Catheterization and cardiovascular interventions : official journal of the Society for Cardiac Angiography & Interventions
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Catheter Cardiovasc Interv · Jul 2000
Combination therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin after coronary stenting.
Combination antiplatelet therapy using aspirin and ticlopidine has been the standard of care for prevention of subacute thrombosis following coronary stent implantation. However, the use of ticlopidine is associated with a significant risk of adverse hematologic side effects. Clopidogrel is an inhibitor of ADP-induced platelet aggregation that has a better safety profile than ticlopidine. ⋯ The combined frequency of subacute stent thrombosis and death was 1.6%. This is comparable to prior studies using the combination of ticlopidine and aspirin following stenting. Therefore, clopidogrel in combination with aspirin appears to be a safe and effective therapy in the prevention of subacute thrombosis following coronary stent implantation.
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Catheter Cardiovasc Interv · Jun 2000
Comparative StudyTreatment of pulmonary artery stenosis after arterial switch operation: stent implantation vs. balloon angioplasty.
The development of pulmonary artery stenosis is a potential complication during the mid- to long-term follow-up after arterial switch operation (ASO) for transposition of the great arteries. Surgical results have been disappointing and conventional balloon dilation yields a fairly important incidence of failures and recurrences. We evaluated our results with implantation of balloon-expandable stents in 5 out of 13 patients with a previously attempted unsuccessful conventional balloon dilation of pulmonary artery branch stenosis after ASO. ⋯ Balloon angioplasty achieved a 15% increase in mean diameter of the stenosis vs. 124% with the use of stents (P< 0.01), a 10% decrease of the pressure gradient across the stenosis vs. 71% of stents (P<0.01), and a 10% drop in RV/aorta pressure ratio vs. 43% of stents (P<0.01). Compared to conventional balloon angioplasty in our series, stents were more effective in the treatment of patients with peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis after ASO. Balloon dilation should be considered in selected cases unsuitable for treatment with endovascular stents.
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Catheter Cardiovasc Interv · May 2000
Review Case ReportsEndoluminal treatment of acute aortoiliac thrombosis.
A 55-year-old woman presented with an ulcerative stenosis of the distal abdominal aorta. She was scheduled to undergo percutaneous aortic balloon angioplasty the next day. ⋯ A second abdominal angiogram revealed thrombosis of the infrarenal abdominal aorta and left common iliac artery. This was treated by means of simple transcatheter thrombus aspiration and thrombolysis, followed by stenting of the aorta.
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Catheter Cardiovasc Interv · Apr 2000
Cardiac catheterization reduces resource utilization in patients with chronic chest pain.
The evaluation of patients with recurrent chest pain accounts for a significant proportion of the $274 billion annual cost of cardiovascular services in the United States. Our investigation examines the impact of coronary angiography on subsequent use of medical resources for evaluation of chest pain symptoms. The study seeks to determine whether a finding of noncritical coronary artery disease on cardiac catheterization leads to a reduced use of resources for subsequent evaluation and treatment of chest pain syndromes. ⋯ Diagnostic coronary arteriography may identify a subset of patients in whom a finding of noncritical coronary artery disease leads to a reduction in physician visits for evaluation of chest pain syndromes and reduced use of nitrates. In addition, when coronary artery disease is known to be mild, a noncardiac etiology for the chest pain can be sought. These results may decrease the use of expensive medical resources and encourage full occupational and lifestyle rehabilitation.
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Catheter Cardiovasc Interv · Feb 2000
Case ReportsTranscatheter closure of apical ventricular muscular septal defect combined with arterial switch operation in a newborn infant.
This report describes a case of transposition of the great arteries and apical muscular ventricular septal defect in a newborn infant successfully treated by transcatheter closure of the septal defect with the Amplatzer duct occluder device followed by an arterial-switch operation within the first 2 weeks of life. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Intervent. 49:173-176, 2000.