A. Vacheron

Effect of Pravastatin on Angiographic Restenosis After Coronary Balloon Angioplasty

OBJECTIVES This study sought to determine whether pravastatin affects clinical or angiographic restenosis after coronary balloon angioplasty. BACKGROUND Experimental data and preliminary clinical studies suggest that lipid-lowering drugs might have a beneficial effect on restenosis after coronary angioplasty. METHODS In a multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial, 695 patients were randomized to receive pravastatin (40 mg/day) or placebo for 6 months after successful balloon angioplasty. All patients received aspirin (100 mg/day). The primary angiographic end point was minimal lumen diameter (MLD) at follow-up, assessed by quantitative coronary angiography. A sample size of 313 patients per group was required to demonstrate a difference of 0.13 mm in MLD between groups (allowing for a two-tailed alpha error of 0.05 and a beta error of 0.20). To allow for incomplete angiographic follow-up (estimated lost to follow-up rate of 10%), 690 randomized patients were required. Secondary end points were angiographic restenosis rate (restenosis assessed as a categoric variable, > 50% stenosis) and clinical events (death, myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization). RESULTS At baseline, clinical, demographic, angiographic and lipid variables did not differ significantly between groups. In patients treated with pravastatin, there was a significant reduction in total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels and a significant increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. At follow-up the MLD (mean +/- SD) was 1.47 +/- 0.62 mm in the placebo group and 1.54 +/- 0.66 mm in the pravastatin group (p = 0.21). Similarly, late loss and net gain did not differ significantly between groups. The restenosis rate (recurrence > 50% stenosis) was 43.8% in the placebo group and 39.2% in the pravastatin group (p = 0.26). Clinical restenosis did not differ significantly between groups. CONCLUSIONS Although pravastatin has documented efficacy in reducing clinical events and angiographic disease progression in patients with coronary atherosclerosis, this study shows that it has no effect on angiographic outcome at the target site 6 months after coronary angioplasty.

Clinical outcome following coronary angioplasty in dialysis patients: a case–control study in the era of coronary stenting

BACKGROUND Balloon coronary angioplasty has been reported to be ineffective in patients treated for end stage renal disease because of a high restenosis rate. OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical outcome following coronary angioplasty with provisional stenting in dialysis versus non-dialysis patients. DESIGN A case–control study. PATIENTS Of 1428 consecutive patients who underwent coronary angioplasty, 100 (7%) were being treated for end stage renal disease. These were compared with 100 control patients matched for age, sex, coronary lesions, presence of diabetes mellitus, and rate of coronary stenting (40%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES In-hospital and one year clinical outcome. RESULTS The rates of procedural success (90% v 93%), in-hospital mortality (1% v 0%), stent thrombosis (0%v 0%), and Q wave myocardial infarction (0% v 1%) were similar in dialysis and non-dialysis patients. One year clinical outcome after coronary angioplasty was similar in the two groups in terms of clinical restenosis (31% v 28%) and myocardial infarction (6% v 2%), but cardiac death was more common in dialysed patients (11% v2%, p < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS Dialysis does not increase the risk of clinical restenosis after coronary angioplasty with provisional stenting. Coronary angioplasty is a safe and effective therapeutic procedure in selected dialysis patients with culprit lesions accessible to stenting. However, the one year survival is reduced in this high risk population.

Treatment of severe mitral regurgitation caused by ischemic papillary muscle dysfunction: Indications for coronary angioplasty

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognosis and functional outcome of mitral regurgitation caused by ischemic papillary muscle dysfunction with respect to treatment, and to determine the role of coronary angioplasty in this context. Thirty patients with severe ischemic mitral regurgitation were followed up for 33 +/- 3 months. Thirteen patients were treated medically (group I) and 17 patients underwent surgery or angioplasty (group II). The 3-year survival was 59.5% (45.6% in group I and 70.2% in group II). Angioplasty was only used in paroxysmal mitral regurgitation caused by papillary muscle ischemia. This technique resulted in spectacular immediate results in three patients with pulmonary edema caused by mitral regurgitation during myocardial ischemia. Surgical correction of mitral regurgitation should be considered without delay if angioplasty is not feasible or if the regurgitation is permanent or severe. Widening the indications of surgery or angioplasty should result in an improvement of the prognosis of these high-risk patients.

