OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical characteristics, haemodynamic findings, and symptomatic outcome in four age groups of patients in the UK undergoing percutaneous mitral balloon valvotomy. DESIGN A review of patients with mitral stenosis treated by balloon dilatation. SETTING Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, a cardiac referral centre. RESULTS Of 405 patients who had mitral balloon val...

CONTEXT In patients with de novo coronary lesions, drug-eluting stents have drastically reduced restenosis risk compared with bare metal stents and conventional balloon angioplasty. It is less clear whether drug-eluting stents are superior to conventional balloon angioplasty for the treatment of patients with in-stent restenosis. OBJECTIVES To assess if drug-eluting stents are a more effectiv...

OBJECTIVES: Critical aortic valve stenosis (CAS) in the newborn is treated by balloon or surgical aortic valve intervention with nearly equal success, but the subset of patients with severe left ventricular (LV) dilation and dysfunction present a significant mortality risk. We describe a two-stage surgical management approach for those infants who represent an unusually high failure risk for ei...

OBJECTIVES Critical aortic valve stenosis (CAS) in the newborn is treated by balloon or surgical aortic valve intervention with nearly equal success, but the subset of patients with severe left ventricular (LV) dilation and dysfunction present a significant mortality risk. We describe a two-stage surgical management approach for those infants who represent an unusually high failure risk for eit...

BACKGROUND Arterial remodelling is a major pathologic change of restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Our previous studies showed that XS0601 (consisting of Chuangxingol and paeoniflorin) had some effects on the prevention of restenosis after PCI. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether and how its mechanism was related to the regulation of the arterial ...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES The left atrium is clinically relevant in patients with mitral valve stenosis. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty on left atrium volumes and the left atrium emptying fraction in symptomatic mitral valve stenosis patients using 2-dimensional and real-time 3 -dimensional transthoracic echocardiography. METHODS...

This study evaluated the mechanism of valvular area expansion during singleand doubleballoon valvuloplasty in fibrotic and calcific mitral valves. Special interest was focused on the morphological features of the valves treated. Mitral valves that appeared unsuitable for commissurotomy were excised in toto at the time of mitral valve replacement in 15 patients. The excised valves were mounted i...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We investigated the effectiveness of balloon dilatation of homograft conduits in the pulmonary position in delaying surgical replacement. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent balloon dilatation of their homograft in the pulmonary position from 2001 to 2015. The pressure gradient and ratio of right ventricular pressure were me...

BACKGROUND The effectiveness of balloon angioplasty is limited by a restenosis rate of approximately 30%. Recombinant desulphatohirudin (r-hirudin [CGP 39393]) has been found to be highly effective in preventing acute platelet-rich thrombosis after deep arterial injury as compared with heparin. METHODS AND RESULTS This study evaluated the effect of intravenous r-hirudin, a selective inhibitor...