From the available data, one cannot conclude whether thrombolytic therapy is beneficial or detrimental in patients older than age 75 years with acute myocardial infarction. Data favor the use of primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty rather than thrombolysis in eligible patients older than age 75 years with acute myocardial infarction ...

The purpose of this study was to collect information on the practice and patient doses in a major Greek cardiac centre, investigate differences between senior cardiologists of various levels of experience and compare results with the literature, in order to optimize angiographic and interventional cardiology procedures. Radiation doses from 292 ...

Distal embolization of plaque or thrombotic debris is one of the mechanisms involved in the ischemia/reperfusion injury during primary percutaneous intervention for acute occlusion of a native coronary artery. We tested the clinical application of maximal antiplatelet therapy with abciximab combined with one of two different systems of mechanical distal ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between symptom-onset-to-balloon time and one-year mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated by primary angioplasty. BACKGROUND: Despite the prognostic implications demonstrated in patients with STEMI treated with thrombolysis, the impact of time-delay on prognosis in patients ...

OBJECTIVE: Comparison of the long-term outcomes of three reperfusion strategies in patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction presenting to community hospitals. METHODS: One-year clinical outcomes were compared for 300 patients randomized in the PRimary Angioplasty in patients transferred from General community hospitals to specialized percutaneous coronary intervention Units with ...

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty of the infarct-related artery in stable survivors of acute myocardial infarction is often performed, even in patients without any symptoms or residual ischemia. Despite the lack of randomized studies, it is widely believed that this intervention will improve the clinical outcome of these patients. METHODS ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) therapy on infarct size and left ventricular function when used as an adjuvant therapy to primary angioplasty. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. SETTING: Cardiac intensive care unit at a university hospital. PATIENTS: Thirty-seven patients with acute myocardial infarction for whom primary ...

BACKGROUND: Randomized trials have indicated that primary coronary angioplasty performed in patients admitted directly to highly-experienced angioplasty centers offers certain advantages over intravenous fibrinolytic therapy. However, the large majority of patients with acute myocardial infarction are submitted to hospitals without a catheterization laboratory. This means that additional transportation will be ...

A 68-year-old man underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty for unstable angina. During the balloon inflation, coronary artery dissection with total occlusion was noted and recanalized by coronary stenting. The serial electrocardiograms revealed ST segment and T wave changes without elevation of the cardiac isoenzyme, which is suggested to represent acute ...

We describe a case of rotational atherectomy (RA) used in the setting of extensive coronary dissection. Unsuccessful predilitation of a heavily calcified proximal LAD stenosis resulted in balloon rupture, which produced occlusive dissection extending into the mid LAD. Limited options for this patient required that we perform RA to permit ...

OBJECTIVE: To identify in humans the temporal patterns of no reflow and their functional implications. METHODS: 24 patients with first acute myocardial infarction and successful coronary recanalisation by recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (n = 15) or primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (n = 9) were studied by myocardial contrast echocardiography ...

OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate the impact of circadian patterns in the onset of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) on the practice of primary angioplasty. BACKGROUND: A circadian variation in the time of onset of AMI with a peak in the morning hours has been described. METHODS: We studied 1,702 consecutive ...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility and safety of interhospital transfer (within up to 60 minutes) for primary/rescue coronary angioplasty of patients with myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by an early onset of acute heart failure (AHF) admitted to a community hospital without PCI facilities. DESIGN ...

Effective risk stratification is essential in the management of patients with acute myocardial infarction. Available models have not yet been studied and validated in patients treated with primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction. The prognostic value of heart failure defined by Killip class and age upon admission and the impact ...

BACKGROUND: Randomized trials comparing primary angioplasty and in-hospital fibrinolysis in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have shown an advantage for primary angioplasty. The long-term follow-up of pre-hospital fibrinolysis followed by elective or rescue coronary angioplasty versus primary angioplasty is not well established after acute myocardial infarction. This study sought to assess ...

Angioplasty has long been used in the treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease with variable long-term results. In this case report, we present a patient with marfanoid features and acute ischemia of the lower extremity. Angioplasty provided us with the means of emergently relieving the acute symptoms. The patient was ...

BACKGROUND: In patients with acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina undergoing coronary angioplasty, abciximab reduces major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Clinical trials have studied intravenous administration only. Intracoronary bolus application of abciximab causes very high local drug concentrations and may be more effective. We studied whether intracoronary bolus administration of ...

