Primary PCI Guideline Update: Multivessel Interventions In, Thrombectomy Out

The guidelines for primary PCI for ST-elevation MI (STEMI) have been updated to reflect major findings from recent trials: PCI of a noninfarct artery is now acceptable for some STEMI patients with multivessel disease. In previous guidelines PCI of noninfarct arteries had been considered unsafe. Routine thrombectomy prior to primary PCI for stent implantation is now…

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Are Most People With Complex Coronary Disease Getting The Best Treatment?

The relative value of PCI (stents) and bypass surgery for the treatment of people with blocked coronary arteries has been a topic of intense interest and debate for more than a generation now. Over time, the less invasive and more patient-friendly (and less scary) PCI has become the more popular procedure, but the surgeons (who…

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CABG Highly Cost Effective In Diabetics With Multivessel Disease

In November the main results of the FREEDOM trial showed that diabetics with multivessel disease do better with CABG than PCI. Now the findings of the trial’s cost-effectiveness study, published online in Circulation, demonstrate that CABG is also highly cost-effective when compared with PCI. Elizabeth Magnuson and colleagues  found that although CABG initially cost nearly $9,000 more…

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FREEDOM Lends Strong Support To CABG For Diabetics With Multivessel Disease

Editor’s note: The embargo on FREEDOM was lifted early after a press release was published by mistake.) Diabetics with multivessel disease do better with CABG than PCI, according to FREEDOM (Future Revascularization Evaluation in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: Optimal Management of Multivessel Disease), a large NIH-sponsored study presented at the American Heart Assocation in Los…

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Appropriate Use Criteria for Revascularization Updated

The ACC, AHA, and other organizations have released updated appropriate use criterial for coronary revascularization. The 2012 Appropriate Use Criteria for Coronary Revascularization Focused Update incorporates data from the SYNTAX trial on the indications for PCI and CABG in patients with symptomatic, multivessel disease, as well as data from the CathPCI registry. Here are some of the…

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