RATIONALE Inadequate stent expansion due to rigid calcified may result in restenosis lesions, but the available options are limited. PATIENT CONCERNS We report a case via the trans-radial approach of the severely underexpanded freshly deployed stent due to heavily calcified plaques DIAGNOSES:: Coronary angiography revealed that there was no adequate expansion of the freshly deployed stent. ...

In 12 patients (aged 64±10 years) with femoropopliteal occlusions (1-27 cm; average, 8.4 cm length) that could not be recanalized by standard guidewire-balloon angioplasty techniques, percutaneous laser-assisted balloon angioplasty was performed by use of a new fluorescenceguided dual-laser system. Plaque detection by 325-nm laser-excited fluorescence spectroscopy provided real-time feedback co...

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to use intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to compare octogenarians versus patients <65 years of age with regard to culprit lesion morphology in acute myocardial infarction (MI). BACKGROUND Although octogenarians represent the fastest-growing segment of our population and have a higher risk profile, they are underrepresented in therapeutic trials. METHODS B...

This review article is focused on the role of FDG-PET/CT in visualizing atherosclerosis and on the relevance of inflammatory cells such as macrophages and T-lymphocytes in the formation of the atherosclerotic plaque. The vulnerability of the inflammatory plaque and the risk derived from the provocation of cardio- and cerebrovascular incidents independently from the presence of stenotic vessels ...

Plaque progression is a multi-faceted process characterized by the incidence, extent, stenosis, burden, morphology, and vulnerability of plaque, which may ultimately result in myocardial infarction or death. For years, intravenous ultrasound (IVUS) has been the primary modality to study progression. However, it is invasive and impractical for screening or monitoring. While coronary artery calci...

In this work, the deployment of a self-expanding stent in a stenosed artery was evaluated through finite element analysis. The three-layered structure of the artery and their material properties were measured and implemented in our computational models. The instant outcomes, including lumen gain, tissue prolapse, and stress distribution, were quantified, and the effect of plaque calcification w...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES Controversy exists regarding the relationship between atherosclerosis and osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery (CCA), presence of calcified atherosclerotic plaques and bone mineral density (BMD) evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), in postmenopausal women. ...

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the most severe form of ischemic heart disease. Although it caused by atherosclerotic plaque thrombosis or nonatherosclerotic causes, its pathophysiological mechanism ACS not fully understood, and concept constantly updated developed. At present, main mechanisms include rupture, erosion, calcified nodules (CN) non-atherosclerotic causes such as vasospasm myocard...