A new catheter system for coronary angioplasty

A new catheter system has been designed for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. An independently movable, flexible-tipped guide wire within the balloon dilation catheter facilitates selection of the involved vessel. This guide wire can be passed slowly and carefully beyond the coronary stenosis, permitting safe advancement of the balloon catheter. After testing in animal and cadaver hearts, this system was used in 53 patients (56 stenoses) with single vessel coronary artery disease, with an overall primary success rate of 64 percent. In the last 41 of these 56 cases, use of a balloon catheter with a smaller deflated diameter increased the success rate to 73 percent. In patients with lesions of the left anterior descending coronary artery, the success rate was 89 percent. Three (6 percent) of the 53 patients had complications during coronary arterial dilation that necessitated emergency coronary arterial bypass graft surgery. There were no procedure-related or late cardiac deaths. During the mean follow-up period of 8 months (range 1 to 21), there were one late death (of noncardiac causes) and no late myocardial infarctions. Clinical status was persistently improved in 31 of the 36 patients who had successful dilation. The remaining five patients experienced restenosis at the angioplasty site and return of angina pectoris within 3 months of dilation. Two of these patients had repeat coronary angioplasty with restoration of asymptomatic status, and three had elective coronary bypass graft surgery.     

Simultaneous double balloon coronary angioplasty through a single guiding catheter for bifurcation lesions

To enhance the safety, efficacy and expediency of coronary bifurcation lesion angioplasty, we report the use of two dilatation catheters, advanced simultaneously through a single guide catheter in three patients. Successful dilatation was performed in each. The technique involves the use of either two new low-profile dilatation catheters in an 8 French large lumen guide catheter or a single new low-profile dilatation catheter coupled with a conventional over-the-wire catheter within a new large lumen 9 French guide.     

Improved support for right coronary artery angioplasty with a new guiding catheter

Inadequate guiding catheter support is a frequent cause for failure in right coronary angioplasty (PTCA). A new guiding catheter designed to provide easy placement in the right coronary and improved stability and backup support is described. Use of this catheter for PTCA of right coronary lesions, the majority of which were considered technically difficult to dilate, in 100 patients resulted in successful dilatations in 88% of patients. Failures were due to inability to seat the guide adequately in 8 patients with narrow aortic roots or unusual coronary origins and to inability to cross a lesion in 4 patients despite good support. In 4 patients successful dilatation was achieved after failure using another presently available guide.     

Complex coronary angioplasty: use of a new microprobe balloon catheter

Since the introduction of coronary angioplasty by Gruntzig et al. (Circulation [Suppl II] 56:84, 1977), a key determinant to overall success has been advancement in equipment technology. Major advances have been made in the availability of low-profile catheters in the last 5 years that have facilitated penetration of high-grade distal and complex lesions. The USCl probe TM catheter is an example of a low-profile catheter that has shown favorable applicability in dilating high-grade stenoses. Preliminary data indicate that this device has good trackability and an extremely low profile, which allows penetration of stenoses where other current low-profile catheters have failed.     

Cutting-balloon angioplasty before drug-eluting stent implantation for the treatment of severely calcified coronary lesions

Background Severely calcified coronary lesions respond poorly to balloon angioplasty, resulting in incomplete and asymmetrical stent expansion. Therefore, adequate plaque modification prior to drug-eluting stent （DES） implantation is the key for calcified lesion treat- ment. This study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cutting balloon angioplasty for severely calcified coronary lesions. Methods Ninety-two consecutive patients with severely calcified lesions （defined as calcium arc 〉 180% calcium length ratio 〉 0.5） treated with bal- loon dilatation before DES implantation were randomly divided into two groups based on the balloon type： 45 patients in the conventional balloon angioplasty （BA） group and 47 patients in the cutting balloon angioplasty （CB） group. Seven cases in BA group did not satisfactorily achieve dilatation and were transferred into the CB group. Intravascular ultrasound （IVUS） was performed before balloon dilatation and after stent implantation to obtain qualitative and quantitative lesion characteristics and evaluate the stent, including minimum lumen cross-sectional area （CSA）, calcified arc and length, minimum stent CSA, stent apposition, stent symmetry, stent expansion, vessel dissection, and branch vessel jail. In-hospital, 1-month, and 6-month major adverse cardiac events （MACE） were reported. Results There were no statistical differences in clinical characteristics between the two groups, including calcium arc （222.2° ± 22.2° vs. 235.0° ± 22.1 °, p=0.570）, calcium length ratio （0.67 ± 0.06 vs. 0.77± 0.05, P = 0.130）, and minimum lumen CSA before PCI （2.59 ±0.08 mm2 vs. 2.52 ± 0.08 mm2, P = 0.550）. After stent implantation, the final minimum stent CSA （6.26 ± 0.40 mm2 vs. 5.03 ± 0.33 mm2; P = 0.031） and acute lumen gain （3.74 ±0.38 mm2 w. 2.44 ± 0.29 mm2, P = 0.015） were significantly larger ila the CB group than that of the BA group. There were not statis tically differences in stent expansion, stent symmetry, incomplete stent apposition, vessel dissection and branch vessel jail between two groups. The 30-day and 6-month MACE rates were also not different. Conclusions Cutting balloon angioplasty before DES implantation in severely calcified lesions appears to be more efficacies including significantly larger final stent CSA and larger acute lumen gain, without increasing complications during operations and the MACE rate in 6-month.     

