Thirty-five patients greater than 70 years of age with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were treated with emergency percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Seventeen (49%) patients received previous thrombolytic therapy: streptokinase (10 patients), tissue plasminogen activator (6) and combined tissue plasminogen activator and urokinase (1). Infarct-related artery patency was ac...

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to use electrocardiogram (ECG)-independent parameters to determine whether preconditioning (PC) exists in humans during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). BACKGROUND Several studies suggest that both ischemia and adenosine induce PC in the human heart during PTCA. However, because almost all of these studies relied on ST-segment s...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate trends in referrals for emergency operations after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) complications; to analyse morbidity and mortality and assess the influence of PTCA backup on elective surgery. DESIGN A retrospective analysis of patients requiring emergency surgical revascularisation within 24 hours of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty...

BACKGROUND In the setting of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), immediate information about the result of the intervention is important, whereas morphological parameters are often less reliable than in diagnostic coronary arteriography. Recently, a new videodensitometric method was introduced and validated in animal experiments, which allows accurate comparison of maximal my...

The choice of the most appropriate mode of myocardial revascularisation remains open in many patients. All randomised trials comparing surgery (CABG) and angioplasty (PTCA) have shown that both modalities are equivalent in terms of survival or infarct free survival; but all showed that patients treated with PTCA required many more admissions for additional revascularisation procedures during fo...

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. BACKGROUND The coronary collateral circulation is a preformed network anastomotic connections acting as "natural bypass" mechanism. Whilst the prevalence collaterals varies between species, approximately 25% patients have angiographically visible robust at time ST elevation myocardial infarction. While presence associated with imp...

BACKGROUND To characterize the cells responsible for neointima formation after porcine coronary artery wall injury, we studied the expression of smooth muscle cell (SMC) differentiation markers in 2 models: (1) self-expanding stent implantation resulting in no or little interruption of internal elastic lamina and (2) percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) resulting in complete me...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether inhibition of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) can prevent angiotensin II production in the coronary circulation induced by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in patients with myocardial ischaemia. DESIGN, PATIENTS 41 patients who underwent elective PTCA and six control subjects who received diagnostic coronary angiography were studied. Pat...

Objective: To assess effects on left ventricular (LV) function and on long term clinical outcome of late percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) of a chronically occluded infarct related artery. Methods: 65 patients who underwent PTCA a mean (SD) of 6.0 (1.2) months after a previous myocardial infarction were divided in two groups according to dilated artery patency status after P...