Background. Controversy exists regarding the ability of intra-aortic balloon pumping to increase coronary blood flow in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease. To assess the effects of intra-aortic balloon pumping on coronary hemodynamics, we measured coronary blood flow velocity with a 0.018-in. Doppler-tipped angioplasty guide wire in 15 patients who received an intra-aortic balloo...

Despite the increasing use of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and intracoronary stent placement for the treatment of obstructive coronary artery disease, a large subset of coronary lesions cannot be adequately treated with balloon angioplasty and/or intracoronary stenting alone. Such lesions are often heavily calcified or fibrotic and undilatable with the present balloon technolo...

Left ventricular performance during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty was assessed in 52 patients by intravenous digital subtraction ventriculography. After injection of contrast into the right atrium ventriculograms were obtained before and during balloon inflation. In 37 patients they were also obtained after the procedure. A 12 lead electrocardiogram was monitored throughout. Du...

ercutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was introduced into clinical practice more than 20 years ago. 1 The breathtaking growth of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) during the 1990s in Europe (fig 1) reflects their widespread acceptance for coronary revascularisation, challenging coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). This review provides an overview of current coronary in...

BACKGROUND Controversy exists regarding the ability of intra-aortic balloon pumping to increase coronary blood flow in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease. To assess the effects of intra-aortic balloon pumping on coronary hemodynamics, we measured coronary blood flow velocity with a 0.018-in. Doppler-tipped angioplasty guide wire in 15 patients who received an intra-aortic balloon...

Background. Controversy exists regarding the ability of intra-aortic balloon pumping to increase coronary blood flow in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease. To assess the effects of intra-aortic balloon pumping on coronary hemodynamics, we measured coronary blood flow velocity with a 0.018-in. Doppler-tipped angioplasty guide wire in 15 patients who received an intra-aortic balloo...

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using balloon angioplasty with stenting has become a mainstay in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Over one million PCI procedures were performed in the U.S. alone in 2000, nearly one-half of which involved placement of a coronary stent (1). This number is expected to increase as more revascularization procedures that were pre...

BACKGROUND Excimer laser coronary angioplasty is a new, investigational technique for treating coronary artery stenoses. Initial reports have demonstrated acute efficacy and relative safety of this procedure, but have not addressed the effect of lesion type on acute success and complication rates. METHODS AND RESULTS In the first 100 patients undergoing percutaneous excimer laser coronary ang...