Depressed left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) adversely affects procedural outcome during percutaneous coronary revascularization. This study examined the acute results, effectiveness, and safety of excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) in patients with acute coronary ischemic syndromes whose LVEF was depressed (<40%) versus those with preserved LVEF. One hundred patients ...

BACKGROUND: Previous work has suggested that platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor blockade may confer benefit in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. The TIGER-PA pilot trial was a single-center randomized study to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and utility of early tirofiban administration before planned primary angioplasty in patients presenting with acute ...

The incidence of peripheral arteriosclerosis is on the increase in chronic hemodialysis patients. Recently, the intervention (IV) treatment is conducted to deal with this problem. IV was performed in 4 dialysis patients against the complication of arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) but the result was unsuccessful in 3 of them. These 3 ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To explore how the increased supply of coronary bypass operations and angioplasties from 1988 to 1996 influenced socioeconomic and gender equity in their use. DESIGN: Register based linkage study; information on coronary procedures from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register in 1988 and 1996 was individually linked to national ...

Exercise training improves the endothelial function of arteries in skeletal muscle, but few studies have examined its clinical effect on human coronary endothelial function. Non-infarct-related coronary arteries in 41 patients with a recent myocardial infarction who underwent successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty were studied. Patients were divided into 2 groups: ...

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with stent implantation is a universally accepted therapeutic option for patients with coronary artery disease. Since introduction in 1977, angioplasty techniques have been greatly improved; the availability of better hardware, greater operator experience, better patient selection and the judicious use of adjunctive therapy like heparin, clopidogrel, ...

Objectives. We sought to investigate the impact of circadian patterns in the onset of acute myocardial infarction on the practice of primary angioplasty. Background. A circadian variation in the time of onset of acute myocardial infarction with a peak in the morning hours has been described. Methods. We studied 1702 ...

To evaluate if QT dispersion (QTd) may be affected by the number of obstructed coronary arteries (CAs) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and undergoing angioplasty, and to evaluate if QTd may be affected by ejection function of the heart. The infarct related CA was identified by coronary angiography ...

Cutting balloon angioplasty can reduce the restenosis rate more than conventional balloon angioplasty, but is traditionally performed through a femoral artery. However, it is not clear how useful a transradial approach would be for cutting balloon angioplasty. This study was conducted to examine the safety, feasibility, and limitations of transradial ...

Discrete stenoses of the thoraco-abdominal aorta in non-specific aorto-arteritis are considered favorable lesions for balloon angioplasty characterized by good results without major complications. Herein, we describe one such case manifesting with severe hypertension, left ventricular dysfunction and congestive heart failure treated by angioplasty. Balloon dilatation, however, resulted in extensive dissection ...

Utilization of percutaneous interventions for arterial and venous occlusive lesions continue to increase. With the progression of the technology supporting these therapeutic measures, the results of these interventions may be expected to improve. In general, a comparison of techniques for revascularization demonstrates similar initial technical success rates for surgery and ...

We describe two patients in whom right coronary artery dissection and retrograde dissection of the sinus of Valsalva occurred during guidewire advancement for percutaneous coronary angioplasty Both patients were treated successfully by coronary stenting. These cases illustrate that contrast medium injection can detect early complications during guidewire advancement for coronary ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether Hu23F2G (LeukoArrest), an antibody to the CD11/CD18 integrin receptors, would reduce infarct size in patients undergoing primary angioplasty for an acute myocardial infarction. BACKGROUND: Reperfusion injury in acute myocardial infarction has been shown experimentally to be related to neutrophil accumulation. ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the short term results and safety of angioplasty in chronic coronary occlusions. METHODS: Eighty consecutive patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for chronic coronary occlusions were prospectively analyzed for acute success rate and safety of the procedure. RESULTS: The mean age was 46.7 years (range 30-78 ...

Primary angioplasty is superior to thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction when performed in a timely manner but the benefits are unknown when inter-hospital transfer is required for angioplasty. On the 20th March 2002 at the American College of Cardiology 51st Annual Scientific Session, the results of the Danish Multicentre Randomized ...

BACKGROUND: Although both prehospital fibrinolysis and primary angioplasty provide a clinical benefit over in-hospital fibrinolysis in acute myocardial infarction, they have not been directly compared. Our aim was to find out whether primary angioplasty was better than prehospital fibrinolysis. METHODS: We did a randomised multicentre trial of 840 patients (of ...

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to investigate patient and spouse perception of cognitive functioning 1 to 2 years after coronary artery bypass grafting. METHODS: Seventy-six married patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting were selected and sex- and age-matched with 75 concurrent married patients who had undergone percutaneous transluminal coronary ...

