Increased intimal apoptosis in coronary atherosclerotic vessel segments lacking compensatory enlargement. (41/228)

OBJECTIVES: In a histopathologic study, we assessed the balance of cell proliferation and apoptosis by counting the number of apoptotic and proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive cells in freshly harvested atherectomy specimens from 34 patients. BACKGROUND: Remodeling of human coronary arteries is an adaptive process that alters vascular lumen size. METHODS: Intravascular ultrasound was performed prior to atherectomy. Total vessel area (area within the external elastic lamina [EEL]), lumen area and plaque area were measured at the region of interest (ROI), and at a proximal and distal reference segment, utilizing the formula Delta(%)=100x(ROI-reference segment)/reference segment. Positive arterial remodeling (R+) resulting in luminal expansion was defined as DeltaEEL >10%. Absence of remodeling (0 < DeltaEEL <10%) and constrictive arterial remodeling (DeltaEEL <0) were considered as neutral remodeling (R0) and negative remodeling (R-), respectively. RESULTS: In R- lesions, apoptotic indices (APO) were significantly elevated (17.17 +/- 2.19%) compared with R+ lesions (4.89 +/- 1.7%; p = 0.0007). In a rabbit iliac percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty model intimal apoptosis was increased four weeks after balloon angioplasty injury (APO 8.8 +/- 0.03%) compared with contralateral untreated segments (APO 3.0 +/- 0.04%, n = 6). Lesions with an EEL/intimal area <3.0 showed significantly more intimal apoptosis than untreated lesions (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that constrictive remodeling of atherosclerotic coronary lesions is associated with increased apoptosis of intimal cells. We speculate that increased apoptosis is due to extensive plaque healing after episodes of symptomatic or asymptomatic plaque rupture.  (+info)

Coronary in-stent restenosis: current status and future strategies. (42/228)

In-stent restenosis (ISR) is a novel pathobiologic process, histologically distinct from restenosis after balloon angioplasty and comprised largely of neointima formation. As percutaneous coronary intervention increasingly involves the use of stents, ISR is also becoming correspondingly more frequent. In this review, we examine the available studies of the histology and pathogenesis of ISR, with particular reference to porcine and other animal models. An overview of mechanical treatments is then provided, which includes PTCA, directional coronary atherectomy and high speed rotational atherectomy. Radiation-based therapies are discussed, including a summary of current problems associated with this modality of treatment. Finally, novel strategies for the prevention of ISR are addressed, including novel developments in stents and stent coatings, conventional drugs, nucleic acid-based drugs and gene transfer. Until recently, limited pharmacologic and mechanical treatment options have been available for both treatment and prevention of ISR. However, recent advances in gene modification and gene transfer therapies and, more particularly, in local stent-based drug delivery systems make it conceivable that the incidence of ISR will now be seriously challenged.  (+info)

Rotational atherectomy does not reduce recurrent in-stent restenosis: results of the angioplasty versus rotational atherectomy for treatment of diffuse in-stent restenosis trial (ARTIST). (43/228)

BACKGROUND: Aim of this trial was to compare rotational atherectomy followed by balloon angioplasty (rotablation [ROTA] group) with balloon angioplasty (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty [PTCA] group) alone in patients with diffuse in-stent restenosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: The ARTIST study is a multicenter, randomized, prospective European trial with 298 patients with in-stent restenosis>70% (mean lesion length, 14 +/- 8 mm) in stents, implanted in coronary arteries for >/= 3 months. In the PTCA group, angioplasty was performed at the discretion of the local investigator, and rotablation was performed by using a stepped-burr approach followed by adjunctive PTCA with low (/= 50%) rates of 51% (PTCA) and 65% (ROTA) (P=0.039). By intravascular ultrasound, the major difference was the missing stent over-expansion during PTCA after ROTA. Six-month event-free survival was significantly higher after PTCA (91.3%) compared with ROTA (79.6%, P=0.0052). CONCLUSIONS: In terms of the primary objective of the study, PTCA produced a significantly better long-term outcome than ROTA followed by adjunctive low-pressure PTCA.  (+info)

A contemporary overview of percutaneous coronary interventions. The American College of Cardiology-National Cardiovascular Data Registry (ACC-NCDR). (44/228)

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) established the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (ACC-NCDR) to provide a uniform and comprehensive database for analysis of cardiovascular procedures across the country. The initial focus has been the high-volume, high-profile procedures of diagnostic cardiac catheterization and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Several large-scale multicenter efforts have evaluated diagnostic catheterization and PCI, but these have been limited by lack of standard definitions and relatively nonuniform data collection and reporting methods. Both clinical and procedural data, and adverse events occurring up to hospital discharge, were collected and reported according to uniform guidelines using a standard set of 143 data elements. Datasets were transmitted quarterly to a central facility for quality-control screening, storage and analysis. This report is based on PCI data collected from January 1, 1998, through September 30, 2000.A total of 139 hospitals submitted data on 146,907 PCI procedures. Of these, 32% (46,615 procedures) were excluded because data did not pass quality-control screening. The remaining 100,292 procedures (68%) were included in the analysis set. Average age was 64 +/- 12 years; 34% were women, 26% had diabetes mellitus, 29% had histories of prior myocardial infarction (MI), 32% had prior PCI and 19% had prior coronary bypass surgery. In 10% the indication for PCI was acute MI < or =6 h from onset, while in 52% it was class II to IV or unstable angina. Only 5% of procedures did not have a class I indication by ACC criteria, but this varied by hospital from a low of 0 to a high of 38%. A coronary stent was placed in 77% of procedures, but this varied by hospital from a low of 0 to a high of 97%. The frequencies of in-hospital Q-wave MI, coronary artery bypass graft surgery and death were 0.4%, 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively. Mortality varied by hospital from a low of 0 to a high of 4.2%. This report presents the first data collected and analyzed by the ACC-NCDR. It portrays a contemporary overview of coronary interventional practices and outcomes, using uniform data collection and reporting standards. These data reconfirm overall acceptable results that are consistent with other reported data, but also confirm large variations between individual institutions.  (+info)

