Thrombosis plays a major role in acute vessel closure both after coronary balloon angioplasty and after stenting. This review will address the role of antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy in preventing early thrombotic complications after percutaneous coronary intervention. The focus will be on agents that are routinely available and commonly used.

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is the result of the abrupt occlusion of an epicardial coronary artery. Timely performance of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has become the treatment of choice in affected patients. Mechanical reperfusion with implantation of drug-eluting stents (DES) has been associated with improved safety and efficacy compared with balloon ...

STUDY DESIGN Epidemiological study using national administrative data. OBJECTIVE To provide a complete analysis of national trends in spinal fusion from 1998 to 2008 and compare with trends in laminectomy, hip replacement, knee arthroplasty, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass graft. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Previous studies have reported a rapid inc...

Multivascular preventive and therapeutic approaches are necessary in patients with coronary artery disease because atherosclerosis has a common systemic pathogenesis. We present a rare case of sudden cardiac arrest with acute myocardial infarction induced by the total occlusion of left subclavian artery (LSCA) in a patient with a history of previous coronary artery bypass surgery using the left...

Balloon angioplasty was developed as the first non-surgical method to treat coronary artery stenosis, thanks to the pioneering work by Andreas Gruentzig from 1977 to 1986. The method is based on mechanical stenosis relief by balloon dilatation. Vessel wall stretch, as well as plaque compaction and redistribution, are the main mechanisms of angioplasty lumen gain. The technique had a relatively ...

OBJECTIVES We compared the acute and one year medical costs and outcomes of coronary stenting with those for balloon angioplasty (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) in contemporary clinical practice. BACKGROUND While coronary stent implantation reduces the need for repeat revascularization, it has been associated with significantly higher acute costs compared with coronary angiop...