Tag Archives: Interventional cardiology

Background Radial artery is the preferred route of access for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as the femoral artery is associated with a greater incidence of bleeding complications.1–5 Often such complications require open surgical repair.4,6 However, percutaneous treatment with covered stents may represent an alternate option. Case presentation A man in his 50s, fit and well and on no routine medications, developed chest pain and posterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with 2 mm ST-elevation in posterior leads V7, 8 and 9, and 2 mm ST-depression in leads V2 and 3, complicated by cardiogenic shock and out-of-hospital c

First, there is a much higher incidence of comorbidities in the elderly, which increases the potential for complications and may limit the scope for symptomatic improvement. For example, there may be little point in treating exertional angina when the patient is more limited by an arthritic knee. Second, care needs to be exercised when considering the benefits of prognostic interventions in a group that statistically have a relatively short remaining lifespan. These concerns emphasise the importance of studies specifically examining the response of the elderly to cardiovascular treatments – historically an area that has been overlooked. We

Some years ago I put together some definitions of words, phrases and acronyms, commonly encountered in the practice of angioplasty (percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]), which I thought might be of assistance to the aspiring balloonist. It was cleverly (sic) headlined “Ten Atmospheres and All That” as a homage to the iconic non-textbook of English history that some of us may recall, and appeared in Cardiology News in its August 2006 issue; reprints are available. The technology around PCI has expanded enormously in the last four years, so an update is now timely. On this occasion, and in the spirit of fairness, I felt that the Britis

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