OBJECTIVES We hypothesized that percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty performed on coronary stenoses that have demonstrated rapid angiographic progression would be associated with a high risk of restenosis. BACKGROUND High rates of restenosis have been documented after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty of unstable lesions and of lesions that recur rapidly after a success...

Although many patients with coronary artery disease are being treated by coronary stents, in-stent restenosis is the major limitation of percutaneous coronary stenting procedures. Most stents are made of stainless steel, and that, allergic reactions to nickel ions released from coronary stainless-steel stents may be one of the triggering mechanisms for in-stent restenosis. We aimed to evaluate ...

The effectiveness of coronary stents in reducing angioplasty restenosis rates in de novo and restenotic lesions and their use without systemic anticoagulation prompted widespread acceptance of this technology. Despite these achievements, recurrence of luminal narrowing due to in-stent restenosis (ISR) occurs in a relatively high percentage of cases, when stents are implanted in complex lesions,...

After the introduction of coronary stenting, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was established as the most reliable imaging tool to guide stenting in complex lesions, including coverage of ostial lesions, bifurcation lesions, left main stenting, and chronic total occlusions; and is helpful in determining the cause of stent failures, including in-stent restenosis. These features once verified by I...

OBJECTIVE Drug eluting stents (DES) reduce the incidence of restenosis after coronary angioplasty. Enthusiasm has been tempered by a possible increased risk of in-stent thrombosis. We examined the effects of paclitaxel and rapamycin on the endothelial transcriptome to identify alterations in gene expression associated with thrombosis. METHODS AND RESULTS Gene expression profiling was performe...

BACKGROUND The role of stents, especially of heparin-coated stents for the treatment of stenoses in small coronary arteries, is still unclear. Therefore, we performed this prospective, randomized trial to evaluate the angiographic and clinical outcome after treatment of stenoses in small coronary arteries (2.0 to 2.6 mm) of symptomatic patients. METHODS AND RESULTS We randomly assigned 588 pa...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for significant stenosis involving the origin of the vertebral artery is now a well established treatment for selected patients when posterior cerebral arterial circulation is compromised. Arterial spasm, dissection, and restenosis may occur in some instances, with subsequent hemodynamic compromise. To prevent these potential co...

S ince the initial case of plain old balloon angioplasty by Andreas Grüntzig in 1977, there has been tremendous advancement in the treatment of coronary artery disease. After balloons and bare-metal stents (BMS), the introduction of drugeluting stents (DES) in 2002 transformed the practice of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) by significantly reducing rates of restenosis and repeat revas...

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has greatly benefited patients with occluded coronary arteries, but its benefits have been undermined by a high incidence of restenosis. The introduction of coronary stents has significantly improved the short and long term outcome but restenosis still occurs in approximately 15-30 % of patients within 6 months. Research efforts are now bein...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to compare post-dilation strategies of nitinol self-expanding stents implanted in the superficial femoral artery of diabetic patients with peripheral arterial disease. BACKGROUND Endovascular treatment of superficial femoral artery disease with nitinol self-expanding stents is associated with high rates of in-stent restenosis in patients with diabetes m...