger rate of suboptimal post-PCI physiology (43.0 vs. 22.7%; p = 0.001), as compared to focal CAD. At the median follow-up time of 37 months (33-58), post-PCI suboptimal physiology was related to a higher risk of VOCE (16.2% vs. 7.6%; HR: 2.311; 95% CI 1.410-3.794; p = 0.0009), while no significant difference was noted according to baseline physiological pattern. In diffuse disease, the use of intracoronary imaging was associated with a lower incidence of long-term VOCE (5.1% vs 14.8%; HR: 0.313, 95% CI 0.167-0.614, p = 0.030)., Conclusions: Suboptimal post-PCI physiology is observed more often in diffusely diseased arteries and it is associated with higher risk of VOCE at follow-up. The use of intravascular imaging might improve clinical outcomes in the setting of diffuse CAD., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: ST is the co-founder of Pulse Medical, reports research grants and consultancy from Pulse Medical. WW reports grants and consulting fees from MicroPort, outside the submitted work, and medical advisor of Corrib Core Laboratory and Rede Optimus, co-founder of Argonauts, an innovation facilitator. RS reports speaker fees from Abbott Vascular and research grant from Philips and Abbott. FR reports research grant from Philips and Abbott. All other authors report no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: Calcific peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common finding in patients scheduled for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and often requires iliofemoral axis preparation. However, evidence about the use of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) in this setting is scarce. The aim of this study was to describe in-hospital and mid-term outcomes of IVL-assisted transfemoral (TF)-TAVI in patients with severe calcific PAD.n Methods: The study included 13 patients with severe calcified PAD who were initially scheduled for balloon angioplasty (PTA)-assisted TF-TAVI but were eventually treated with peripheral IVL between October 2020 and February 2024. Accurate analysis of preoperative computed tomography scans revealed difficult TF access routes (severe calcified PAD with minimal lumen diameter ≤ 4.5 mm, circumferential calcification along iliofemoral axis, and marked vessels tortuosity)., Results: In all cases, IVL was performed after PTA failure and allowed successful valve delivery. One patient had procedural bleeding (BARC-3a). The valve was successfully delivered without complications in 12 patients (92.3%), and no major adverse events were reported at the longest follow-up (median 18.5 months)., Conclusions: IVL-assisted TF-TAVI may represent a feasible and safe option for patients presenting with severe aortic stenosis and severe calcified PAD. However, standardization of the access site severity as well as indications for a planned up-front IVL-assisted strategy are missing and require dedicated studies.

Background: The ACURATE neo2 is a contemporary transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system approved for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis in Europe. The ACURATE neo2 has not been evaluated in bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) stenosis., Aims: We sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ACURATE neo2 in patients with BAV stenosis., Methods: We retrospectively analysed consecutive severe BAV stenosis patients undergoing TAVI with ACURATE neo2 at 10 European centres. Imaging data from preprocedural multislice computed tomography, pre- and postprocedural echocardiography, and procedural cinefluoroscopy were evaluated by a core laboratory. Valve Academic Research Consortium 3 (VARC-3)-defined 30-day procedure safety and efficacy were the primary endpoints. Adverse events were site-reported according to VARC-3 criteria., Results: Among 181 patients with BAV stenosis treated with the ACURATE neo2, the mean age was 77.5±7.2 years, 58.0% were female, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality (STS-PROM) score was 2.3% (1.6-3.7%). Most procedures were transfemoral, and predilatation was performed in all cases. A second valve was required in 4 cases (2.2%). VARC-3-defined technical success was 95.6%. The primary endpoints of device success and early safety occurred in 90.6% and 82.3%, respectively. At 30 days, cardiovascular death occurred in 2.2% (N=4) and stroke in 1.6% (N=3). Core laboratory-adjudicated echocardiography reported an effective orifice area of 2.0 (1.7-2.5) cm 2 and a mean transvalvular gradient of 6.5 (4.6-9.0) mmHg. Half of all cases (51.2%) had no paravalvular leak, while moderate leak occurred in 4.3%. A new permanent pacemaker was required in 11 patients (6.5%)., Conclusions: The ACURATE neo2 demonstrated favourable clinical outcomes and bioprosthetic valve performance at 30 days in selected patients with severe BAV stenosis.

