June 2014

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Volume 26 Issue 6
Transradial Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Word of Caution
A commentary on “Operator and institutional experience reduces room-to-balloon times for transradial primary percutaneous coronary intervention,” by Barringhaus, et al.
Diagnostic Dilemma: Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Versus Acute Coronary Syndrome
We highlight the diagnostic dilemma and therapeutic challenges encountered in a patient presenting to the emergency room with chest pain when coronary artery disease coexisted with takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Successful Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Chronic Total Occlusion of the RCA Using “Bidirectional Kissing-Balloon” Technique
We report on the usefulness of the bidirectional kissing-balloon technique for a retrograde approach to chronically totally occluded coronary arterial bifurcation lesions.
Pheochromocytoma Found in Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Patients
Increased level of serum catecholamines in the acute phase was reported to be a feature of takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC). We report a TC case with pheochromocytoma, which caused a stir in the diagnosis of TC and suggests the importance of screening f…
Recanalization of a Total Occlusion With Marked Retrograde Collateral Supply: Impact of Collateral Circulation on Fractional Flow Reserve Measurements of Donor Artery
Fractional flow reserve (FFR)-based coronary interventions of intermediate-severity lesions are safe, cost effective, and have prognostic importance. Well-developed collateral circulation might result in overestimation of the FFR value in the donor a…
In-Stent Anchoring Facilitates Balloon Delivery for Final Kissing
Kissing-balloon inflation is sometimes technically challenging due to inability to deliver the side-branch balloon across the structure of the main vessel stent(s). We describe an improved in-stent anchoring technique to facilitate balloon delivery t…
Novel Use of an Apical-Femoral Wire Rail to Assist With Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
The inability to reposition or retrieve balloon-expandable transcatheter aortic valves once they have been deployed requires implantation of the valve in the descending aorta or open surgical procedures to extract the valve. We describe the challengi…
Novel Use of a Guide Extension Mother-and-Child Catheter for Adjunctive Thrombectomy During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Acute Coronary Syndromes
The use of adjunctive thrombectomy during primary percutaneous coronary intervention has steadily increased with recent trials demonstrating an improved clinical and mortality benefit for manual aspiration thrombectomy. The use of an in-dwelling guid…
Evaluating Embolic Reduction Techniques Concurrent to Infrainguinal Interventions: A Single-Center Experience
A single-center retrospective evaluation of embolic reduction strategies concurrent to infrainguinal atherectomy intervention. An embolic reduction strategy using the Proteus catheter alone, particularly when Proteus and lesion lengths meet, or with…
Diabetes Mellitus is Not a Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Spasm as Assessed by an Intracoronary Acetylcholine Provocation Test: Angiographic and Clinical Characteristics of 986 Patients
Both diabetes mellitus (DM) and coronary artery spasm (CAS) are associated with endothelial dysfunction; thus, a higher incidence of CAS is expected in diabetic patients. We evaluated the impacts of DM and the status of blood sugar control on CAS wit…