Almanac

The SIS Almanac is designed to be a weathervane for the cardiology community offering forecasts and prognostication about opportunities and trends in the future of interventional cardiology. The SIS Almanac will focus on new and emerging technologies to help vascular specialists anticipate and prepare for the changes these technologies will bring.

"Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion for the Treatment of Cardioembolic Stroke"
Slide Presentation hosted by Mark Reisman, M.D.

This multimedia slide presentation, presents various challenges, techniques and treatments that are currently available. In addition, some of the latest data pertaining to the topic is reviewed and discussed. This interactive slide presentation allows you to re-watch sections or skip to material that may be of particular interest to you--all with full narration.

Launch "Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion for the Treatment of Cardioembolic Stroke" presentation.
(Macromedia Flash)

Non-Invasive and Invasive Cardiac Imaging

Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of patient hospitalization and mortality in many industrialized countries. The current standard of assessment is coronary angiography (CA) in conjunction with interventional therapeutic procedures. While CA and other invasive cardiac imaging procedures have become relatively safe, the inconvenience to the patient is extensive. This has caused a popularization throughout the past decades of potential, non-invasive cardiac imaging devices. Different devices such as magnetic resonance and electron beam computed tomography have been explored. In this monograph various imaging technologies are discussed.

Download the full "Non-Invasive and Invasive Cardiac Imaging" Almanac , in the Adobe Acrobat format.

Remote Assisted Endovascular/Simulation

Over the last decade, there has been a rapid development of minimally invasive interventional techniques surrounding endovascular interventions. There are numerous advantages to using these techniques including faster recovery of the patient and shorter hospital stays. In this monograph we focus on various techniques for remote assisted endovascular medical applications and remote assisted endovascular simulation for physician training. The information herein was derived from the references listed at the end of this paper.

Download the full "Remote Assisted Endovascular/Simulation" Almanac , in the Adobe Acrobat format.

Stroke Therapies

Stroke is considered to be a vascular disease with devastating neurologic consequences. It is the third most common cause of death among our aging population. It is also the leading cause of disability in industrialized countries. Stroke is defined as a sudden neurologic deficit due to central nervous ischemia or hemorrhage.7 Ischemic stroke accounts for 75% of all strokes7 and is caused by focal vessel occlusion leading to cessation of oxygen and glucose supply to the brain with subsequent breakdown of the metabolic processes in the affected territory. Hemorrhagic stroke involves bleeding within the brain damaging adjacent brain tissue. The focus of this discussion is on ischemic stroke and on the basic problems presented with stroke, current treatments and prevention, and future technologies. The information presented below was derived from the references listed at the end of this monograph.

Download the full "Stroke Therapies" Almanac , in the Adobe Acrobat format.

Structural Heart Disease

The focus of this discussion is on device-based therapies to treat symptoms of heart failure, on myogenesis (combined skeletal myoblasts and mononuclear bone marrow stem cells) for myocardial repair post infarct, on the percutaneous treatment of valvular heart disease and on patent foramen ovale (PFO) devices for the treatment of recurrent thromboembolic events. The information presented below was derived from the references listed at the end of this monograph.

Download the full "Structural Heart Disease" Almanac , in the Adobe Acrobat format.

Vascular Technologies

The introduction of new endovascular devices has provided alternatives to surgeries for vascular disease. These advances present new choices to patients for carotid stenting, abdominal aortic aneurysms, acute renal failure and disease in vessels of the lower extremities. Most recent advances have occurred in researching solutions for vulnerable plaque, stent development with an emphasis on preventing in-stent restenosis, and new technologies in treatment of radio-contrast nephropathy. In this monograph we focus on these current medical developments, the existing technology and the future therapeutic treatments. The information below was derived from the resources listed at the end of this paper.

Download the full "Vascular Technologies " Almanac , in the Adobe Acrobat format.

Focus on Cryotherapy

Novel therapeutic modalities such as cryotherapy represent a viable and cost-effective arsenal against cardiovascular disease.  When cold thermal energy is applied during angioplasty, the freezing temperatures minimize trauma on the vessel wall. For an overview of the latest developments in Cryotherapy and some of the latest available information, download "Focus on Cryotherapy" in the Adobe Acrobat format to read the full discussion.

Focus on Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology involves the ability to engineer, control, and exploit the unique chemical, physical, and electrical properties that emerge from man-made particles having at least one dimension of 100 nanometers or less. For an overview of the latest developments in Nanotechnology and some of the latest available information, download "Focus on Nanotechnology" in the Adobe Acrobat format to read the full discussion.

Focus on Stereotaxis

Advances in Interventional Cardiology have occurred at lightning pace over the past decade. Indeed, few other medical specialties have evolved as swiftly. One of the most promising technologies to date is in the realm of magnetic navigation (MN). MN is an interaction between a magnetic field of specified direction and magnitude, positioned externally to the patient and a tiny magnet in the tip of an interventional device.

Download the full "Stereotaxis Profile", in the Adobe Acrobat format.

Focus on Vulnerable Plaque

"Vulnerable plaque" is a term coined by Dr. James Muller and colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital to describe the types of atherosclerotic plaques at risk for erosion, inflammation, swelling and rupture without warning, resulting in a sudden cardiac event (acute coronary syndromes and/or sudden cardiac death. These plaques share common pathological features: a thin, fibrous cap; lipid-rich core and macrophage-dense activity near its surface...

Download the full "Vulnerable Plaque Profile", in the Adobe Acrobat format.

Septal Defect Case

Dynamic trends such as neurovascular, patent foramen ovale closures, acute stroke therapies and atrial septal defects are areas cardiologists should become familiar with diagnosing and prognosticating. Our hope is the SIS Almanac will be a valuable resource to help you accomplish this, and to help you prepare for the future of interventional cardiology.

View the first SIS Almanac case, an Atrial Septal Defect case.

(Macromedia Flash Player required for viewing. The free Macromedia Flash Player for your computer may be obtained on this page. A broadband connection is recommended.)

Updated 6/26/2006