[REFORCE registry]. / Registre REFORCE.

Severe coronary artery calcification, too often underestimated, increases the complexity of percutaneous coronary interventions. Atherectomy is one of preferred approach for the preparation of calcified lesions before stent placement. Orbital atherectomy is a new method that has proven to be safe and effective in the preparation of calcium plaques (ORBIT I and ORBIT II studies). The recent introduction in France allows to perform a prospective registry named REFORCE. Its main objective is to include 300 patients in order to evaluate security and safety of the device in France during routine use.

[Imaging and radial approach]. / Imagerie et voie radiale.

Radial approach allows in a large majority of cases to perform endovascular imaging. If we can assess anatomical variations with angiography, echography approach begins a mandatory tool to do the puncture safely, but also allows to identify anatomical variations and complications.

[Infection and TAVI]. / Infection et TAVI.

Since trans-catheter valve implantation (TAVI) has emerged for severe symptomatic aortic stenosis treatment, infective endocarditis (IE) appears as a rare but severe complication. Like surgical aortic valve remplacement infective endocarditis (SAVR-IE), TAVI-IE has a noxious impact on morbidity and mortality. Compared to SAVR-IE, TAVI-IE present some similarities as well as differences. Most TAVI-IE occurred during the first year and enterococcus is the more common pathogen. A multimodality imaging approach including echocardiography, multislice computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography-CT with blood culture is necessary for the diagnosis. In this high-risk population, the vast majority of TAVI-IE patients are treated with antibiotic therapy alone. Consequently to the expanded indication, the increasing number of TAVI-IE will appear more frequently. If initially only few clinical cases of IE were reported, sparse observational multicenter registries have now been published. Relevant differences were noted on these registries, but some recent publications have provided new informations on IE. The present review reports incidence, symptoms, microbiological profil, risk factors and clinicals outcomes of TAVI-IE. Eventually, we describe the management and the treatment of IE in the context of TAVI.

[Radial artery occlusion ofter coronarography: is it really a problem?] / L'occlusion de l'artère radiale après cathétérisme cardiaque : est-ce réellement un problème ?

The use of transradial access for cardiac procedures has increased worldwide over the past two decades. Despite the many advantages this technique offers, there remains some concern that radial artery occlusion, a potential complication of radial cannulation, might lead to significant ischemic sequelae in the hand. This paper reviews the major causes, its possible consequences and the strategies for its prevention and treatment. It appears however from multiple studies that there is little or no correlation between radial occlusion and symptomatic hand ischemia.

[Best conditions to perform TAVI procedures]. / Les bonnes conditions pour réaliser des TAVI.

Well conditions to perform TAVI procedures are guided by ministry regulation and dedicated to centers with both on-site a cath-lab and cardiac surgery. Heart Team decision is mandatory to select patient for TAVI and local anesthesia is recommended. Conditions changes would be discuss according to increased procedures number related to indications evolution.

Position paper of French Interventional Group (GACI) for TAVI in France in 2018.

Aortic stenosis is a frequent disease in the elderly. Its prevalence is 0.4% with a sharp increase after the age of 65, and its outcome is very poor when the patient becomes symptomatic. The interventional procedure known as TAVI (trans-catheter aortic valve implantation), which was developed in France and carried out for the first time in Rouen by Prof. Alain Cribier and his team in 2002, has proven to be a valid alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement. At first, this technique was shown to be efficient in patients with contra-indications to surgical treatment or deemed to be at high surgical risk. Given the very promising outcomes achieved as a result of close heart team collaboration, appropriate patient selection, simplified procedures and reduced complication rates, transfemoral (TF) TAVI is now preferred in symptomatic intermediate risk patients>75 years old according to the latest ESC guidelines. In 2017, in France, TAVI is currently performed in 50 centers with on-site cardiac surgery. The 2016 TAVI outcomes recorded in the French national TAVI registry (France TAVI) are very encouraging and show that for 7133 patients treated (age 83.4±7 years, logistic Euroscore 14%), 87% of whom via the TF approach, cross-over to surgery was very low (0.5%) with a 3.0% in-hospital mortality rate. The substantial increase in TAVI indications and the improvement of its outcomes may in the near future call for a reconsideration of the number of high volume centers authorized to carry out this technique.