Background: Inconsistent variations of hyperaemic and resting physiology indexes have been reported between pre- and post-transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)., Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the predominant physiological pattern of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with severe aortic stenosis (SAS) undergoing TAVI and assess its impact on fractional flow reserve (FFR) and instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) variations between pre- and post-TAVI., Methods: Patients with SAS and CAD undergoing FFR and iFR assessment before and after TAVI were included. Vessels were categorized based on FFR and iFR tertiles of change. Longitudinal vessel analysis using Murray's law-based quantitative flow ratio (μFR) was performed. Disease pattern was considered focal with μFR-pullback pressure gradient index (μFR-PPGi) ≥0.78, and local disease severity was stratified by instantaneous μFR gradient per unit length (dμFR/ds) with a value of 0.025/mm., Results: In total, 136 vessels (67 patients) were assessed with μFR, having paired pre- and post-TAVI FFR and iFR. μFR-PPGi was 0.73 ± 0.13, with 60.3 % showing diffuse CAD. dμFR/ds was 0.03 ± 0.03/mm, with 27.2 % having a major gradient. Vessels with decreased FFR post-TAVI had lower pre-TAVI FFR and higher dμFR/ds compared to stable or increased FFR vessels. iFR changes were unpredictable; both decreased and increased iFR vessels post-TAVI had lower pre-TAVI FFR and iFR values and showed major dμFR/ds gradients., Conclusions: In SAS patients undergoing TAVI, diffuse CAD without major gradients was the predominant physiological pattern. Post-TAVI, FFR typically decreased in vessels with major focal gradients, while iFR changes were more unpredictable., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest ST is the co-founder of Pulse Medical, reports research grants and consultancy from Pulse Medical. WW reports grants and consulting fees from MicroPort, outside the submitted work, and medical advisor of Corrib Core Laboratory and Rede Optimus, co-founder of Argonauts, an innovation facilitator. RS reports speaker fees from Abbott Vascular and research grant from Philips and Abbott. FR reports research grant from Philips and Abbott. All other authors report no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hypertension is a major driver of cardiovascular disease with a prevalence of 32-34% in adults worldwide. This poses a formidable unmet challenge for healthcare systems, highlighting the need for enhanced treatment strategies. Since 2017, eight major sham-controlled randomised controlled trials have examined the effectiveness and safety of renal denervation (RDN) as therapy for BP control. Although most trials demonstrated a reduction in systolic 24-hour/daytime ambulatory BP compared to control groups, open to discussion is whether major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE)-driven RDN trials are necessary or whether the proof of BP reduction as a surrogate for better cardiovascular outcomes is sufficient. We conducted an analysis of the statistical methods used in various trials to assess endpoint definitions and determine the necessity for MACE-driven outcome data. Such comprehensive analysis provides further evidence to confidently conclude that RDN significantly reduces blood pressure compared to sham controls. Importantly, this enables the interpolation of RDN trial endpoints with other studies that report on outcome data, such as pharmacological trials which demonstrate a significant reduction in MACE risk with a decrease in BP. Moreover, limitations associated with directly evaluating outcome data further support the use of BP as a surrogate endpoint. For example, conducting lengthier trials with larger numbers of participants to ensure robust statistical power presents a substantial challenge to evaluating outcome data. Thus, in light of the crucial need to tackle hypertension, there are notable advantages of considering BP as a surrogate for outcome data., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aims: We sought to investigate the association of left atrial strain with the outcome in a large cohort of patients with at least moderate aortic stenosis (AS)., Methods and Results: We analysed 467 patients (mean age 80.6 ± 8.2 years; 51% men) with at least moderate AS and sinus rhythm. The primary study endpoint was the composite of all-cause mortality and hospitalizations for heart failure. After a median follow-up of 19.2 (inter-quartile range 12.5-24.4) months, 96 events occurred. Using the receiver operator characteristic curve analysis, the cut-off value of peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS) more strongly associated with outcome was <16% {area under the curve (AUC) 0.70 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63-0.78], P < 0.001}. The Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated a higher rate of events for patients with PALS < 16% (log-rank P < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, PALS [adjusted HR (aHR) 0.95 (95% CI 0.91-0.99), P = 0.017] and age were the only variables independently associated with the combined endpoint. PALS provided incremental prognostic value over left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain, LV ejection fraction, and right ventricular function. Subgroup analysis revealed that impaired PALS was also independently associated with outcome in the subgroups of paucisymptomatic patients [aHR 0.98 (95% CI 0.97-0.98), P = 0.048], moderate AS [aHR 0.92, (95% CI 0.86-0.98), P = 0.016], and low-flow AS [aHR 0.90 (95% CI 0.83-0.98), P = 0.020]., Conclusion: In our patients with at least moderate AS, PALS was independently associated with outcome. In asymptomatic patients, PALS could be a potential marker of sub-clinical damage, leading to better risk stratification and, potentially, earlier treatment., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: D.S. and L.B. are members of the speaker bureaus of GE healthcare and Philips Medical Systems, and received research grants from GE Healthcare, Philips Medical Systems, TomTec Imaging Systems, and ESaOTE SpA. The remaining authors have nothing to disclose., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) at long term after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and to explore its relationship with extravalvular cardiac damage (EVCD). Moreover, we sought to test the correlation between angiography-derived index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR angio ) and invasive IMR in patients with aortic stenosis (AS)., Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of the Verona Valvular Heart Disease Registry (Italy) including 250 patients (83 (80-86) years, 53% female) with severe AS who underwent TAVI between 2019 and 2021. IMR angio was calculated offline using a computational flow model applied to coronary angiography obtained during the TAVI workup. CMD was defined as IMR angio ≥30 units.The primary endpoint was the composite of cardiovascular death and rehospitalisation for heart failure (HF). Advanced EVCD was defined as pulmonary circulation impairment, severe tricuspid regurgitation or right ventricular dysfunction.The correlation between IMR and IMR angio was prospectively assessed in 31 patients undergoing TAVI., Results: The primary endpoint occurred in 28 (11.2%) patients at a median follow-up of 22 (IQR 12-30) months. Patients with CMD met the primary endpoint more frequently than those without CMD (22.9% vs 2.8%, p<0.0001). Patients with CMD were more frequently characterised by advanced EVCD (33 (31.4%) vs 27 (18.6%), p=0.024). CMD was an independent predictor of adverse outcomes (adjusted HR 6.672 (2.251 to 19.778), p=0.001) and provided incremental prognostic value compared with conventional clinical and imaging variables. IMR angio demonstrated fair correlation with IMR., Conclusions: CMD is an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality and HF after TAVI., Competing Interests: Competing interests: RS reports research grant from Abbott Vascular and speakers fee from Abbott. FLR reports research grant from Abbott Vascular and Philips. The other authors report no conflict of interest., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) provide the prospect of restoring the anatomic and physiologic characteristics of the vascular wall., Objective: This study sought to examine the long-term outcomes of BRS-based coronary intervention in a young population with diffuse and severe coronary atherosclerotic disease (CAD) and to compare the long-term evolution of treated segments