To determine the influence of adjunctive treatment with coumadin or aspirin on recurrence rate after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), 248 patients in whom PTCA was assessed to be a primary success were randomized to either 325 mm aspirin daily or to coumadin treatment sufficient to maintain a prothrombin time 2 to 2.5 times the control value. The follow-up protocol include...

shown any substantial difference in how coronary artery disease (CAD) patients fare 2 to 3 years after either coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), two procedures that are performed to restore adequate blood supply to blocked arteries. However, a recent meta-analysis performed by researchers at Tufts-New England Medical Center in B...

A 57 year old man required emergency coronary artery bypass surgery after dissection of the left main coronary artery during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. His symptoms recurred when the vein grafts became occluded. A dilatation device with the lowest profile was used to reduce the need for firm support from the guiding catheter during repeat percutaneous transluminal coronary ...

To determine whether vasoconstriction distal to the site of successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is a result of altered autoregulation in a hypoperfused coronary artery, we examined the association of this distal vasoconstriction with lesion severity in 20 patients. Lesion severity was classified as moderate, severe or critical (greater than 1.0, 0.5-1.0, and less th...

T he treatment of coronary artery disease patients with revascularization procedures has escalated dramatically in the 1980s. In 1989, an estimated 450,000 coronary artery revascularization procedures were performed with either percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG); in 1980, less than 250,000 such procedures were performed. Despite ...

OBJECTIVES Our intent was to investigate the effect of the dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker amlodipine on restenosis and clinical outcome in patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). BACKGROUND Amlodipine has sustained vasodilatory effects and relieves coronary spasm, which may reduce luminal loss and clinical complications after PTCA. METHODS In a pr...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this trial was to compare cutting balloon angioplasty (CBA) with conventional balloon angioplasty (i.e., percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty [PTCA]) for the treatment of patients with coronary in-stent restenosis (ISR). BACKGROUND Retrospective studies suggest CBA might be superior to conventional PTCA in the treatment of ISR. METHODS The Restenosis Cutting ...

BACKGROUND Impulse response analysis of digital coronary angiographic images calculates a parameter known as the mean transit time of the microcirculation (Tmicro). This has been shown to accurately assess the regional microcirculatory response to proximal stenosis in relation to flow. Our goal was to apply impulse response analysis to patients undergoing successful angioplasty and to quantify ...

Fluorescence-activated flow cytometry has been used to investigate platelet activation in blood flowing through atherosclerotic coronary arteries after sustaining mechanical damage induced by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTCA). For flow cytometry, platelets and platelet-derived microparticles were identified by biotinylated anti-glycoprotein (GP) Ib monoclonal antibody (mAb) and a flu...

To determine whether percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) would lead to neutrophil activation with subsequent discharge of proteolytic enzymes, like elastase, and oxygen free radicals, like superoxide anion, blood samples were taken from the coronary sinus and aorta in 14 patients with stable angina and one-vessel disease who underwent PTCA. Neutrophils were separated by means ...