[Radial approach in the elderly]. / Abord radial chez le sujet âgé.

Due to the steady increase in life expectancy, the number of patients over 80 years of age proposed for coronary angioplasty is increasing significantly. The elderly patient is a patient at high cardiovascular risk and high risk of bleeding; whose severity of prognosis depends of comorbidities. The radial approach presents particularities and technical difficulties that have to be known in this part of the population, but reduce vascular and hemorrhagic complications, as well as mortality. Because of greater safety, the radial approach is therefore the first choice for the elderly.

[Contribution of intracoronary imaging in acute coronary syndrome]. / Apport de l'imagerie endocoronaire dans le syndrome coronarien aigu.

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the world, although it has considerably decreased through technical and pharmacological advances. The physiopathological approach of the ACS has progressed considerably in recent years thanks to the anatomopathological work and the data of the endocoronary imaging, in particular of the endovascular ultrasound (IVUS). Plaque rupture is the most common cause of ACS, however OCT (optical coherence tomography) studies have shown that surface plaque erosion was more common than thought. The use of OCT in the ACS may prove to be a valuable diagnostic aid: study of the culpable lesion, spontaneous coronary dissection or intramural spontaneous hematoma, stent thrombosis; from a therapeutic point of view: reduction of the risk of stent malapposition, additional technique, delayed stenting, implantation of a bioresorbable stent, medical treatment of ACS without stenting. Endocoronary imaging, especially OCT, will of course never be systematic as treatment of ACS, but providing excellent value for both diagnosis and treatment, it must be an integral part of the therapeutic arsenal available in cathlab.

[Management of high-risk pulmonary embolism with pulmonary artery trunk mobile thrombus]. / Gestion d'une embolie pulmonaire à haut risque avec thrombus mobile du tronc artériel pulmonaire.

The presence of a right intraventricular thrombus is a marker of severity of pulmonary embolism (PE), and is associated with high mortality. We report the case of a young patient with a PE postoperative of patellar tendon surgery. The cardiac echocardiography at its admission revealed a voluminous mobile thrombus of 1.7cm diameter located on the pulmonary trunk. Systemic thrombolysis was performed because of respiratory deterioration allowing a rapid disappearance of the thrombus and recovery. Our case emphasizes the value of a complete ultrasound analysis centered on the pulmonary trunk in the case of intermediate-risk PE. No recommendation exists on the management of these right ventricular thrombi, thrombolysis appearing to be the first-line treatment.

[Purulent pericarditis in a patient with diabetes mellitus treated by percutaneous pericardiocentesis]. / Péricardite purulente chez un patient diabétique traitée par drainage péricardique percutané.

Purulent pericarditis seldom occurs in Western countries, yet its mortality rate remains high between 20 and 35 % despite early treatment. We report the case of a 43-year-old patient admitted in the intensive cardiologic care unit with a pre-tamponade, requiring an immediate percutaneous pericardiocentesis allowing the drainage of a purulent effusion. Evolution with antibiotic therapy adapted according to the bacteriological findings was favorable and 3-months follow-up shows a near complete regression of the effusion. This case recalls us this rare diagnosis entity and illustrates the possibility of a mere percutaneous pericardial drainage with the condition of a strict medical surveillance.

[Radial approach in women]. / La voie d'abord radiale chez la femme.

Since the first series of coronary angiographies through the radial approach reported by Campeau in 1989, the radial route has become a major approach, used in up to 95 % of PCIs in some centers. As documented by this clinical case, and although registries show that the radial approach is underused in women compared to men, women benefit from the radial approach mainly by reducing the bleeding risk. Indeed, despite more frequent difficulties encountered by using this approach in women, the radial approach has to be preferred because it reduces haemorrhagic complications and death in comparison to the femoral route.

[A case, a review: We have to promote radial approach for acute coronary syndrome]. / Un cas, une revue : la voie d'abord radiale doit être privilégiée dans les SCA ST.