Tandem balloon catheter for coronary angioplasty

The Tandem balloon catheter is a triple lumen steerable catheter for coronary angioplasty with two separately inflatable balloons of different diameters. Indications and results of 26 consecutive patients treated with a Tandem balloon catheter are reviewed. Adequate distal pressure measurements were obtained in 71% of the cases. In ten patients, the Tandem balloon catheter was selected for two stenoses in different segments of the same coronary artery. Angioplasty was successful for all lesions in five and for at least the strategic lesions in five patients (in one only after changing to a single-balloon catheter). In the seven patients with stenoses in two different coronary arteries of various calibers, angioplasty was successful for both vessels in three and for one vessel in four patients. In the six patients with a very tight stenosis, where the Tandem balloon catheter was selected to predilate with the small balloon, the procedure was technically successful in all, but there was a myocardial infarction in one patient. In the three patients with a chronic total occlusion, where the stiffness of the Tandem balloon was the reason for selection, one recanalization was successful. The Tandem balloon catheter provides a handy tool for complex coronary angioplasty. It offers comparable ease in manipulation and pressure transmission and may save time, money, and radiation exposure by avoiding catheter exchanges.     

Improved support for right coronary artery angioplasty with a new guiding catheter.

Inadequate guiding catheter support is a frequent cause for failure in right coronary angioplasty (PTCA). A new guiding catheter designed to provide easy placement in the right coronary and improved stability and backup support is described. Use of this catheter for PTCA of right coronary lesions, the majority of which were considered technically difficult to dilate, in 100 patients resulted in successful dilatations in 88% of patients. Failures were due to inability to seat the guide adequately in 8 patients with narrow aortic roots or unusual coronary origins and to inability to cross a lesion in 4 patients despite good support. In 4 patients successful dilatation was achieved after failure using another presently available guide.     

Preliminary results utilizing a new percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty balloon catheter

We report our initial experience with a new percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) balloon catheter and compare it to a similar over-the-wire system in a retrospective, nonrandomized fashion. There was no statistical difference in pre-PTCA angiographic indices and post-PTCA angiographic and clinical success rates between the two groups. There was a trend toward a decrease in length of fluoroscopy (P = .08) and a significant decrease in the amount of contrast utilized (P = .007) with the new balloon catheter. Several new construction features of the new catheter account for this improvement and are discussed. The long-term success of this balloon catheter remains to be investigated.     

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty using a steerable guiding catheter: a new technique

A new type of steerable guiding catheter is described for use in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). It is simple to use and externally steerable. The catheter incorporates a steering system by means of which the catheter tip can be made to assume the form of either a right or left Judkins catheter or to be fixed in any intermediate configuration, entirely through external manipulation. We used this new guiding catheter to perform PTCA on 15 patients. Single lesions were found in the left anterior descending branch in seven patients, in the right coronary artery in four, and in the circumflex artery in two, whereas stenosis of a coronary bypass graft was found in two patients. Angioplasty was successful in all cases. There were no complications, during either the procedure or the postoperative hospitalization. The steerable guiding catheter described here may prove useful for PTCA in cases where a conventional catheter cannot be placed accurately or in cases with multi-vessel coronary disease.     

False coronary dissection with the new Monorail angioplasty balloon catheter

During percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, the appearance of persistent staining in the vessel by contrast media suggests coronary dissection. We report seven patients in whom a false image of severe coronary dissection was observed during angioplasty performed with the new Monorail balloon catheter. This image emerges at the moment of balloon inflation, is distally located to the balloon, and disappears with balloon catheter deflation. No complications were associated with the appearance of this image.     

Efficacy of cutting balloon angioplasty for lesions at the ostium of the coronary arteries

We evaluated 37 patients (39 lesions, 11 women/26 men, median age of 66 years old) with coronary ostial lesions who underwent cutting balloon angioplasty (CB). Seventy-four patients (78 lesions, 18 women/56 men, median age of 65 years old) who had undergone plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) for coronary ostial lesions were also enrolled as the control group. At clinical diagnosis, unstable angina was seen in 8.1% of the CB group and in 9.5% of the POBA group. Post myocardial infarction silent ischemia was seen in 28.3% of the POBA group and 32.4% of the CB group. The success rate was 94.8% in the CB group and 84.6% in the POBA group. The frequency of intimal dissection was not significantly different between the two groups. However, all cases of intimal dissection in the CB group were mild (either type A or B), whereas the POBA group included many cases of severe intimal dissection (types B through F). No cardiac event was observed in the CB group. However, in the POBA group, cardiac death occurred in 1.4% and emergency bypass surgery occurred in 0.7% of the patients. Calculating the restenosis rate based on the cumulative percent diameter stenosis curve resulted in 43% for the CB group and 53% of the POBA group. We concluded that the cutting balloon was useful for ostial lesions as compared to plain old balloon angioplasty.     

