Traditionally, coronary artery disease was assessed using coronary angiographic guidance. Significant lesions were determined by the coronary angiographer. However, interobserver variability showed a significant limitation of interpretation of coronary angiography. Stent deployment and apposition were also evaluated based on angiographic appearance only. Risk factors for stent thrombosis and in...

BACKGROUND Drug-eluting stent (DES) -induced coronary vasospasm is a well known phenomenon after stent implantation; however, the extent of this risk is still unknown. We report a case in which DES-induced severe coronary vasospasm was clinically suspected as a cause of subacute stent thrombosis (ST). CASE PRESENTATION A 67-year-old man came to our hospital due to chest pain with mild exercis...

AIMS Coronary late stent thrombosis, a rare but devastating complication, remains an important concern in particular with the increasing use of drug-eluting stents. Notably, pathological studies have indicated that the proportion of uncovered coronary stent struts represents the best morphometric predictor of late stent thrombosis. Intracoronary optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI), a novel ...

A 56-year-old woman underwent a primary percutaneous coronary intervention: after thrombus aspiration, a 3.5 15-mm dual-therapy stent (Combo, OrbusNeich Medical, Fort Lauderdale, Florida) was directly implanted at nominal pressure in the proximal right coronary artery. Because of nonuniform balloon expansion during stent implantation, we performed enhanced stent imaging (ESI), which showed a sl...

BACKGROUND The advent of fibrin-binding molecular magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents and advances in coronary MRI techniques offers the potential for direct imaging of coronary thrombosis. We tested the feasibility of this approach using a gadolinium (Gd)-based fibrin-binding contrast agent, EP-2104R (EPIX Medical Inc), in a swine model of coronary thrombus and in-stent thrombosis. METHO...

Coronary stent implantation has significantly improved percutaneous coronary intervention and enabled the management of early complications of plain balloon angioplasty (POBA). By preventing elastic recoil and constrictive remodeling, coronary stent implantation decreases the frequency of restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention. However, a new complication has accompanied these impr...

There have been a growing numbers of patients diagnosed with malignancy and coronary artery disease simultaneously or serially. In the era of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), stent thrombosis has been a rare but challenging problem. Recently, we experienced two unique cases of acute stent thrombosis in patients with malignancy. The first case showed acute and subacute stent thrombosis ...

A 69-year-old patient with unstable angina presented to cardiac catheterization with a tight lesion in the mid right coronary artery (Figure 1A) and moderate lesions in the left main and left anterior descending coronary arteries. During coronary angioplasty, a stent was electively implanted in the right coronary artery, with good initial results. However, during subsequent aggressive, high-pre...

OBJECTIVES The study examined the frequency, correlates, and outcome of patients with stent thrombosis within 30 days of stent placement. BACKGROUND Patients in trials evaluating stents or dual antiplatelet therapy to prevent coronary stent thrombosis have generally had narrow inclusion criteria; the extent to which stent thrombosis rates in such trials represent current practice, particularl...

We now have at our disposal a variety of new technologies for percutaneous coronary revascularization, including drug-eluting stents (DES), intracoronary radiation therapy, and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors. Coronary stents have improved both early and late outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention. Stent characteristics including design, stent strut thickness, and stent metal al...