The impact of renal insufficiency on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions. (45/228)

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the effect of varying degrees of renal insufficiency on death and cardiac events during and after a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: Patients with end-stage renal disease have a high mortality from coronary artery disease. Little is known about the impact of mild and moderate renal insufficiency on clinical outcomes after PCI. METHODS: Cardiac mortality and all-cause mortality were determined for 5,327 patients undergoing PCI from January 1, 1994, to August 31, 1999, at the Mayo Clinic, based on the estimated creatinine clearance or whether the patient was on dialysis. RESULTS: In-hospital mortality was significantly associated with renal insufficiency (p = 0.001). Even after successful PCI, one-year mortality was 1.5% when the creatinine clearance was > or =70 ml/min (n = 2,558), 3.6% when it was 50 to 69 ml/min (n = 1,458), 7.8% when it was 30 to 49 ml/min (n = 828) and 18.3% when it was < 30 ml/min (n = 141). The 18.3% mortality rate for the group with < 30 ml/min creatinine clearance was similar to the 19.9% mortality rate in patients on dialysis (n = 46). The mortality risk was largely independent of all other factors. CONCLUSIONS: Renal insufficiency is a strong predictor of death and subsequent cardiac events in a dose-dependent fashion during and after PCI. Patients with renal insufficiency have more baseline cardiovascular risk factors, but renal insufficiency is associated with an increased risk of death and other adverse cardiovascular events, independent of all other measured variables.  (+info)

Early and late clinical outcomes following coronary perforation in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. (46/228)

Coronary perforation is a rare but serious complication that occurs during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study examines the frequency of coronary perforation during PCI, evaluates the management strategies used to treat perforations, and describes the long-term prognosis of patients who have developed coronary perforation during PCI. Coronary perforations were found in 69 (0.93%) of 7,443 consecutive PCI procedures, occurring more often after use of a new device (0.86%) than after use of balloon angioplasty (0.41%) (p<0.05). Coronary perforation was attributable solely to the coronary guidewire in 27 (0.36%) cases. Coronary perforations were divided into 2 types: (1) Those with epicardial staining without ajet of contrast extravasation (type I, n=51), and (2) those with a jet of contrast extravasation (type II, n= 18). Patients with type I and type II perforations were managed by observation only (35% and 0%, respectively), reversal of anticoagulation (57% and 94%), pericardiocentesis and drainage (27% and 61%), and prolonged perfusion balloon angioplasty (16% and 100%). Two patients with type II perforations required emergency coronary artery bypass surgery. There were no in-hospital deaths. Late pseudoaneurysms developed in 18 (28.6%) patients during the 13.4 +/- 11.3 months' follow-up period, and were more common in patients with type II perforations (72.2% vs 11.1% with type I perforations; p<0.001). During the follow-up period, no patient had evidence of coronary rupture. The results suggest that coronary perforation is uncommon after PCI, and can be managed without cardiac surgery in the majority of cases. Late pseudoaneurysms developed in some patients, particularly in patients with type II perforations, but there were no late consequences of coronary perforation after PCI.  (+info)

Role of plaque proliferation in late lumen loss after directional coronary atherectomy. (47/228)

Previous reports suggest that vessel remodeling is the most important factor in late lumen loss in non-stented lesions, but because results of directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) show that increased plaque area (PA) is also important, the aim of this study was to redefine the mechanism of late lumen loss after DCA. One hundred and twenty lesions that underwent DCA with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance and serial IVUS analysis were studied, and vessel area (VA), lumen area (LA), PA (VA-LA) and corrected values (each value divided by the value of VA pre procedure to correct the vessel size) were analyzed. During follow-up, corrected VA (cVA) decreased by 0.058 +/- 0.191, whereas corrected PA (cPA) increased by 0.087 +/- 0.159. Though the %PA (PA/VA) after the procedure showed significant negative correlation with the subsequent change in cPA, it did not correlate with the subsequent change in cVA. In conclusions, the mechanism of late lumen loss after DCA consists of both arterial remodeling and plaque proliferation, and the residual %PA after the procedure determines the subsequent lumen loss. With a lower %PA, a change in the PA contributes more to late lumen loss than do changes in VA. With a high %PA, a change in the VA contributes more to late lumen loss.  (+info)

Guidewire bias in rotational atherectomy in the angled lesion: evaluation based on the thickness of the ablated intima and media. (48/228)

The effect of guidewire bias on angled-lesion ablation by rotational atherectomy (RA) was assessed by measuring the changes in vertical lumen diameter, horizontal lumen diameter and the intima-media thickness of the coronary artery, using intravascular ultrasound in 10 lesions with an angle greater than 10 degrees. The vertical and horizontal diameters significantly increased after RA. The intima-media thickness at the 4 orthogonal sites significantly decreased. There was a significant positive correlation between vertical diameter change and angle (r=0.642, p=0.045), but none between horizontal diameter change and angle. There was no correlation between intima-media thickness change at 0 degrees and angle; however, at 180 degrees there was a tendency to correlation with angle (r=0.602, p=0.066). These data suggest that in cases of angled lesions, the increase in vertical lumen diameter is caused more by ablation of the 180 degrees wall than by that of the 0 degrees wall, which is brought about by guidewire bias toward the vascular wall at 180 degrees.  (+info)