Percutaneous coronary intervention-induced variations in systemic parameters of inflammation: relationship with the mode of stenting.

Background: During percutaneous coronary intervention, the technique of stent implantation (both direct and complementary stenting) is guided using both clinical and angiographic features. We assessed potential relationships between procedural parameters and angioplasty-induced variations in inflammatory parameters in patients treated by these two different techniques.

Methods: A total of 85 consecutive patients due to undergo stent implantation were prospectively enrolled.

Infected multiple fibroelastomas in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Cardiac papillary fibroelastomas are rare benign tumors of the heart with potential for life-threatening complications. The incidence of multiple lesions is less than 10% of all reported cases. Preoperative transesophageal echocardiography is important for detecting all cardiac sites involving this tumor, because excision of all such tumors must be performed to prevent serious complications.

Direct stent implantation without predilatation through 5 French guiding catheter following transfemoral coronary angiogram: a feasibility study.

Direct stenting (DS) is accepted as reducing procedural cost and duration and 5 Fr guiding catheters as lowering peripheral vascular complications. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of both strategies. We retrospectively studied 150 consecutive patients treated with DS strategy using a 5 Fr femoral approach.

Subacute development of a coronary artery pseudoaneurysm after primary angioplasty and stenting for acute myocardial infarction.

Three months after successful primary angioplasty with stent implantation for an acute myocardial infarction, we were confronted with an intra-stent pseudoaneurysm. It was located at the proximal part of the left anterior descending coronary artery and associated with an early severe restenosis on a marginal branch; the choice was made for surgical treatment. Despite a review of the literature and an examination of the procedural data, we were not able to explain the pseudoaneurysm.