January 2006

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Volume 18 Issue 1
What Would You Do if it Were Your Mother?
Nearly two years after the widespread introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES) on the U.S. market, it is perhaps time to step back and evaluate the impact of this revolutionary technology on the practice of cardiology. Financial modeling has suggest…
(A) Positive arterial remodeling. Intravascular ultrasound images from the reference site, and (B) the culprit site. The yellow tracing represents the luminal border and the green tracing the EEM tracing. One can appreciate the degree of positive (outward
Arterial Remodeling Correlates Positively with Serological Evidence of Inflammation in Patients with Chronic Stable
Angina Pect
The development and even progression of coronary atherosclerotic lesions may occur without compromising the lumen in the early phases due to outward growth of the vessel wall; a concept known as “positive” or “outward” arterial remodeling.1 Remodelin…
After the injection of 120 µg of IC nitroprusside in 2 repeated doses, a clear hourglass opacification of the myocardium was achieved (arrow).
Optimization of Myocardial Perfusion after Primary Coronary Angioplasty following an Acute Myocardial Infarction. Beyond TIMI 3
Primary angioplasty has become the preferred therapeutic modality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Despite a rapid and sustained restoration of flow through a previously occluded epicardial coronary artery, perfusion at the myocard…
Left ventriculography in 30º right anterior oblique projection showing the myocardial staining in left ventricle and left atrial appendage.
Myocardial Staining during Left Ventriculography with a Pigtail Catheter
The pigtail is the preferred catheter for left ventriculography. Because of its end-hole, which allows its manipulation with a guidewire, it can be advanced to the left ventricle both by the femoral and brachial approaches. The design of the catheter…
Right ventricular angiogram showing restrictive VSD with right-to-left shunting.
Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Stenting in Tetrology of Fallot with Restrictive Ventricular Septal Defect
Case Report. A 6-month-old child was admitted with cyanosis noted from birth with failure to thrive, cyanotic spells and worsening cyanosis. The child weighed 4.5 kg, had severe systemic desaturation (
Left coronary angiogram showing LAD filling defect.
Unrecognized Stent Embolization Causing Recurrent Chest Pain
Stent embolization is a relatively rare but serious complication of coronary stenting. Early reports identified hand-crimped and coiled stents as being particularly prone to embolization.1 In addition, certain procedural and lesion characteristics ha…
Scatterplot of maximum ACT observed versus total absolute heparin dose by treatment with jitter to distinguish duplicates.
Eptifibatide in Peripheral Vascular Interventions: Results of
the Integrilin Reduces Inflammation in Peripheral Vascular Interv
Balloon injury to the vessel wall triggers a reaction of thrombosis, inflammation and neointimal proliferation. The inflammatory process is mediated by a complex interaction between blood cells (platelets and leukocytes), coagulation factors (thrombi…
Baseline angiogram demonstrating critical ostial left main lesion.
Sandwich Drug-Eluting Stenting: A Novel Method to Treat
High-Risk Coronary Lesions
Drug-eluting stents (DES) have been established as a safe and effective tool in preventing in-stent restenosis and repeat revascularization in selected patients and lesions.1,2 However, individual and procedure-related factors can reduce their inhibi…
Thrombosis, Inflammation, and Our Evolving Understanding
of Vascular Biology during Interventional Therapy
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a problem of substantial public health importance. The disorder is estimated to affect 27 million people in Europe and North America alone.1 Recent data have consistently revealed a sharp increase in PAD prevalenc…
Another CTO Conundrum: Important Questions Remain
This short paper by Moreno et al. claims to show that patients with a chronic total occlusion (CTO) in a non-culprit coronary artery, who also have multivessel disease (MVD) and an acute myocardial infarction (MI) have a worse outcome than those with…