It is with great pleasure that we present to you the inaugural issue of Cardiac Interventions Today! When we launched Endovascular Today 5 years ago, we chose to focus on endovascular therapies dedicated to peripheral interventions. Those procedures, performed by interventionists of various specialties, were just beginning to show promise, and we have enjoyed publishing the milestones that have marked the development of that field, from overviews of new technologies to the latest data that have validated—or in some cases discredited—certain procedures.

Since the inception of Endovascular Today, the revolution of endovascular therapies has provided us with an ample source of cutting-edge content, with more interesting topics than we can cover in a year. Our contributors and readers have often requested that we add various editorial content regarding procedures that are beyond the scope of peripheral interventions. Because coronary and cardiac interventions are frequently the province of specialists outside peripheral interventions, that material was never an ideal fit with Endovascular Today.

With Cardiac Interventions Today, that content will now find a welcome home. Coronary interventions have long dominated the vascular landscape and are presently going through growing pains of their own, with the drug-eluting stent (DES) data subjected to increasing scrutiny. In addition, devices to treat structural heart defects have been making great strides, and percutaneous heart valves are poised to make an impact in the lives of patients and the specialists who treat them. As with peripheral interventions, these procedures will be performed by various specialties, and Cardiac Interventions Today welcomes readers and contributors of all specialties who perform these interventions. We also welcome interested readers of Endovascular Today who believe they may learn more about the treatment of peripheral vascular disease by reading about those performed in coronary interventions.

This month's designated cover stories focus on a variety of issues surrounding the use of DESs. Rajesh M. Dave, MD, FACC, FSCAI, and Samin K. Sharma, MD, share their viewpoints and experience in a discussion about DES safety issues, patient management, and off-label use. They summarize the late stent thrombosis issue and remind us of the importance of clopidogrel therapy. Andreas Wali, MD, FACC, FSCAI, presents a case report of DES use in multivessel disease. He also provides an overview of the angiographic and pharmacologic considerations. Cardiac Interventions Today staff writers highlight the recent FDA statement on late stent thrombosis. Rajesh M. Dave, MD, FACC, FSCAI, provides case reports of treating patients with CTOs, as well as an overview of the fundamentals of CTO recanalization techniques, and his recommendations for how this difficult subset. We close the feature well with an article detailing the request by Congress to review industry DES practices.

We are also pleased to present several department articles. Khung Keong Yeo, MBBS, and Jason H. Rogers, MD, offer a case report of treating a CTO in the left anterior descending artery using a recently FDA-approved device that facilitates placement of guidewires beyond CTOs in coronary arteries. Michael H. Wholey, MD, and colleagues acquaint us with multidetector, high-speed CTA as it pertains to the coronary anatomy and its effect on the diagnosis and management of coronary anomalies. Raymond Leung, MDCM, and Ted Feldman, MD, provide an update to their overview of percutaneous mitral valve repair. Blair A. Keagy, MD, details the governmental regulations that affect medical practices and provides information you should know about the Anti-Kickback Act, the Stark Law, and the False Claims Act. Finally, we are proud to feature an interview with Gregg W. Stone, MD, one of the world's most pre-eminent cardiologists.

We hope that you find this first issue of Cardiac Interventions Today to be an exciting and informative addition to your practice.