The information explosion has come to the world of cardiology in the form of an avalanche of new trial data and a proliferation of journals. Some of the major journals in our field have recently split to accommodate the growing number of good-quality original research submissions. This has resulted in an ever-growing stack of unread journals on most of our desks. Cardiac Interventions Today takes this mass of new information and synthesizes review and summary articles that should make keeping up easier. In this issue, we review the state of the art for the pharmacology used in conjunction with PCI.

J. Emilio Exaire, MD, FACC, and Jorge F. Saucedo, MD, review recently published data on antiplatelet therapy for PCI and take a look at the guidelines used to determine treatment. Interventional cardiology is constantly evolving, and it can be difficult to keep the guidelines current as new therapies emerge. However, they offer useful insight on what guidelines are available now. Sean Javaheri, MD, and Sunil V. Rao, MD, discuss the role of thrombin inhibition during PCI and what risks and benefits exist with the use of unfractionated heparin. It is evident that worthy alternative anticoagulants exist, and some of these new therapies may indeed serve patients better than unfractionated heparin. But what is the best antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy after PCI? Aslan T. Turer, MD, and J. Kevin Harrison, MD, examine the current data and guidelines to answer this question, noting that decisions must be based on the specific patient, carefully weighing the risk and benefits, as well as the available stent choices.

Next, Leif Thuesen, MD, analyzes the many facets of stent thrombosis—definite, probable, and possible—and the time frame in which it occurs. Newer generations of drug-eluting stents show promise to address this problem. Matthew J. Price, MD, helps us to understand the resistance to thienopyridine antiplatelet therapy. A better understanding of the antiplatelet effect is worth pursuing and will lead to better therapeutic approaches.

In our Tips & Tricks Department article, Khung Keong Yeo, MBBS, and Jason H. Rogers, MD, offer five different techniques for achieving side branch access in anatomically challenging and properly selected patients.

Is there a better way to predict success in the CTO revascularization than conventional angiography? Marc C. Newell, MD, and Robert S. Schwartz, MD, consider this question in our Imaging & Diagnostics article by examining the benefits and limitations of CT coronary angiography. They conclude that it is indeed a useful planning tool for complex PCI procedures—particularly in CTOs.

I hope you find this issue helpful for digesting the many recent trials in adjunctive pharmacotherapy.