Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factors, Coronary Artery Calcification and Coronary Bypass Surgery.

Introduction: Atherosclerosis is an intimal disease which affects large and medium size arteries including aorta and carotid, coronary, cerebral and radial arteries. Calcium accumulated in the coronary arterial plaques have substantial contribution to the plaque volume. The aim of our study is to investigate the relationship between coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors and coronary arterial calcification, and to delineate the importance of CACS in coronary artery bypass surgery.

[Assessment of coronary artery calcium scoring].

Objectives: Calcium accumulation in the coronary arteries is a known indicator of atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effect of patients' demographic characteristics on calcium scoring and the topographic accumulation of calcium in the coronary arteries.

Study Design: Two-hundred ninety-nine patients were included in the study (192 male, 107 female; mean age 59.

Comparison of intracoronary versus intravenous administration of tirofiban in primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the intravenous bolus dose of tirofiban with intracoronary bolus dose in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with regard to in hospital and six months clinical outcomes and peak cardiac enzyme levels.

Methods: We retrospectively examined 84 ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who underwent primary PCI from March 2006 to February 2007. All patients received the systemic bolus dose of tirofiban 10 mcg/kg either via intracoronary (IC) or intravenous (IV) route, followed by a 36 hours of IV infusion at 0.

Treatment of patients with coronary artery disease with biodegradable polymer based paclitaxel-eluting Infinnium coronary stent system: results of 1-year clinical follow-up a single center experience.

Objectives: Evaluating the efficacy of the Infinnium paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system with the biodegradable polymer in the treatment of symptomatic coronary artery disease.

Methods And Results: Total 153 patients were treated with native coronary artery lesion treated with Infinnium paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system. This study was a single centre, non-randomized, retrospective study.

Intravascular radiation therapy with a Re-188 liquid-filled balloon in patients with in-stent restenosis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of intravascular radiation therapy (IVRT) using Re-188 filled balloon system in patients with in-stent stenosis.

Methods: A total of 39 patients with in-stent restenosis were enrolled as the IVRT (22 patients) and control groups (17 patients) of this study after a successful coronary angioplasty. For irradiation the angioplasty balloon was replaced by a noncompliant balloon of the same diameter but 10 mm longer in length with a proximal and distal radio-opaque marker to deliver the dose of 18 Gy at 0.

Treatment of saphenous vein graft lesions with paclitaxel- and sirolimus-eluting stents: comparison of short- and long-term clinical outcomes.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare treatment of saphenous vein graft (SVG) lesions with paclitaxel-eluting (PES) and sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) in daily practice with regard to short- and long-term clinical outcomes.

Methods: Between August 2002 and September 2006, a total of 71 patients with SVG lesions who were implanted PES or SES with percutaneous coronary intervention in our center were evaluated retrospectively. Forty-six patients with PES (PES group) were compared to twenty-five patients treated with SES (SES group) in terms of in-hospital, 30-day, six-months and 1-year clinical outcomes.

Retrograde balloon dilatation of right coronary artery lesions through a venous graft.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using retrograde approach through venous grafts or collateral vessels is a promising option for chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions in which antegrade crossing is not possible. We describe a successful retrograde balloon dilatation of right coronary artery lesions through a venous graft in a patient with a previous coronary bypass surgery.

Revascularization in patients with severe left ventricular impairment who have ischemic heart disease.

Objective: To assess the effect of coronary bypass grafting on left ventricular (LV) function, exercise capacity and symptom profile in patients with LV impairment and retrospectively evaluate the role of the different factors affecting LV.

Methods: A total of 45 patients (33 men, 12 women, mean age 63.49 +/- 7.

Remarkable anatomic anomalies of coronary arteries and their clinical importance: a multidetector computed tomography angiographic study.

Objective: An anomalous origin and course of the coronary arteries can be benign or life threatening. Recently, because of new advances in computed tomography technology, radiologists have begun to interpret the diseases of coronary arteries. We aimed to demonstrate some remarkable anomalies of coronary arteries, some of which were not shown by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) coronary angiography previously, and to discuss the clinical importance of these anomalies.

Detection of myocardial bridging with ECG-gated MDCT and multiplanar reconstruction.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of myocardial bridging in 626 patients examined with MDCT angiography of the coronary arteries.

Materials And Methods: Six hundred twenty-six patients who were referred to Florence Nightingale and Atatürk University Hospitals were involved in this study. These patients had atypical chest pain, symptoms suggestive of coronary artery disease, or no significant cardiac complaint.

The immunoglobulin and complement levels in the active pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Background And Aim: In sarcoidosis patients the circulating immune complex levels are raised with the activation of the disease but their diagnostic role is not clear. These circulating immune complexes contain complement and immunoglobulins (Ig). Complement and immunoglobulins are mostly accumulated in active sarcoid lesions and in circulating immune complexes.

Fracture of popliteal artery stents.

In peripheral arterial obstructive disease, more than 50% of all lesions are localized in the femoropopliteal segment and surgical revascularization is the treatment of choice. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is recommended for short lesions, with subsequent stent implantation if the result is sub-optimal or dissections occur after PTA or for restenosis. There are both acute and late complications with stent implantation.

[Clinical and angiographic predictors of creatine kinase enzyme elevation after successful coronary stent implantation: effects on subsequent target vessel revascularization].

Objective: The aims of the present study are to evaluate clinical, angiographic, and procedural determinants of creatine kinase (CK) elevation following successful coronary stent implantation, and to assess the relationship between postprocedural CK release and subsequent target vessel revascularization.

Methods: Study population was composed of 400 consecutive patients who underwent successful coronary stent implantation. Forty-six patients (11.

Rescue coronary stenting with heparin-coated Jostents for failed thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction.

The aim of the present study was to assess the procedural safety and in-hospital and long-term effectiveness of heparin-coated Jostents after failed thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction. We prospectively analyzed the acute and long-term clinical and angiographic outcomes of 35 consecutive patients treated with heparin-coated Jostents for thrombolytic failure. Rescue coronary stenting was successful in 34 of 35 patients (97%).

Revascularization of chronic coronary artery occlusions using laser debulking followed by stent implantation.

Objective: Chronic total occlusions are considered unfavourable for percutaneous balloon angioplasty because of the low rate of success and the high rate of restenosis. Stent implantation after recanalization of chronic total occlusions has been shown to reduce restenosis and reocclusion rates compared with balloon angioplasty in recently published randomized trials. However, it is not well known whether laser debulking before stent implantation would improve the benefit of stenting in chronic total occlusions.

Increased secretion of insulin during oral glucose tolerance test can be a predictor of stent restenosis in nondiabetic patients.

Insulin is known to stimulate proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells. As the predominant mechanism of restenosis after stent implantation is neointimal tissue proliferation, one can expect a relationship between hyperinsulinemia and restenosis in these patients. The aim of this study was to determine whether hyperinsulinemia during oral glucose tolerance test is a predictor of the development of restenosis after stent implantation in nondiabetic patients.