Detection of coronary restenosis by exercise electrocardiography thallium-201 perfusion imaging and coronary angiography in asymptomatic patients after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

Noninvasive detection of restenosis in patients remaining asymptomatic after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) remains a major clinical problem. The value of exercise electrocardiography (ECG) and exercise-redistribution thallium-201 single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in detecting restenosis in such patients remains uncertain. Discordances between these tests and coronary angiography is a common situation. We studied 179 consecutive patients remaining asymptomatic after successful PTCA (208 vessels), who underwent 6 +/- 2 months of exercise ECG, SPECT, and coronary angiography. We sought to assess the diagnostic value of the noninvasive tests compared with coronary angiography, and identify the determinants of discordances between the tests. Restenosis (diameter stenosis >50%) was detected in 39% of patients and in 37% of vessels. The overall sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for exercise ECG and SPECT in detecting restenosis in individual vessels were, respectively, 53% versus 63% (p = 0.06), 59% versus 77% (p = 0.0001), and 57% versus 72% (p = 0. 0001). On multivariate analysis, positive exercise ECG was associated with higher heart rate response (p = 0.02), incomplete revascularization (p = 0.004), and angiographic restenosis (p = 0. 03), whereas positive SPECT was associated with incomplete revascularization (p = 0.02), infarct-related artery PTCA (p = 0.01), and angiographic restenosis (p = 0.0001). Accuracies of the 2 tests were not significantly different in patients with incomplete revascularization or PTCA of an infarct-related vessel. Overall, SPECT is more accurate than exercise ECG in detecting asymptomatic restenosis. Nevertheless, incomplete revascularization and PTCA of an infarct-related artery could cause reversible perfusion defects regardless of restenosis, reducing the diagnostic value of SPECT in such patients.

Assessment of reversible dyssynergic segments after acute myocardial infarction : Dobutamine echocardiography versus thallium-201 single photon emission computed tomography

Only a moderate degree of concordance has been reported between stress-redistribution-reinjection thallium-201 single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and dobutamine echocardiography for the identification of myocardial viability after acute myocardial infarction. SPECT with rest-reinjection performed 4 hours after exercise testing and digitized two-dimensional (2-D) ultrasound reconstruction of the left ventricle at baseline and after low-dose dobutamine (5 to 10 microg/kg/min) infusion were compared in 50 patients > or = 8 days (12 +/- 7 days) after acute myocardial infarction. Five patients were excluded because of technically inadequate echocardiograms. Both SPECT and dobutamine echocardiography were assessed in a 16-segment model and interpreted in the remaining 45 patients. Digitized 2-D reconstruction of the left ventricle in each wall motion was scored from 1 (normal) to 4 (dyskinesia). Myocardial viability was identified on ultrasound wall-motion improvement of one or more grades from baseline to echocardiography performed > or = 30 days (60 +/- 41 days) after systematic revascularization procedure of the infarct-related artery. Reversible defect under thallium-201 SPECT and wall-motion improvement under dobutamine echocardiography were concordant in 163 (69 percent) of the 235 baseline dyssynergic segments and in 30 (67 percent) patients. Myocardial viability was identified after angioplasty (n=37) or surgery (n=8) in 29 patients and 109 segments. Positive and negative predictive values per patient in the diagnosis of myocardial viability were 86 percent and 57 percent, respectively, for stress thallium-201 SPECT with reinjection, and 100 percent and 62 percent for dobutamine echocardiography. Positive and negative predictive values per segment were 80 percent and 69 percent for the isotopic method and 91 percent and 70 percent for dobutamine echocardiography. We conclude that dobutamine echocardiography and stress thallium-201 SPECT with reinjection have similar accuracies to identify myocardial viability after acute myocardial infarction, with excellent positive but relatively low negative predictive values.

