Background Trapidil is an antiplatelet drug with specific platelet-derived growth factor antagonism and antiproliferative effects in the rat and rabbit models after balloon angioplasty. Methods and Results The Studio Trapidil versus Aspirin nella Restenosi Coronarica (STARC) is a multicentric, randomized, double-blind trial to assess the effects of trapidil in angiographic restenosis prevention...

Thrombus exerts a major impact on the performance and outcome of primary and rescue interventions in acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Although the optimal treatment of thrombotic lesions is still controversial, thrombus aspiration provides an effective method to achieve successful reperfusion during primary angioplasty. We compared clinical and angiographic outcomes in 286 patients wit...

band, increasing from less than 1,000 per year in 1979–1981 to more than 300,000 per year in 1991. This was similar to the annual number of bypass operations . The number of annual catheterizations has now grown to approximately 1.4 million, with one of three patients who undergo diagnostic cardiac catheterization being referred for coronary angioplasty, compared with one of four being referred...

Retrograde dissection of the aorta is a rare but potentially life threatening complication of percutaneous coronary intervention. We describe a case of retrograde aortic dissection, which occurred during attempted percutaneous transluminal coroanary angioplasty (PTCA) of chronically occluded left anterior descending artery (LAD). Emergency coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was performed to...

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is a novel procedure to Barbadian healthcare. Only one centre in Barbados provides PTCA and stenting. This is a retrospective study aimed at describing the initial results of coronary angioplasty and stenting in the first 48 patients at the Carib-American Heart Centre and exploring the feasibility and safety of coronary angioplasty and stent...

A patient who underwent a successful double-vessel percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) had suffered from exercise-induced ST-segment elevation associated with angina pectoris (AP). This ECG pattern was present both before and 12 months after PTCA while nifedipine (Adalat; Bayer-Miles) therapy was electively discontinued. Reintroduction of calcium blockade with this drug elimin...

In this supplement we present the design of the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI). The BARI team of investigators, data coordinators, staff, and support committees are committed to providing the highest quality data to scientifically test the proposed hypotheses. Considerable controversy exists about the extension of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) ...

During 1968 consecutive percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedures, 4 patients (0.2%) suffered a focal central nervous system complication. Two patients had a hemisphere infarct, one a brainstem infarct and one a hemisphere transient ischemic attack. Embolism was the likely mechanism in 3 cases; in 1 air was injected through the guiding catheter, and in 2 post-coronary byp...

Kawasaki Disease (KD) is an acute, febrile, multisystem disease of children. More severe complications in 15-25% of cases include, the development of coronary aneurysms, ischemic heart disease, and sudden cardiac death. The standard treatment for significant coronary artery stenosis has generally been aortocoronary bypass surgery, although percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) h...