versus the natural progression of untreated non-flow limiting stenoses., Methods: Observational, single-center cohort study that prospectively included patients that underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with implantation of ABSORB BRS (Abbott Vascular). The clinical endpoint was the incidence of device-oriented composite endpoint (DoCE) up to 5 years follow-up. A subgroup of patients with baseline intracoronary imaging assessment of long lesions and/or multivessel disease underwent elective angiographic (70 patients, 129 lesions) and intracoronary imaging (55 patients, 102 lesions) follow-up. Paired intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and quantitative flow reserve (QFR) were analyzed., Results: Between 2012 and 2017, 159 patients (mean age 54.0 ± 11.1) with native CAD were treated with BRS on 247 lesions. Patients were mainly at their first cardiac event, mostly acute coronary syndromes (86.5%). At the median follow-up time of 56 months [41-65], DoCE occurred in 15/159 (9.4%) patients, while non-target vessel-oriented composite endpoint occurred in 16 patients (10.4%). A significant atherosclerotic progression was detected on residual non-flow limiting plaques as per IVUS and QFR assessment, while no significant change was detected in the treated segment., Conclusions: Mild-to-moderate asymptomatic CAD progressed significantly at 5-year despite OMT. BRS-treated segments had a less aggressive progression at 5-year despite more severe and symptomatic CAD at baseline., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest ALL the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Angiography-derived computational physiology is an appealing alternative to pressure-wire coronary physiology assessment. However, little is known about its reliability in the setting of severe aortic stenosis. This study sought to provide an integrated assessment of epicardial and microvascular coronary circulation by means of single-view angiography-derived physiology in patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)., Methods: Pre-TAVI angiographic projections of 198 stenotic coronary arteries (123 patients) were analyzed by means of Murray's law-based quantitative flow ratio and angiography microvascular resistance. Wire-based reference measurements were available for comparison: fractional flow reserve (FFR) in all cases, instantaneous wave-free ratio in 148, and index of microvascular resistance in 42 arteries., Results: No difference in terms of the number of ischemia-causing stenoses was detected between FFR ≤0.80 and Murray's law-based quantitative flow ratio ≤0.80 (19.7% versus 19.2%; P =0.899), while this was significantly higher when instantaneous wave-free ratio ≤0.89 (44.6%; P =0.001) was used. The accuracy of Murray's law-based quantitative flow ratio ≤0.80 in predicting pre-TAVI FFR ≤0.80 was significantly higher than the accuracy of instantaneous wave-free ratio ≤0.89 (93.4% versus 77.0%; P =0.001), driven by a higher positive predictive value (86.9% versus 50%). Similar findings were observed when considering post-TAVI FFR ≤0.80 as reference. In 82 cases with post-TAVI angiographic projections, Murray's law-based quantitative flow ratio values remained stable, with a low rate of reclassification of stenosis significance (9.9%), similar to FFR and instantaneous wave-free ratio. Angiography microvascular resistance demonstrated a significant correlation (Rho=0.458; P =0.002) with index of microvascular resistance, showing an area under the curve of 0.887 (95% CI, 0.752-0.964) in predicting index of microvascular resistance ≥25., Conclusions: Angiography-derived physiology provides a valid, reliable, and systematic assessment of the coronary circulation in a complex scenario, such as severe aortic stenosis., Competing Interests: Disclosures Dr Tu is the cofounder of Pulse Medical, reports research grants and consultancy from Pulse Medical. Dr Wijns reports grants and consulting fees from MicroPort, outside the submitted work, and medical advisor of Corrib Core Laboratory and Rede Optimus, cofounder of Argonauts, an innovation facilitator. Dr Scarsini reports speaker fees from Abbott Vascular and research grant from Philips and Abbott. Dr Ribichini reports research grant from Philips and Abbott. The other authors report no conflicts.

