Controversy continues in the United States over the performance of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at facilities without on-site cardiac surgery. After publication of the quantitative review by Keeley et al1 in 2003, the superiority of PCI over thrombolytic therapy for the treatment of ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was widely accepted. These findings further suppor...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to assess outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for unprotected left main (LM) disease. BACKGROUND Limited data are available on outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing LM PCI. METHODS Of 9,075 patients with ST-segment elevation myoc...

BACKGROUND The impact of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) on the incidence of ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) is unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS Between January 2000 and December 2004, 318 patients presenting with first acute STEMI were enrolled in this study. Two hundred and twelve (66.67%) patients received PCI (PCI group)...

We analyzed the safety and the efficacy of the treatment with elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with coronary heart disease complicated with cardiac insufficiency. We enrolled 217 patients diagnosed with chronic ischemic heart disease complicated with cardiac failure. According to the type of treatment they received, patients were divided into 3 groups: i) The conser...

We studied the inhibition of tissue kallikrein by protein C inhibitor (PCI), a relatively unspecific heparin-dependent serine protease inhibitor present in plasma and urine. PCI inhibited the amidolytic activity (cleavage of H-D-valyl-L-leucyl-arginine-p-nitroaniline) of urinary kallikrein with an apparent second order rate constant of 2.3 x 10(4) M-1 s-1 and formed stable complexes (85 kDa) wi...

BACKGROUND Studies in the United States suggested that the characteristics of hospitals providing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) differed from those not providing PCI. However, little is known on the differences between the characteristics of early-adopting hospitals and those of late-adopting hospitals, and on their potential impacts on PCI volume and access. METHODS AND RESULTS We...

AIM Evidence of improved survival after use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is limited. We assessed the association between PCI and long-term mortality in octogenarians with ACS. METHODS AND RESULTS We followed 353 consecutive patients aged ≥80 years hospitalized with ACS during 2006-2007. Among them, 182 were treated with PCI...

BACKGROUND Substantial geographic variation exists in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) use across the United States. It is unclear the extent to which high PCI utilization can be explained by PCI for inappropriate indications. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between PCI rates across regional healthcare markets utilizing hospital referral regions (HRRs) and PC...

OBJECTIVE To explore the impact of a "one-week" staged multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) versus culprit-only PCI on deaths and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 447 patients with multivessel disease who experienced a ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) within 12 h before undergoing PCI between July 26, 2008 and September...

OBJECTIVES We evaluated whether patients' clinical status, angioplasty success, or both, should guide discharge after primary angioplasty (i.e., percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). BACKGROUND Current guidelines do not address a discharge strategy for AMI patients undergoing successful PCI. METHODS Patients who underwent PCI in Primary Angioplasty...