Body mass index, periprocedural bleeding, and outcome following percutaneous coronary intervention (from the British Columbia Cardiac Registry).

The incidence of obesity is increasing throughout the industrialized world and is a major public health concern. Some studies have shown a paradoxical protective effect of moderate obesity on outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The association between bleeding, body mass, and outcome is not well established and formed the basis for the present study, which examined major bleeding rates and mortality after PCI in British Columbia during a 6-year period.

Magnesium sulphate during transradial cardiac catheterization: a new use for an old drug?

Objective: To assess the effect of intra-arterial magnesium on the radial artery during transradial cardiac catheterization.

Background: Transradial coronary angiography has become popular in the last decade and offers several advantages over transfemoral angiography. Radial artery spasm is a major limitation of this approach, and a vasodilatory cocktail is usually given.

Safety of same day discharge radial PCI in patients under and over 75 years of age.

To check the safety of same day discharge radial PCI in patients under or over 75 years of age. A total of 943 patients who had same day discharge radial PCI between April 1998 and March 2001 were contacted. Patient health status, entry site complications, and repeat interventions during the first month after the procedure were compared in patients under 75 years of age (< 75) with those 75 or over (> or = 75).

Day procedure intervention is safe and complication free in higher risk patients undergoing transradial angioplasty and stenting. The discharge study.

Objectives: To assess the timeframe of postprocedural complications following transradial percutaneous intervention in selected nonlow-risk risk patients as a feasibility study for same day discharge.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is traditionally performed as an inpatient procedure. Transradial access with its lower complication rate facilitates safe and same day discharge.