Seven of the world’s top cardiologists gathered in the city of Stockholm to take on the issues raised by data released at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2010 Congress.

Dr Valentin Fuster moderates this provocative and in-depth debate between Drs Keith Fox, Kornelia Kotseva, Cecilia Linde, Franz Messerli, Harvey White, and Clyde Yancy.

Fuster and his panel of experts discuss the future of apixaban, what we learned from SHIFT about the importance of heart rate, and why eating a balanced diet is better than taking supplements.

Dr Robert Califf conducts a series of in-depth and personal interviews with his peers in the world of cardiology to find out what makes them tick, how they feel about the future, and what lessons they have learned during their exceptional careers.

In this episode, Dr Califf catches up with Dr Ralph Brindis and finds out about his path from "exit 9" to ACC presidency, with stops along the way at prep school, MIT, UCLA, Emory, UCSF, and Kaiser Permanente.

Japanese interventional cardiologists stand out as leaders in the field of coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) revascularization, with more than 25 years of experience in the procedure. Dr David Kandzari sits down with Drs Masahiko Ochiai and Etsuo Tsuchikane to discuss when to revascularize and when to opt for bypass surgery, teaching and training, success rates, criteria for selecting antegrade vs retrograde approaches, reasons for failure, and knowing when to halt a procedure.

Drs Jay Cohn and Michael Weber, share their thoughts while addressing concerns that misinterpretation can lead physicians to neglect appropriate management of BP, how results of ACCORD, INVEST, HYVET, and ONTARGET contribute to the discussion, the idea of "ignoring" diastolic blood pressure for better BP management, and juggling the dangers of MI vs stroke.

Transcatheter aortic-valve implantation (TAVI) was a hot topic at EuroPCR 2010, where our multidisciplinary panel of experts met to discuss how the procedure will be fine-tuned in the coming five to 10 years. In this thoughtful discussion, Drs Leon, Cribier, Moat, and Ruiz share their predictions and wish lists on a variety of subjects, including: What technology changes are necessary? Should future patient selection include lower-risk candidates? Who will perform future TAVI procedures? Will the "heart-valve team" survive in its current form? Where will TAVI procedures be performed? What about durability? What data do we need from new clinical trials?

Transcatheter aortic-valve implantation (TAVI) was a hot topic at EuroPCR 2010, where our multidisciplinary panel of experts met to discuss how the procedure will be fine-tuned in the coming five to 10 years. In this thoughtful discussion, Drs Leon, Cribier, Moat, and Ruiz share their predictions and wish lists on a variety of subjects, including: What technology changes are necessary? Should future patient selection include lower-risk candidates? Who will perform future TAVI procedures? Will the "heart-valve team" survive in its current form? Where will TAVI procedures be performed? What about durability? What data do we need from new clinical trials?

Many interventional cardiologists would not attempt to revascularize a coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) but would not hesitate to treat the same vessel if it were an 80% lesion. Why?

In this editorial discussion, our international panel of experts addresses the indications for CTO revascularization and the criteria for patient selection, including the role of noninvasive imaging and MRI, perceptions and misconceptions based on insight from the SYNTAX, OAT, and FAME trials, as well as ACC appropriateness criteria. From a practical standpoint, Drs Kandzari, Di Mario, Moses, and Werner offer pointers on technique and best practice, including selection of equipment and approaches, how best to establish a CTO program, and the likelihood of ever seeing a clinical randomized trial that would pit medical therapy vs PCI for the treatment of CTOs.

ACS patients in the PLATO trial who received the investigational antiplatelet agent ticagrelor (AstraZeneca) and then underwent CABG were 50% less likely to die than those who received clopidogrel. But this difference in mortality was not explained by bleeding events, which were similar between the two drug arms.

Join moderator Dr Tony Gershlick and his guests Drs Peter Berger and Timothy Gardner as they tease out the implications for cardiologists and surgeons of these important findings and take a look at the STICH and CSP-474 results presented at the ACC 2010 Scientific Sessions.

Patients with drug-refractory paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with a novel cryoablation technology were significantly more likely to be free of arrhythmia at one year compared with patients treated with antiarrhythmic drug therapy, according to the results of the STOP-AF trial.

The RACE-2 trial demonstrated that whether or not rate control is strict in patients with permanent AF, little difference is noted in clinical outcomes.

And the DOSE trial showed that, whether loop diuretics are given in a continuous infusion or intermittently or at conventional or high doses, it appears to make little difference in their effectiveness at relieving symptoms in patients hospitalized with acute heart failure.

Taken together, these trials challenge received notions of what cardiologists assume to be appropriate care. Join Dr Melissa Walton-Shirley and her guests Drs Anne Curtis and Ileana Piña as they discuss these surprising results.

Results from EVEREST II suggested percutaneous repair might lead to fewer adverse events than traditional valve surgery for mitral regurgitation. But many who saw the study presented had additional questions about the highly selected population, procedural failures, durability of the MR grade achieved, and how the results compared between the per-protocol analysis and the intention-to-treat analysis.