Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C4gic7bLroi/ The first coronary balloon catheter that not only opens these critical heart-feeding arteries but helps to keep them open has now won FDA approval for marketing.  Boston Scientific’s Drug Coated Balloon or DCB, coated with paclitaxel,  reduces the risk of vessel reblocking during a one year period by 38%.   The superiority of this DCB, branded as Ranger, was substantiated in a multisite study of 480 patients led by Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess cardiologists.  The novel balloon is coated with paclitaxel, an anti-cancer drug that inhibits growth and overgrowth of blood vessel lining cells.  The novel balloon prevented all blockage of the stents and led to a 49% lower risk of heart attack.  The data revealed no paclitaxel toxicity and adverse reactions. These new balloons will be available in the US this spring.  They are already on the European market. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2816073 #coronary #balloon #stenosis #paclitaxel #d