Editor`s Message

Dear Readers,

The goal of the Journal of Invasive Cardiology is to provide state-of-the-art information that will support clinicians in the effective management of patients with cardiovascular disease. There are many selections in this issue that I hope readers will find useful in their clinical practice and will enhance the treatment of their patients. 

In the first original research selection, Dr. Kohei Wakabayashi and collaborators from the Washington Hospital Center, Division of Cardiology in Washington, DC present the results of their in vivo virtual histology intravascular ultrasound comparison of neointimal hyperplasia within drug-eluting versus bare metal stents. Next, Dr. Tejwant Singh and colleagues from the Department of Cardiology, St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit, Michigan present the results of their Jetstream G2 system post-market peripheral vascular Tissue Removal by Ultrasound Evaluation (TRUE) study.  Dr. Roger Laham and Michael S. Levy from BIDMC/Harvard Medical School in Boston have provided a commentary to accompany the Singh et al article. 

In the next original research selection, Dr. Ion Codreanu and collaborators from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, Flinders University in Australia, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut, the University Hospital in Freiburg and John Radcliff Hospital in Oxford, England report on their study of left ventricular remodeling and the mechanism of paradoxical ventricular septal motion after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Next, Dr. Islam Bolad and colleagues from the Krannert Institute of Cardiology and the Roudebush VA Medical Center, Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana present their research on cardiac events after non-cardiac surgery in patients with previous coronary intervention in the drug eluting stent era. Dr. Eugenia Nikolsky and Rafael Beyar have provided the commentary to accompany this article.

In the final original research selection, Dr. Arif Mahmood and colleagues from VA North Texas Healthcare System and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in Dallas, Texas report on their application of the distal balloon anchoring technique in complex coronary and peripheral interventions. Drs. Mohammad H. Pervaiz and Roger J. Laham from BIDMC/Harvard Medical School have provided the commentary to accompany this article.

In the clinical image selection for July, Drs. Marc Laine, Dominique Grisoli and Laurent Bonello from Hospital Universitaire Nord de Marseille and Hospital de la Timone in Marseille, France describe a case of atypical acute myocardial infarction. The new technique selection is from Drs. Hiroyuki Okura, Shintaro Nezuo and Kiyoshi Yoshida from the Kawasaki Medical School in Kurashiki, Japan and presents their successful stent implantation guided by IVUS and a Doppler guidewire without contrast injection in a patient with allergy to iodinated contrast media. Our rapid communications article features a case showing collateralization of an occluded left internal mammary artery coronary artery bypass graft and the use of Prasugrel in the management of subacute stent thrombosis due to Clopidogrel resistance provided by Drs. Flaherty, Johnston, and Rade from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.

Articles published in our “Online Exclusive” section this month include a case with transient coronary aneurysm formation after NEVO stent placement versus persistent coronary aneurysm after Cypher Select stent implantation, use of the novel microsnare to successfully remove small debris from the right coronary artery, treatment of a total occlusion using antegrade ballooning with the retrograde approach, a case showing sinus tachycardia as a first sign of aortic dissection, the use of percutaneous coronary vein angioplasty for severe spasm of the posterolateral vein during bi-ventricular pacing, use of the modified Fogarty technique for percutaneous retrieval of entrapped partially inflated broken coronary angioplasty balloon, challenges in the management of coronary to pulmonary artery fistulas, These selections can be found on our website and I encourage you to visit www.invasivecardiology.com to read these interesting and informative articles, as well as any past issues of the journal that you may have missed. Also take advantage of our links to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn from our home page for interesting discussions of important topics.

Sincerely,

Richard E. Shaw, PhD, FACC, FACA
Editor-in-Chief