Palmaz-Schatz Coronary Stent Implantation Without Intravascular Ultrasound and Without Subsequent Anticoagulation: Clinical Outcome.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the safety and efficacy of antiplatelet therapy alone in a selected group of patients following coronary stenting. BACKGROUND: Coronary stent implantation is an effective treatment for abrupt closure, and can also reduce the restenosis rate following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. However, anticoagulation therapy following stent implantation is associated with a significant incidence of vascular complications and subacute stent thrombosis.

Transesophageal echocardiographically facilitated early cardioversion from atrial fibrillation using short-term anticoagulation: final results of a prospective 4.5-year study.

Objectives: We sought to validate the safety of transesophageal echocardiographically guided early cardioversion in conjunction with short-term anticoagulation as a strategy for guiding early cardioversion in hospitalized patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Because atrial thrombi are poorly seen by conventional imaging techniques, several weeks of prophylactic anticoagulation is routinely prescribed before cardioversion. Transesophageal echocardiography is a superior test for identifying atrial thrombi; preliminary feasibility studies have supported its use to guide early cardioversion for patients in whom no thrombus is observed, but safety has not been validated in any large series.

Intracardiac angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition improves diastolic function in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy due to aortic stenosis.

Background: Cardiac hypertrophy is associated with elevated intracardiac angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, which may contribute to diastolic dysfunction.

Methods And Results: We infused enalaprilat (0.05 mg/min) for 15 minutes into the left coronary arteries of 20 adult patients with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy due to aortic stenosis (mean aortic valve area, 0.

Basic fibroblast growth factor improves myocardial function in chronically ischemic porcine hearts.

The effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) administration on regional myocardial function and blood flow in chronically ischemic hearts was studied in 26 pigs instrumented with proximal circumflex coronary artery (LCX) ameroid constrictors. In 13 animals bFGF was administered extraluminally to the proximal left anterior descending (LAD) and LCX arteries with heparin-alginate beads and 13 other animal served as controls. bFGF-treated pigs showed a fourfold reduction in left ventricular infarct size compared to untreated controls (infarct size: 1.