PURPOSE During carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS), hemodynamic instability (HDI) can occur, possibly causing post-procedural ischemic complications. The goal of this study was to investigate the risk factors of HDI focusing on characteristics of plaque. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty nine CAS patients were retrospectively evaluated for HDI. Prolonged HDI that lasted over 30 minutes was anal...

BACKGROUND Circulating microparticles (MPs) have been reported to be associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). In this study, we explored the relationship between MPs procoagulant activity and characteristics of atherosclerotic plaque detected by 64-slice computed tomography angiography (CTA). METHODS In 127 consecutive patients with CAD but without acute coronary syndrome and who underw...

Percutaneous direct needle puncture of calcified plaque (PIERCE) technique is a valuable method to allow extreme revascularization occluded below-the-ankle vessels. We herein report the case an antegrade recanalization from peroneal medial plantar artery throughout external "cracking" tarsal artery.

OBJECTIVE Some intestinal microbiota-generated metabolites of phosphatidylcholine are recognized to be proatherogenic. As the HIV population is vulnerable to cardiovascular disease and can develop intestinal dysbiosis associated with systemic inflammation, we investigated the novel relationship between microbiota-derived metabolites of phosphatidylcholine and coronary atherosclerosis in HIV. ...

We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a scoring balloon catheter in expanding a circumferentially calcified lesion compared to a conventional balloon catheter using an in vitro experiment setting and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of this ability using a finite element analysis. True efficacy of the scoring device and the underlying mechanisms for heavily calcified coronary lesions ...

OBJECTIVE To compare the effects of arterial remodelling and plaque characteristics on the mechanisms of direct stenting and predilatation stenting. Direct stenting has become routine in some laboratories and differs technically from predilatation stenting. METHODS Pre- and post-interventional volumetric intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was undertaken in 30 patients with direct stenting and in...

Objective: To compare the effects of arterial remodelling and plaque characteristics on the mechanisms of direct stenting and predilatation stenting. Direct stenting has become routine in some laboratories and differs technically from predilatation stenting. Methods: Preand post-interventional volumetric intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was undertaken in 30 patients with direct stenting and in 3...

Previous studies demonstrated that blacks have less coronary artery calcification (CAC) than whites. We evaluated racial differences in plaque composition and stenosis in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. HIV-positive and HIV-negative men underwent noncontrast cardiac computed tomography (CT) if they were aged 40 to 70 years, weighed <136 kg, and had no history of cardiac surgery or revascular...

Mutations of the ENPP1 gene encoding ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1 (NPP1) are associated with medial calcification in infancy. While the inhibitory role of matrix proteins such as osteopontin (OPN) with respect to atherosclerotic plaque calcification has been established, the role of NPP1 in plaque calcification is not known. We assessed the degree of plaque calcification ...

A 58-year-old man presented with stable angina pectoris. Coronary computed tomography angiography and coronary angiography revealed significant diffuse stenosis suggestive of coronary artery calcification at the proximal to midleft circumflex artery (Figures 1A, 1B). Percutaneous coronary intervention was performed. Frequency-domain optical coherence tomography revealed calcified plaques (Figur...