Background: The optimal timing to perform percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) patients remains unknown., Aims: We sought to compare different PCI timing strategies in TAVI patients., Methods: The REVASC-TAVI registry is an international registry including patients undergoing TAVI with significant, stable coronary artery disease (CAD) at preprocedural workup. In this analysis, patients scheduled to undergo PCI before, after or concomitantly with TAVI were included. The main endpoints were all-cause death and a composite of all-cause death, stroke, myocardial infarction (MI) or rehospitalisation for congestive heart failure (CHF) at 2 years. Outcomes were adjusted using the inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) method., Results: A total of 1,603 patients were included. PCI was performed before, after or concomitantly with TAVI in 65.6% (n=1,052), 9.8% (n=157) or 24.6% (n=394), respectively. At 2 years, all-cause death was significantly lower in patients undergoing PCI after TAVI as compared with PCI before or concomitantly with TAVI (6.8% vs 20.1% vs 20.6%; p<0.001). Likewise, the composite endpoint was significantly lower in patients undergoing PCI after TAVI as compared with PCI before or concomitantly with TAVI (17.4% vs 30.4% vs 30.0%; p=0.003). Results were confirmed at landmark analyses considering events from 0 to 30 days and from 31 to 720 days., Conclusions: In patients with severe aortic stenosis and stable coronary artery disease scheduled for TAVI, performance of PCI after TAVI seems to be associated with improved 2-year clinical outcomes compared with other revascularisation timing strategies. These results need to be confirmed in randomised clinical trials.

Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Background: The best management of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is still unclear due to the marked inconsistency of the available evidence., Methods: The REVASC-TAVI registry (Management of Myocardial Revascularization in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation With Coronary Artery Disease) collected data from 30 centers worldwide on patients undergoing TAVI who had significant, stable CAD at preprocedural work-up. For the purposes of this analysis, patients with either complete or incomplete myocardial revascularization were compared in a propensity score matched analysis, to take into account of baseline confounders. The primary and co-primary outcomes were all-cause death and the composite of all-cause death, stroke, myocardial infarction, and rehospitalization for heart failure, respectively, at 2 years., Results: Among 2407 patients enrolled, 675 pairs of patients achieving complete or incomplete myocardial revascularization were matched. The primary (21.6% versus 18.2%, hazard ratio' 0.88 [95% CI, 0.66-1.18]; P =0.38) and co-primary composite (29.0% versus 27.1%, hazard ratio' 0.97 [95% CI, 0.76-1.24]; P =0.83) outcome did not differ between patients achieving complete or incomplete myocardial revascularization, respectively. These results were consistent across different prespecified subgroups of patients (< or >75 years of age, Society of Thoracic Surgeons score > or <4%, angina at baseline, diabetes, left ventricular ejection fraction > or <40%, New York Heart Association class I/II or III/IV, renal failure, proximal CAD, multivessel CAD, and left main/proximal anterior descending artery CAD; all P values for interaction >0.10)., Conclusions: The present analysis of the REVASC-TAVI registry showed that, among TAVI patients with significant stable CAD found during the TAVI work-up, completeness of myocardial revascularization achieved either staged or concomitantly with TAVI was similar to a strategy of incomplete revascularization in reducing the risk of all cause death, as well as the risk of death, stroke, myocardial infarction, and rehospitalization for heart failure at 2 years, regardless of the clinical and anatomical situations.

