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Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of heavily calcified lesions remains challenging. This study examined whether calcified lesion preparation is better with an ablation-based than balloon-based technique. Methods and Results:Results of lesion preparations with and without atherectomy devices were compared in 121 patients undergoing optical coherence tomography (OCT)-guided PCI of heavily calcified lesions. Lesion preparation was performed with the ablation-based technique in 59 patients (atherectomy group) and with the balloon-based technique in 62 patients (balloon group). Lower grades of angiographic coronary dissections (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [NHLBI] classification) occurred in the atherectomy than balloon group (atherectomy group:

The management of cardiovascular diseases in rural areas is plagued by the limited access of rural residents to medical facilities and specialists. The development of telecardiology using information and communication technology may overcome such limitation. To shed light on the global trend of telecardiology, we summarized the available literature on rural telecardiology. Using PubMed databases, we conducted a literature review of articles published from January 2010 to December 2020. The contents and focus of each paper were then classified. Our search yielded nineteen original papers from various countries: nine in Asia, seven in Europe, two in North America, and one in Africa. The papers were divided into classified fields as follows: seven in tele-consultation, four in the telemedical system, four in the monitoring system, two in prehospital triage, and two in tele-training. Six of the seven tele-consultation papers reported the consultation from rural doctors to urban specialists. More reports of tele-consultations might be a characteristic of telecardiology specific to rural practice. Further work is necessary to clarify the improvement of cardiovascular outcomes for rural residents.

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Cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) linear ablation has been established as the treatment for typical atrial flutter. Recently, ablation index (AI) has emerged as a novel marker for estimating ablation lesions. We investigated the relationship between CTI anatomy and ablation parameters. In addition, we focused on the influence of AI on the procedural results of typical atrial flutter ablation. A total of 107 patients who underwent CTI ablation were retrospectively enrolled in this study. All patients underwent computed tomography before catheter ablation. From the receiver-operating curve, the best cut-off value of CTI depth was < 4.1 mm to predict first-pass success. The patients were divided into two groups according to the CTI depth: the concave group (CG) and straight group (SG). Although the average AI was not different between both groups, the CG required a longer ablation time and showed a lower first-pass success rate (p < 0.01). In addition, the catheter inversion technique was more frequently required in the CG (p < 0.01). The best cut-off values of the weakest AIs at the anterior and posterior lesions for predicting first-pass success were >420 and >386, respectively. Among patients with these cut-off values, the first-pass success rate was 88% in the SG and 50% in the CG (p < 0.01). Although ablation parameters were not significantly different, the first-pass success rate was lower in the CG than in the SG. AI-guided CTI may be useful in straight CTIs, but a modified approach might be required for concave CTIs.