This overweight woman's case, who underwent a primary coronary intervention for STEMI, reminds us how much the trans-radial angioplasty is interesting in this particular case leaning on the recent literature, randomized trials and registries, in terms of major adverse events reduction including mortality. We are going to debate about hesitation of using radial approach whose only everyday's practising could make this approach a STEMI one.

[Longitudinal stent deformation during bifurcation lesion treatment]. / Compression longitudinale de stent dans le traitement d'une bifurcation coronaire.

Longitudinal stent deformation is defined as a compression of stent length after its implantation. It's a rare complication but dangerous seen with several stents. We reported a case of longitudinal stent deformation during bifurcation lesion treatment with a Promus Element(®) and we perform a short review of this complication.

[Optical coherence tomography applied to vessels: a bright future]. / L'OCT appliquée aux vaisseaux : un avenir prometteur.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a new imaging technique recently applied to coronary and is based on the diffusion and reflection of an infrared spectrum. With a resolution 10 times higher than that of IVUS, it allows an analysis of the atherosclerotic plaque and its components, indicating its possible vulnerable character, and can identify the culprit lesion and the presence of thrombus in the course of acute events. It allows quality control of good apposition of stents to the wall and essentially tracks the downstream dissection. In the longer term, it evaluates the endothelisation and in-stent restenosis. Its scope thus extends to basic research and the pharmaceutical industry where it plays a new reference tool in the monitoring of atherosclerotic plaques and stents with drug treatment. This invasive imaging technique is limited by its cost and artifacts but new generation OCT can better overcome them. The OCT appears as a promising intravascular imaging technique whose feasibility and clinical applications, however, require confirmation by randomized clinical trials to better define its place in the cardiac catheterization lab.

[Detection of induced myocardial ischemia during stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance]. / Détection de l'ischémie myocardique par l'IRM myocardique de stress.

In the past decade, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has evolved considerably. Its clinical applications enable the diagnosis and prognostic assessment of patients with ischemic heart disease. CMR is safe, with absence of any ionizing radiation, and offers the greatest information from a single test, allowing the assessment of myocardial morphology, myocardial function and viability. Stress-CMR can be used for detection and quantification of ischemia. This article analyses the technical approach, the limits and reviews the available literature about diagnostic performance of stress CMR testing and its results in the prognostication of cardiac patients. With further improvements in CMR techniques and the establishment of a standardized study protocol, stress-CMR will play a pivotal role in managing patients with ischemic heart disease.

[ST-elevation myocardial infarction in octogerians]. / Syndrome coronaire aigu avec élévation du segment ST chez l'octogénaire.

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in developed countries and its incidence and severity is greater among older patients. So, because of the ageing of the population, clinicians will be increasingly confronted in daily practice with managing acute coronary syndrome in extreme old age and high-risk patients. Despite this demographic reality, several large randomized controlled trials evaluating the benefit-risk ratio of invasive versus conservative approach have systematically excluded elderly patients. The extrapolation of evidence-based medicine, initially focused on younger patients, is often contentious in this population and because of the lack of clear and specific recommendations in the elderly, the optimal management of STEMI in octogenarians remains a topic of debate. Elderly patients present unique issues related to the ageing process and multiple comorbid diseases making difficult the extrapolation of evidence obtained on younger demographics. Data from registries seem to support, nevertheless, the benefit of primary revascularization by PCI of the culprit lesion in "selected" octogenarians with a high technical success rate, few complications, acceptable short and long-term mortality rate and quality of life. Obviously, the "ideal octogenarian" doesn't exist and all the old patients are not suitable for an invasive approach. Managing elderly patients requires not only cardiological skills but also geriatric acknowledges and the individualized geriatric assessment is the corner store of the decision process. The aim is to screen for the presence of comorbidities (cognitive disorders, functional decline, anemia, renal insufficiency…), social isolation and existence of an underlying frailty. To conclude, the optimal strategy for the management of STEMI in octogenarians is not univocal: the best approach is the one that offers the greater benefits regard considerations of general health.