Increased efficacy of internal carotid artery stenting using a low-profile stent with a tapered tip.

Angioplasty and stent placement is becoming a widely accepted method of carotid artery revascularization. Two cases are presented where 1 standard low-profile stent failed to cross the lesion, but a different low-profile stent with a tapered tip delivery system was successfully deployed. The technical advantages of the tapered delivery system in certain anatomic situations are described.

Nicotine gum-induced atrial fibrillation.

A 39-year-old man with no prior history of atrial fibrillation was hospitalized with atrial fibrillation and a rapid ventricular rate. For the 7 months before presentation, he had been chewing nicotine polacrilex gum on his own. The week he first developed palpitations, he was chewing more than 1 piece of nicotine Polacrilex gum per hour during work.

Cerebral hyperperfusion after angioplasty and stenting of a totally occluded left subclavian artery: a case report.

Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome is documented after angioplasty of carotid and vertebral artery lesions. The authors report the first instance of cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome in the posterior cerebral circulation after angioplasty and stenting of a totally occluded left subclavian artery.

Does the serum cardiac troponin I level increase with stress test-induced myocardial ischemia?

To evaluate the sensitivity of the serum cardiac troponin I level in detecting stress test-induced myocardial ischemia, the authors conducted a prospective study including patients admitted for chest pain to the telemetry floor of Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center at Bronx, NY. Consecutive 134 telemetry patients that agreed to participate in this study were included. All of these patients had a nuclear stress test and were divided into various groups based on the prestress test probability of having coronary artery disease.