Carotid artery stenting: first consensus document of the ICCS-SPREAD Joint Committee.

Background And Purpose: The prevention of stroke and the correct treatment of carotid artery stenosis represent today a major debate in cardiovascular medicine. Beside carotid endarterectomy, carotid angioplasty and stenting is becoming more widely performed for the treatment of severe carotid obstructive disease, and is now accepted as a less invasive technique that may provide an alternative for selected patients, particularly those with significant comorbidities. An Italian multidisciplinary task force, in which converged the most representative scientific societies involved in carotid treatment, was created to provide neurologists, radiologist, cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and all those involved in prevention and treatment of carotid disease with a simple, clear and updated evidence-based consensus document.

Endocardial defibrillation lead extraction: an unusual case of entrapment.

Spurious discharges due to late insulation break in an IS-1 pacing/sensing connector prompted ICD lead removal in 65-year-old man. The tip of the lead was easily freed and pulled back into the SVC by the superior approach. After that, the lead became trapped.

Technique and timing in contrast-enhanced MR angiography.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the fundamentals of contrast-enhanced MR angiography, its recent advances and future prospects. The factors influencing contrast-enhanced MR angiography are identified. The main acquisition and timing techniques are described with emphasis on their advantages and drawbacks.

MR angiography of the carotid arteries: parameters affecting image quality.

Rationale And Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between dose levels of contrast medium and image quality in magnetic resonance (MR) angiography of the carotid arteries with fluoroscopically monitored, manually triggered, elliptically ordered image acquisitions.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-five patients with clinical indications for angiography of the carotid arteries were examined with MR at 1.5 T by using a fluoroscopically monitored, manually triggered, elliptically ordered pulse sequence with the administration of one of three different volumes of gadolinium-based contrast medium.

Magnetic resonance angiography with elliptical ordering and fluoroscopic triggering of the renal arteries.

Purpose: To evaluate centric ordered MR angiography with fluoroscopic triggering of renal artery disease.

Material And Methods: 21 patients underwent MR-Angiography with a fluoroscopically triggered centric ordered sequence. The fluoroscopic trigger was obtained with the parameters that follow: TR/TE/TI: 1000/1.