Plaque rupture and morphological characteristics of the culprit lesion in acute coronary syndromes without significant angiographic lesion: analysis by intravascular ultrasound.

Purpose: To evaluate by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) the characteristics of the culprit lesion with plaque rupture without significant angiographic stenosis after acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Patients And Methods: After ACS, IVUS was performed in 68 patients (46.8 years±11.

[Role of transthoracic echocardiography in the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism].

Objectives: The objective of our work is to determine the value of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) and its place in the diagnostic strategy in a cardiology department in Tunisia.

Material And Methods: It is a retrospective study including 43 patients between 1993 and 2003 in the cardiology department of the "Hôpital Militaire Principal d'Instruction de Tunis" for acute pulmonary embolism.

Results: Our population had a feminine ascendancy.

Drug-eluting or bare-metal stents in subjects over 75 years of age: what is the best therapeutic strategy? Data from 460 consecutive patients with 1-year outcome.

Background: The use of stents has become common in subjects over 75 years of age, but choosing the best type of stent still remains difficult. Our objective was to compare safety and clinical benefits of drug-eluting stent (DES) and bare-metal stent (BMS) at 1 year in this population.

Methods: We included 460 consecutive patients aged 75 or over who had undergone angioplasty with DES (n=167) or BMS (n=293) between January 1 and December 31, 2005, and had 12-month clinical follow-up.

[Assessment of myocardial viability in postinfarction and indications of revascularization].

Following myocardial infarction, it is indispensable to investigate the viability of the myocardium when signs of left ventricular dysfunction are predominant, so as to distinguish between permanent ventricular dysfunction and dysfunction that can be improved with treatment. Several imaging techniques are capable of detecting viable hibernating myocardium; each addresses a specific aspect of the problem. Stress echocardiography and nuclear imaging techniques remain the most widely used even though new techniques like MRI may be better for detecting myocardial viability.

Factors predictive for in-hospital mortality following percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Despite advances in procedures for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and enhancement of materials and adjunctive therapy, postprocedural mortality remains a possible adverse outcome after PCI.

Aims: To assess factors independently associated with in-hospital mortality in patients referred for PCI.

Methods: Between January 2004 and December 2005, 4074 PCI were performed in our University Hospital, with 70 deaths registered either during the procedure or during the in-hospital stay.