Background: The best timing to perform percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in patients undergoing TAVI is unknown. Most PCI are performed before TAVI, because of concerns about potential ischemic complications during valve implantation. In this study we aimed to compare short-and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing PCI before or after TAVI., Methods: Patients undergoing TAVI and PCI from 2010 to 2021 were analyzed. PCI was defined as high-risk when involving unprotected left main, proximal left anterior descending, proximal dominant right coronary artery or 3-vessel disease. The primary endpoint was the cumulative incidence of any TAVI procedural complication and in-hospital adverse events (VARC-3 criteria)., Results: Out of 1162 patients, 144 underwent PCI, 68% after TAVI, 78.4% of which were at high-risk. The primary endpoint occurred in 28.4% of patients in PCI pre-TAVI group vs 21.4% in PCI post-TAVI group (p = 0.403) and in 34.4% vs 17.3% of patients respectively among high-risk patients (p = 0.075). A higher rate of stroke was observed in the PCI pre-TAVI group regardless of the PCI complexity (6.5% vs 0.0%, p = 0.031; 9.3% vs 0.0% p = 0.025 in the high-risk group). At 24 months, MACCE-free survival was lower in patients who underwent PCI before TAVI (84.4% vs 97.9%, adjusted HR 10.16, 95% CI 1.19-86.57, p = 0.019; and 84.4% vs 97.3%, adjusted HR 7.34 95% CI 0.78-62.28 p = 0.082 in the high-risk group)., Conclusions: PCI performed after TAVI does not expose patients to higher risks of peri-procedural hazards and provides a trend towards favourable clinical outcome at mid-to-long term., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: Whether incomplete functional revascularization has an impact on the clinical outcome of patients treated with transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is still unknown. We aim to assess the prognostic value of residual functional SYNTAX score (rFSS) in a cohort of patients undergoing TAVI., Methods and Results: One-hundred-twenty-four patients (229 lesions) with severe aortic stenosis and coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided revascularization. The primary endpoint of the study was the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and revascularization at the last available follow-up after TAVI. Median SYNTAX score (SS) and Functional SYNTAX score (FSS) at baseline were 7 (range 5-12) and 0 (range 0-7) respectively. After revascularization or deferral according to FFR, residual SS (rSS) and rFSS were 5 (range 0-8) and 0 (range 0-0) respectively. Angiographic incomplete revascularization (rSS > 0) was not associated with the primary endpoint (HR 1.2; 95% CI 0.4-3.9; p = 0.69), whereas functional incomplete revascularization (rFSS>0) was associated with worse event-free survival at follow up after adjusting for clinical confounders (HR 3.7; 95% CI 1.0-13.7; p = 0.04)., Conclusion: Incomplete functional revascularization is associated with adverse clinical outcomes after TAVI. Residual functional SYNTAX score may be regarded as a treatment goal for patients with CAD undergoing TAVI. Further studies are warranted to confirm our hypothesis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None. All authors participated in the research and preparation of the manuscript., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Fractional flow reserve (FFR) and instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) disagree in about 20% of intermediate coronary lesions. As the physiological pattern of coronary artery disease has a significant influence on FFR-iFR discordance, we sought to assess it may impact on the diagnostic accuracy of quantitative flow reserve (QFR)., Methods: One hundred and ninety-four patients with 224 intermediate coronary lesions were investigated with iFR, FFR, and QFR. The physiological pattern of disease was assessed with iFR Scout pullback and QFR virtual pullback in all the cases., Results: A predominantly physiologically focal pattern was observed in 81 (36.2%) lesions, whereas a predominantly physiologically diffuse was observed in 143 (63.8%) cases. QFR demonstrated a significant correlation (r = 0.581, p < 0.001) and a substantial agreement with iFR, both in diffuse (AUC = 0.798) and in focal (AUC = 0.812) pattern of disease. Discordance between QFR and iFR was observed in 51 (22.8%) lesions, consisting of iFR+/QFR- (64.7%) and iFR-/QFR+ (35.3%). Notably, the physiological pattern of disease was the only variable significantly associated with iFR/QFR discordance. QFR virtual pullback demonstrated an excellent agreement (83.9%) with iFR Scout pullback in classifying the physiological pattern of disease., Conclusions: QFR has a good diagnostic accuracy in assessing myocardial ischemia independently of the pattern of coronary disease. However, the physiological pattern of disease has an influence on the QFR/iFR discordance, which occurs in ~20% of the cases. The QFR virtual pullback correctly defined the physiological pattern of disease in the majority of the cases using the iFR pullback as reference., (© 2021 The Authors. Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background The impact of staged versus concomitant coronary procedures on renal function in patients with aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) remains unclear. Methods and Results Three-hundred thirty-nine patients undergoing coronary procedures and TAVI as a staged strategy (160, 47.2%) or concomitant strategy (179, 52.8%) were retrospectively analyzed. Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) occurred in 49 patients in the staged strategy group (30.6%) and in 18 patients (10.1%) in the concomitant strategy group ( P <0.001). Among the staged strategy group, 25 (15.6%) patients developed CI-AKI after coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention, 17 (10.6%) after TAVI, and 7 (4.3%) after both the procedures. Staged strategy was associated with a higher risk of CI-AKI (odds ratio, 3.948; P <0.001) after adjustment for multiple confounders and regardless of the baseline renal function ( P for interaction=0.4) when compared with the concomitant strategy. At a median follow-up of 24.0 months (3.0-35.3), CI-AKI was not associated with sustained renal injury ( P =0.794), irrespective of the adopted strategy. The concomitant strategy did not impact the overall early safety at 30 days follow-up after TAVI compared to the staged strategy ( P =0.609). Conclusions Performing coronary procedures with a staged strategy before TAVI was associated with a higher risk of CI-AKI compared with a concomitant strategy. Moreover, a concomitant strategy did not increase the risk of procedure-related complications.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a common finding among patients undergoing trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), who often present severely calcified coronary lesions. Evidence is scarce about the use of rotational atherectomy (RA) in this setting, in particular regarding long-term outcome., Methods: RA was performed on severely calcified coronary lesions concomitant with TAVI in a consecutive series of patients treated between 2010 and 2020. Immediate and long-term clinical outcomes are reported., Results: A concomitant CAD (coronary stenosis visually > 50%) was observed in 402/845 (47.6%) consecutive patients undergoing TAVI at the University Hospital of Verona. Angioplasty was performed in 104 patients (12.3%). Among these, 19 patients (18.3%, 20 coronary arteries), were treated with RA after TAVI: 10 after implantation of a balloon-expandable trans-catheter valve and 9 after a self-expandable valve. All procedures were successful. Hypotension occurred in 3 patients (15.8%), with rapid recovery after the procedure; CI-AKI (contrast-induced acute kidney injury) in 3 patients (15.8%), of which two recovered within discharge. At a median follow-up of 21.5 months (Q1-3: 6-36) event free survival was 83.3%. Only one patient suffered a target vessel failure >2 years after RA. Neither stroke nor peri-procedural infarctions were detected., Conclusions: RA concomitant with TAVI was feasible and safe in patients treated with implantation of either self-expandable, or balloon-expandable trans-catheter aortic valves. Long-term clinical events related to the coronary procedure were extremely infrequent and the survival rate at median follow-up of 21.5 months was 83.3%.

Objectives: This study aimed to predict the displacement of self-expanding transcatheter heart valves (THV) during final deployment., Background: Accurate device positioning during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is crucial for optimal results., Methods: At our institution, 103 patients who underwent transfemoral TAVI with Evolut R were retrospectively identified. Multiple linear regression models were created, and a predictor equation was built to quantify the factors that may affect THV behavior., Results: Multiple linear regression analysis for THV displacement on the left coronary cusp (LCC) identified the angle between the THV and the ascending aorta (ATA), predilation, and less operator experience as independent predictors of upward displacement, whereas estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was inversely related with THV behavior (95% confidence interval: 0.219 to 0.340, 0.447 to 2.092, 0.165 to 1.757, and -0.053 to -0.011, respectively). Predictors of THV displacement on the noncoronary cusp side could not be identified using this model., Conclusions: The ATA at the point of recapture, predilation, and less operator experience were independent predictors of upward displacement of THV on the LCC side. eGFR was an independent predictor of THV downward displacement on the LCC side. Of them, the ATA was the strongest predictor. Physicians may need to adjust this angle adequately before deployment to achieve the appropriate position., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Surgical treatment of functional mitral regurgitation (MR) is usually based on the correction of both annular dilation and leaflet disease to minimize the risk of recurrence of MR at follow-up. This combined approach may also represent an interesting strategy during transcatheter mitral valve repair systems. We report a successful case of combined Cardioband (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, California) and MitraClip (Abbott, Santa Clara, California) implantation for the treatment of functional MR, with good acute and medium-term clinical and echocardiographic outcomes., (Copyright © 2018 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)