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(Circulation. 2001;104:e9021.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.

Notes From the European Society of Cardiology Congress XXIII

Robin Fox

RAVEL

The results of the Randomized Study with the Sirolimus Eluting Velocity Balloon Expandable Stent (RAVEL) were thought by many in Stockholm to launch a new era in cardiology. A total of 238 patients with stable or unstable angina due to single-vessel disease and a mean age of 63 years were randomized to receive either a bare-metal Bx Velocity stent or a similar stent coated with the immunosuppressive antibiotic sirolimus. Sirolimus is released from the stent over 45 days. Both groups were treated for 2 months with either clopidogrel or ticlopidine. The results after 210 days of follow-up were reported by M.C. Morice (Massy, France). The sirolimus group had a restenosis rate of zero compared with 26% in the conventional stent group (P<0.0001), and event-free survival was 96% in the sirolimus group compared with 73% in the coventional stent group. There were no late occlusions or thromboses in the sirolimus group, edge restenosis was absent, and vessel diameter was unchanged from the time of the procedure, compared with a 0.80 mm loss in the coventional stent group (P<0.0001).

Out-of-Hospital Defibrillation in Amsterdam and Piacenza
European countries have been slow to allow defibrillation by nonmedical personnel for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, partly for legal reasons. A.P. Van Alem and colleagues (Amsterdam, Netherlands) assessed the value of training police officers and firefighters in their city to use an automatic external defibrillator (AED) if they arrive at the scene before the medical service. A total of 900 police officers received 3 hours of training (which is reviewed . . . [Full Text of this Article]