Ventricular fibrillation induced by carotid sinus massage without preceding bradycardia.

Carotid sinus massage is widely used to detect carotid sinus hypersensitivity in patients presenting with syncope. Although generally safe, the risks associated with the procedure may not be fully appreciated by either the patient or the attending medical staff. We present the case of a patient who developed ventricular fibrillation during carotid sinus massage, not explained by preceding bradycardia or concomitant predisposing heart disease, and which highlights the need for ready availability of resuscitation equipment during this procedure.

Clinical outcomes of long coronary stents: a single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery stenting is particularly useful during percutaneous coronary intervention for long lesions previously associated with a low procedural success rate and a high complication rate of dissection and occlusion. Current treatment options include implantation of a single long stent, multiple contiguous stents, or 'spot' stenting. However, multiple stent implantation may result in sections of overlapping stent or gaps of unstented segments and is an independent predictor of restenosis.

Escape from true stent jail by use of the rotablator.

We describe the use of the Rotablator device to allow sidebranch access via the side-wall of a stent when it has proved impossible to pass even the lowest profile balloon catheter through the struts N a situation of "true stent jail".