Fracture of a perfusion balloon catheter during coronary angioplasty

In a 74-year-old patient with increasing angina, an attempt was made to dilate an ostial stenosis in the first diagonal artery. The initial attempt with a long balloon catheter was unsuccessful. Because of chest pain associated with hypotension during balloon inflations, a second attempt with a perfusion balloon catheter resulted in fracture of this catheter's tip (14 mm long) in the artery. Bypass graft surgery was performed and the retained fragment was easily removed by arteriotomy. The patient made an uneventful recovery. © 1994 Wiley-Liss,Inc..     

Experience with a technique for coronary angioplasty of bifurcational lesions

To decrease the risk of iatrogenic side branch occlusion during coronary angioplasty of bifurcational lesions, we evaluated a technique in which two over-the-wire dilatation systems are positioned within the stenosed coronary artery and the side branch in jeopardy. The technique was used in eight patients undergoing angioplasty for a lesion in the left anterior descending or circumflex artery located near a large side branch. Successful dilatation of the major vessel lesion was achieved in all eight patients, and dilatation within the side branch was successful in all three patients whose lesion involved the side branch ostium. In one patient, dilatation within the major vessel led to partial closure of the side branch and the prepositioned guide wire facilitated prompt dilatation of the iatrogenic closure. There were no complications associated with use of the additional dilatation system. The technique appears to provide an efficacious method to perform safe coronary angioplasty in selected patients with bifurcational lesions.     

Applications of a novel balloon catheter during coronary angioplasty

A new balloon catheter design utilizing multiple polymeric materials to produce noncompliant balloon ends and a compliant central portion has recently been released. We describe two cases, a discrete fibrotic lesion and final dilation of an intracoronary stent, in which this novel balloon catheter has potential advantages during coronary angioplasty. We conclude that this device may be useful in avoiding proximal or distal vessel dissection during high-pressure balloon inflations. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Diagn. 40:207–209, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Guiding catheter exchange during coronary angioplasty

A new technique to exchange one angioplasty guiding catheter for another with the guide wire in place and across a coronary artery stenosis has been developed to decrease the dangers of having to recross the stenosis with a guide wire. This technique utilizes a regular extended angioplasty guide wire and enables the exchange of guiding catheters during the angioplasty procedure. In 683 consecutive angioplasty procedures by one operator, this technique has been attempted 57 times in 43 patients (6.3%) and has been successful 51 times (90%). The only failures were when the second catheter had a large or open curve (left Amplatz II, 5/22 unsuccessful or multipurpose, 1/3 unsuccessful). There have been no complications. We conclude that exchange of a guiding catheter over a guide wire by the method described is safe and helpful in cases where different guiding catheters are needed for back-up power once the lesion has been crossed with a guide wire.     

aVF导联QRS波低电压预测冠脉多支病变

目的通过与冠状动脉造影结果对比,研究aVF导联低电压对不稳定型心绞痛病变血管的判断价值。方法回顾性分析285例不稳定型心绞痛患者的心电图与冠状动脉造影资料,选取aVF导联低电压作为观测指标。结果aVF导联低电压对不同冠状动脉病变范围有一定的鉴别价值。多支病变时阳性率明显增高,在排除影响因素前后分别为55.81%和56.71%,束支阻滞、心室肥大等对结果的判断影响不大,其预测的敏感性、特异性和准确性在排除影响因素前后分别为55.81%、69.02%、63.86%和56.71%、69.91%、66.00%。结论aVF导联低电压对预测冠状动脉多支病变具有一定价值。     

Monorail Piccolino catheter: a new rapid exchange/ultralow profile coronary angioplasty system

The Monorail Piccolino coronary angioplasty balloon catheter (MBC) was evaluated on 118 patients at two centers. Technical success was achieved in 110 patients (93%). Time for catheter exchange and total fluoroscopy time were significantly lower for the Monorail catheter than with standard equipment (exchange time 97 vs. 170 seconds P less than .05 and fluoroscopy time 17 vs. 88 seconds P less than .001). The advantages of rapid exchange and the ability of utilize 2 Monorail balloon catheters through one 9F guiding catheter for simultaneous inflations allowed for maximal flexibility in treating patients with bifurcation lesions. The double wire approach utilizing one Monorail balloon catheter with a 7F guiding catheter was also technically successful. The Monorail Piccolino balloon catheter has unique features that allow for greater ease of operator use, rapid catheter exchange, and optimal angiographic visualization. It is felt that this catheter design provides distinct advantages over standard angioplasty equipment.