Dave Fornell, DAIC Editor

Dave Fornell, Editor DAIC

Blog | Dave Fornell, DAIC Editor | January 30, 2017

DAIC’s Website Broke 1 Million Pageviews; Two Key TCT Takeaways

DAIC has worked hard to bring useful technology news and resources to our readers. While we conduct reader surveys and speak to readers at site visits and conferences, one of the clearest views we have of reader interests is based on what they are reading on our website, e-newsletters and digital editions. We have responded to these analytics in what we publish and how we cover new cardiovascular technology. The result has been a big increase in our online readership over the past year. For the first time, DAIC’s website broke 1 million pageviews in November 2016. We wanted to thank our readers for helping us reach this milestone. 

See a list of the “Most Popular Cardiology Articles of 2016 From DAIC.”

See the list of “Top Cardiology Videos on DAIC in 2016.”

 

Two Key Takeaways at TCT 2016

After decompressing from the interventional information overload at the annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference in November, I felt there were two big technology takeaways requiring an in-depth review.  These included the EXCEL Trial and the results of three studies that compared bioresorbable polymer metallic drug-eluting stents (DES) to the current standard durable polymer metallic DES. 

The EXCEL Trial was the biggest news at TCT.16. It compared the use of the Abbott Xience V DES to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in patients with left main disease. The result of this large randomized trial was that both have equal outcomes. You can read the article with more detail at  "Stents Have Equal Outcomes to Bypass Surgery in EXCEL Trial."

Durable drug-carrier polymers on DES have been implicated as the cause of late-stent thrombosis, which has led to long-duration use of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). The introduction of bioresorbable polymers was expected to eliminate late events and the need for long-term DAPT. However, results from three trials of bioresorbable polymer DES showed equal outcomes and no apparent benefit. Read more detail and here Boston Scientific's response to the data in the article "Bioresorbable Polymers on Metallic Stents Show No Superiority to Durable Polymer Stents."

 

New DAIC Editorial Board Members

DAIC recently added two new Editorial Board members who are experts in cutting-edge interventional and structural heart technologies. The first is Azeem Latib, M.D., an interventional cardiologist at Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele Milano, Milan, Italy. He is a regular speaker at  TCT and other conferences. His research interests include new transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement technologies and bioresorbable stents. Read his recent article on the Cardioband annuloplasty device, "Transcatheter Annuloplasty For Repair Versus Replacement in Functional Mitral Regurgitation."

Our second new board member is Torsten Vahl, M.D., director of experimental and translational research and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, The Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy. He also is a regular speaker at TCT and is involved in bleeding-edge research and trials for new structural heart interventions. Watch a video interview with Vahl at TCT 2016, "Transcatheter Valve Technology Advancements at TCT 2016."
 


Related Content

News | Heart Valve Technology

May 9, 2023 — Edwards Lifesciences announced new data from the COMMENCE aortic trial, demonstrating low rates of ...

Home May 09, 2023
Home
News | Heart Valve Technology

February 28, 2023 — On Feb. 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Letter to Health Care Providers to ...

Home February 28, 2023
Home
News | Heart Valve Technology

January 23, 2023 — Leakage of the mitral valve due to degenerative prolapse is a common condition known as primary ...

Home January 23, 2023
Home
News | Heart Valve Technology

January 2, 2023 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the approval to market to The Edwards ...

Home January 02, 2023
Home
News | Heart Valve Technology

December 29, 2022 — The Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai was named a Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center, a ...

Home December 29, 2022
Home
News | Heart Valve Technology

December 14, 2022 — Edwards Lifesciences identified the top data releases from 2022 that contributed most to shaping ...

Home December 14, 2022
Home
News | Heart Valve Technology

November 22, 2022 — CroíValve has announced the successful First in Human implants of its DUO Tricuspid Coaptation Valve ...

Home November 22, 2022
Home
News | Heart Valve Technology

October 18, 2022 — Foldax, Inc. announced that medtech veteran Gregory D. Casciaro has been named Chief Executive ...

Home October 18, 2022
Home
News | Heart Valve Technology

October 18, 2022 — The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) clearance to Abiomed for its ...

Home October 18, 2022
Home
News | Heart Valve Technology

September 26, 2022 — Edwards Lifesciences announced the launch of the SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA valve, which incorporates ...

Home September 26, 2022
Home
Subscribe Now