PURPOSE To investigate the development of intimal hyperplasia in response to percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) followed by local delivery of the nitric oxide (NO) donor 3-morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1). MATERIAL AND METHODS Overdilation PTCA was performed in coronary arteries in 20 healthy pigs. One of the dilated segments was additionally treated with local delivery of SI...

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 (> 1.0, 0.5-1.0, and < 0.5 mm, respecti...

Objective: To test the hypothesis that regional left ventricular (LV) function during balloon angioplasty is related to the amount of collateral flow to the ischaemic region. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Tertiary referral centre. Methods: In 50 patients with coronary artery disease and without myocardial infarction, regional systolic and diastolic LV function was determined using tissue ...

The progression of a coronary artery stenosis to total occlusion does not necessarily imply complete myocardial necrosis of the entire flow-dependent region of the vessel involvedJ Various degrees of perfusion can be maintained by a collateral circulation, so that the area of necrosis can be limited in size or infarction can even be prevented. During increased demand for myocardial oxygen the c...

BACKGROUND Balloon angioplasty guided by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) makes it possible to choose the balloon size according to the true vessel diameter and to detect suboptimal results requiring subsequent stent implantation. The Balloon Equivalent to STent (BEST) study aimed to assess whether this strategy would give the same results as systematic stenting. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of...

BACKGROUND The value of angioplasty in occluded coronary arteries is limited by a restenosis/reocclusion rate of 50-70%. In patients with subtotal occlusion, stent implantation has been shown to reduce clinical and angiographic restenosis. Retrospective observational studies have suggested that stenting could reduce restenosis in total occlusions. The value of sustained coronary patency on glob...

Background—Atheroablation yields improved clinical results for balloon angioplasty (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, PTCA) in the treatment of diffuse in-stent restenosis (ISR). Methods and Results—We compared the mechanisms and clinical results of excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) versus rotational atherectomy (RA), both followed by adjunct PTCA; 119 patients (158 ISR le...

OBJECTIVES We sought to compare outcomes between patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with an optimal or "stent-like" result versus patients who underwent routine stent placement. BACKGROUND Recent studies in patients with AMI undergoing stent implantation have suggested that PTCA may no longer be a relevant treatment...

In our first 169 consecutive patients admitted to undergo percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) serial bicycle ergometric exercise sessions were scheduled to assess long-term-exercise performance. In 160 of these 169 patients (95%) an average of seven ergometric measurements were available during a mean follow-up period of 29 months (range 1 to 60 months). Two groups were formed...

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that regional left ventricular (LV) function during balloon angioplasty is related to the amount of collateral flow to the ischaemic region. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Tertiary referral centre. METHODS In 50 patients with coronary artery disease and without myocardial infarction, regional systolic and diastolic LV function was determined using tissu...