We describe a case of acute myocardial infarction related to a cerebellar hemorrhage. The infarction occurred just before the neurosurgical operation of ventricular drainage and was successfully treated by primary coronary angioplasty, with the implantation of coated stents and low doses of glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors. The patient recovered well ...

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that several classes of drugs are beneficial for secondary prevention in patients with coronary artery disease. OBJECTIVE: To compare the use of secondary preventive drugs in patients with acute coronary syndromes given conservative treatment or percutaneous coronary interventions. DESIGN: The PREVENIR survey was designed to assess ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the association of the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) genotype, which has potent anti-inflammatory capability, and the inflammatory response induced by balloon angioplasty. METHODS: Three hundred seventeen patients (188 men; median age 70 years, range 57-77) undergoing femoropopliteal balloon angioplasty (n=150) or stenting (n=61) were evaluated for upregulation of ...

OBJECTIVE: To report procedural results and mortality rates from the first 4 years after establishing primary angioplasty as the preferred treatment for acute myocardial infarction in a single Scandinavian centre. DESIGN AND RESULTS: From August 1995 to October 1999 all patients with the diagnosis of suspected acute myocardial infarction (n ...

Radiolucent findings of coronary angiogram are believed to usually represent intracoronary thrombus, but in the present case, were atheromatous plaque with a large lipid core. A 62-year-old man who suffered from an inferior acute myocardial infarction was admitted to hospital 6 h after onset. The first cine angiograms showed TIMI-1 ...

Aims The P-wave duration (PWD) has been shown to prolong in conditions associated with elevated left ventricular end-diastolic and left atrial pressures, which also increase during transient coronary artery occlusions such as angioplasty. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of angioplasty-induced myocardial ischaemia on signal averaged ...

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Surgical sacrifice of the straight sinus may be performed during intracranial tumor resection. Sacrifice of the straight sinus is associated with an unpredictable risk of venous infarction. We describe a patient with a falcine meningioma who underwent endovascular balloon test occlusion of the straight sinus before surgical ...

AIMS: Although recognized as an important feature of atherosclerotic coronary disease, little is known about the frequency and prognostic importance of distal embolization during primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: As part of a randomized trial of thrombolysis vs primary angioplasty, 178 patients with acute myocardial infarction ...

Since the early 1990s, with significant improvement in the procedural success of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), there has been a concomitant reduction in the need for emergency coronary artery bypass graft surgery. This review article focuses on the need for on-site cardiac surgery in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing ...

We assessed the time course of the alterations of microvascular function and myocardial perfusion, as well their relation to local inotropic reserve (IR), in 21 patients who underwent successful primary coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction and in whom local myocardial dysfunction persisted at hospital discharge. Coronary flow reserve (CFR) ...

Although long-term survival of diabetic patients with multivessel coronary disease has been reported to be better in those treated with bypass surgery than with coronary angioplasty, it is unclear if diabetic patients who undergo coronary angioplasty show better long-term survival than those treated medically. Between 1985 and 1994, 667 consecutive ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe hemodynamic improvement in a patient treated with nitric oxide (NO) inhalation in the management of right ventricular failure caused by myocardial infarction. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: An intensive care unit of a university hospital. PATIENT: A 66-yr-old man with severe right ventricular failure caused by acute myocardial ...

Acute myocardial infarction during pregnancy, though rare, is nevertheless associated with a high mortality rate ranging from 37 50%. Primary angioplasty is the treatment of choice for acute myocardial infarction during pregnancy. There are reports of high vascular bleeding complications when using the transfemoral approach as well as increased morbidity, ...

In the treatment of acute myocardial infarction, delayed reperfusion therapy is associated with increased mortality. Predictors of delay have been described for fibrinolysis but not for primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (pPTCA). Therefore, we studied 40,017 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction who underwent pPTCA in the National Registry of ...

A 48-year-old woman with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome underwent surgical division of the accessory pathway in the left lateral wall. At 6 months after the procedure, she developed dyspnea and chest oppression. Coronary angiography revealed total occlusion in the left circumflex coronary artery (segment 13) at the exact site where cryoablation had ...

Progressive ventricular dilatation is an important prognostic factor in patients with acute myocardial infarction. We evaluated clinical, angiographic, echocardiographic and thallium-201 single-photon emission tomography (SPET) imaging variables predictive of the change in left ventricular volume during a 7-month follow-up period after primary angioplasty in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Thirty-six ...