Talking Effect and “White Coat” Effect in Hypertensive Patients: Physical Effort or Emotional Content?

Abstract Talking has been shown to increase blood pressure instantaneously in hypertensive patients and to contribute to the white coat effect. The effects of talking were compared with those of counting aloud in 64 patients with essential hypertension who were randomly assigned to a period of stress talking and a period of counting aloud (active periods), alternating with three periods of silence (control). The same monitor was used for office measurements and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure analysis. Systolic/diastolic blood pressures increased significantly more during talking (163/110 mmHg) than during counting aloud (152/102 mmHg, both p < .0001) in both treated and untreated patients and in sustained and clinical hypertension. Talking had a residual effect on systolic blood pressure that lasted 5.8 ± 0.1 minutes. The emotional content seemed to be the only cause of the talking effect. Its instantaneous and residual effects on blood pressure and heart rate should be considered when measuring these variables.

Late coronary angioplasty and ventricular late potentials

To assess the effect of successful late coronary angioplasty of an occluded infarct-related artery on the prevalence of ventricular late potentials, signal-averaged electrocardiograms were recorded in 123 consecutive patients surviving a first acute myocardial infarction (58 with and 65 without mechanical reperfusion of the occluded coronary artery). Multivariate analysis showed that successful reperfusion by late angioplasty of the infarct artery contributes to a decrease in the prevalence of late potentials.

Talking Effect and White Coat Phenomenon in Hypertensive Patients

Both white coat effect (the tendency of blood pressure to rise during a medical visit) and talking effect were analyzed in 42 patients with essential hypertension. Blood pressure was measured during the clinic visit and over the subsequent 24-hour ambulatory period, with the physician performing 49 +/- 4 measurements for each patient. Three silent periods and two talking periods (stress and relaxation) were randomly allocated in a crossover design and studied, using analysis of variance. During the initial 11-minute silent period, systolic/diastolic blood pressures increased by 6 mm Hg/5 mm Hg. During the subsequent talking periods, these variations were significantly greater: +22 mm Hg/+17 mm Hg. Measures of systolic/diastolic blood pressure were higher during stressful talking than during relaxed talking. The talking and its emotional contents seemed to explain 70% of the white coat phenomenon. To minimize the white coat phenomenon in the clinic, physicians, nurses, and clinicians are advised to measure blood pressure during an initial period of silence.

The Heparin Management Test: A New Device for Monitoring Anticoagulation during Coronary Intervention

Whole blood coagulation analysers are widely used during percutaneous coronary interventions. The precise degree of anticoagulation in patients is important in this setting. The aim of this investigation was to compare the results obtained with ACT (Hemochron) and HMT, the Heparin Management Test (TAS) in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions. Patients (n = 100) were enrolled prospectively. Each patient received 10,000 units of heparin. At the end of the procedure, the mean ACT was 284+/-31 seconds and the mean HMT was 292+/-33 seconds. The correlation between the two methods was highly significant (r = 0.64, p<0.001). The HMT correlates well with ACT values in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions. Its use in the management of these patients should be considered.

Comparison of activated clotting times to heparin management test for adequacy of heparin anticoagulation in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

The aim of this study was to compare the activated clotting time (ACT) obtained with the Hemochron device and the Heparin Management Test (HMT) on a new automated whole-blood coagulometer, the Thrombolytic Assessment System, in patients undergoing angioplasty. Fifty patients undergoing balloon angioplasty were prospectively enrolled. The mean ACT after a 10,000 unit bolus of heparin was 283 +/- 39 sec at the end of the procedure. The mean HMT after 10,000 units of heparin was 286 +/- 31 sec at the end of the procedure in the same patients. The correlation between the two methods was significant (r = 0.6; P < 0.01). The HMT appears to correlate well with standard values obtained with the Hemochron ACT monitor in patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.