Education, and obtaining of informed consent, using multimedia before adults with congenitally malformed hearts are submitted to transcatheter interventions.

Background: Multimedia programmes relating to education and consents may be useful for decreasing anxiety during catheter-based repair in patients with congenitally malformed hearts.

Objective: Our study was aimed at evaluating the impact of multimedia protocols for education of a population of consecutive patients with congenitally malformed hearts prior to transcatheter repair.

Methods: Between September, 2006, and May, 2008, we enrolled 100 consecutive patients, with a mean age of 45 +/- 19 years, of whom 69 were female, for catheter-based repair of their congenitally malformed hearts.

New subclavian artery angioplasty technique for treating subclavian coronary steal syndrome.

Left subclavian artery stenting is usually performed through the standard femoral route using a guiding catheter technique. This technique has obvious drawbacks in the case of coronary subclavian steal due to the poor opacification of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) ostium, and difficult access to the LIMA in the case of plaque shifting, especially when the vertebral artery and the LIMA ostia are very close to the left subclavian artery stenosis. We have developed an "ad hoc" technique to minimize catheter manipulation and contrast injection, and to optimize LIMA and vertebral artery visibility during stent implantation, which includes access through the brachial artery and a long sheath guiding catheter.