Acute Angiographic and Intermediate-Term Clinical Results of Patients with Non-Left Main Coronary Bifurcation Lesions Treated with BVS by Jailed Semi-Inflated Balloon Technique and Provisional Side-Branch Stenting Strategy.

Background: To evaluate the acute angiographic and intermediate-term clinical results of patients with non-left main (LM) coronary artery bifurcation disease (CABD) treated with BVS, as compared with those treated with DES, using the jailed semi-inflated balloon technique (JSIBT) for side branch (SB) protection and provisional stenting.

Methods And Results: Sixty-eight patients with non-LM CABD who had undergone provisional one-stent implantation with SB protection by JSIBT between January 2015 and December 2017 were retrospectively enrolled. Among them, 20 patients received Absorb BVS implantation and 48 patients received DES implantation.

Consecutive Sessions of Rescue Balloon Atrial Septostomy for an Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patient with Refractory Right Heart Failure - Usefulness of Intracardiac Echocardiography Guidance.

For idiopathic pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) patients with end-stage right heart failure who received maximal medical therapy, balloon atrial septostomy (BAS) is recommended by most guidelines as a palliative therapy or a bridging treatment before lung transplantation. In this report, we described a 32-year-old woman with idiopathic PAH, who received maximal PAH-specific medical treatment, including intravenous prostacyclin, but still suffered from refractory right heart failure. The markedly enlarged right atrium (RA), high mean RA pressure of 23 mmHg, low systemic arterial oxygen saturation of 86% and concomitant pancytopenia all increased the patient's risk for BAS.

Post-challenge insulin concentration is useful for differentiating between coronary artery disease and cardiac syndrome X in subjects without known diabetes mellitus.

Background: Cardiac syndrome X (CSX) is characterized by angina pectoris but with patent coronary arteries. Our previous study demonstrated that subjects with CSX had a higher fasting insulin-resistance (IR) than the controls. However, few studies have investigated the degree of IR, including oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)-derived indices and profiles of metabolic abnormalities between CSX and coronary artery disease (CAD).

A Rare and Life-Threatening Complication of Infective Endocarditis: Pseudoaneurysm of the Mitral - Aortic Intervalvular Fibrosa.

Unlabelled: A 59 year-old previously healthy male was admitted to the hospital with fever reportedly several days in duration. His physical examination was unremarkable at first. Pneumonia was initially diagnosed, but acute pulmonary edema with a new grade III to and fro murmur developed 1 week later.

Left Main Coronary Artery Stenting to Relieve Extrinsic Compression by a Giant Pulmonary Artery Aneurysm in a Patient with Idiopathic Pulmonary Artery Hypertension.

Pulmonary artery aneurysm (PAA) is a rare but lethal disease. We present a female patient with idiopathic pulmonary artery hypertension (IPAH)-related PAA, who suffered from unstable angina pectoris. Multi-detector computed tomography and coronary angiogram revealed extrinsic compression of the left main coronary artery (LMCA) caused by a giant PAA with severe ostial stenosis.

Coronary severity score and C-reactive protein predict major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary artery disease (from the Taichung CAD study).

Background: Whether angiographic coronary severity really predicts future major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is uncertain. Few studies have compared the efficacy of SYNTAX, Gensini and Jeopardy scores in predicting MACE in stable CAD.

Methods: We collected data of MACE, including all-cause mortality, all strokes, new myocardial infarction and unplanned repeat revascularization, in subjects with stable CAD from our catheterization databank.