OBJECTIVE To investigate the relation between plasma concentrations of immunoreactive endothelin and haemodynamic variables before and after percutaneous transvenous balloon dilatation of the mitral valve. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING National cardiovascular centre. PATIENTS 25 patients with mitral stenosis and 26 healthy volunteers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Plasma concentrations of i...

Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), a vascular disease of unknown etiology, most often affects the renal arteries (85% of cases) of young females [1] . However, this disease may also produce areas of stenosis at the C1-C2 vertebral level in the internal carotid artery (ICA) [1, 2]. Lesions producing symptoms have been managed by bougie dilatation, surgical endarterectomy, excision and artery reconst...

AIMS Calcific coronary lesions impose a rigid obstacle to optimal balloon and stent expansion and the 20 to 30 atm limit that non-compliant (NC) balloons reach can be insufficient. The aim of our study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new dedicated super high-pressure NC balloon (OPN NC®; SIS Medical AG, Winterthur, Switzerland). METHODS AND RESULTS We retrospectively evaluated a ...

Dysphagia secondary to peripheral cranial nerve injury originates from weak and uncoordinated contraction-relaxation of cricopharyngeal muscle. We report on two patients who suffered vagus nerve injury during surgery and showed sudden dysphagia by opening dysfunction of upper esophageal sphincter (UES). Videofluoroscopy-guided balloon dilatation of UES was performed. We confirmed an early impro...