Evaluation of Clinical Outcomes of ses Stent in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease After Intracoronary Stenting in Small Vessels

Background:Limited data are available for sirolimus-eluting stent(SES,Cypher)implantation in patients with coronary artery disease in small vessels.The clinical longtermoutcomes of SES in patients with coronary artery disease after intracoronary stenting in small vessels has not been yet evaluated.

Ultrasound-assessed non-culprit and culprit coronary vessels differ by age and gender

AIM: To investigate age-and gender-related differences in non-culprit versus culprit coronary vessels assessed with virtual histology intravascular ultrasound (VH-IVUS). METHODS: In 390 patients referred for coronary angiography to a single center (Luzerner Kantonsspital, Switzerland) between May 2007 and January 2011, 691 proximal vessel segments in left anterior descending, circumflex and/or right coronary arteries were imaged by VH-IVUS. Plaque burden and plaque composition(fibrous, fibro-fatty, necrotic core and dense calcium volumes) were analyzed in 3 age tertiles, according to gender and separated for vessels containing non-culprit or culprit lesions. To classify as vessel containing a culprit lesion, the patient had to present with an acute coronary syndrome, and the VH-IVUS had to be performed in a vessel segment containing the culprit lesion according to conventional coronary angiography. RESULTS: In non-culprit vessels the plaque burden increased significantly with aging (in men from 37% ± 12% in the lowest to 46% ± 10% in the highest age tertile, P < 0.001; in women from 30% ± 9% to 40% ± 11%, P < 0.001); men had higher plaque burden than women at any age (P < 0.001 for each of the 3 age tertiles). In culprit vessels of the lowest age tertile, plaque burden was significantly higher than that in non- culprit vessels (in men 48% ± 6%, P < 0.001 as compared to non-culprit vessels; in women 44% ± 18%, P = 0.004 as compared to non-culprit vessels). Plaque burden of culprit vessels did not significantly change during aging (plaque burden in men of the highest age tertile 51% ± 9%, P = 0.523 as compared to lowest age tertile; in women of the highest age tertile 49% ± 8%, P = 0.449 as compared to lowest age tertile). In men, plaque morphology of culprit vessels became increasingly rupture-prone during aging (increasing percentages of necrotic core and dense calcium), whereas plaque morphology in non-culprit vessels was less rupture-prone and remained constant during aging. In women, necrotic core in non-culprit vessels was very low at young age, but increased during aging resulting in a plaque morphology that was very similar to men. Plaque morphology in culprit vessels of young women and men was similar. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that age-and gender-related differences in plaque burden and plaque composition significantly depend on whether the vessel contained a non-culprit or culprit lesion.

Pathological Changes of Small Blood Vessels in Maxillofacial Region Following High Velocity Missile Wound:an Experimental Study in Dogs

In order to provide an experimental foundation and pathological base for earlyreconstruction of maxillofacial tissues defects after firearms wound using microsurgicalmethods,an experiment,was made to study the microvascular pathological changesthrough light and electron microscopy observation.In the experiment we found somepathological changes of small vessels in wounded region,such as mierothrombi forma-tion,endothelial loss,internal elastic membrane break and some degenerations,necrosis within endothelial and smooth muscle cells of vessel.The nearer the woundededge was,the more evident injury was.The microvascular injurous range was 3 cm dis-tant from wounded edge,which recovered in 7 days later after wounding.The experi-ment indicated that if we used the vascularized free tissue transfer to repair defects ofmaxillofacial firearms wounds,the pedicles of flap should be anastomosed to distant re-cipient vesseles which could be chosen beyond 3 cm from wounded edge.Thereconstructive operation should be done 7 days later after wound.

Drug-coated balloons for treating de novo lesions in large coronary vessels:A case report

BACKGROUND Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty,while an effective intervention,can frequently lead to acute occlusion with severe consequences.Although clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of drug-coated balloons(DCB)in treating acute coronary artery occlusion and in preventing restenosis,there has been limited exploration on the use of DCB in treating de novo lesions in large vessels.Currently,DCB are only recommended for patients with small vessel lesions and in-stent restenosis lesions,those at high risk of bleeding,and other special groups of patients.CASE SUMMARY This report presents a case of successful drug-coated balloon treatment of de novo lesions in large coronary vessels.Postoperatively,the patient demonstrated favorable recovery,with subsequent examination results revealing no significant differences from the previous examination.CONCLUSION The successful treatment of the patient in our case highlights the potential of DCB in the treatment of de novo lesions in large coronary vessels.

Protocol to study the effects of AMPK-mTOR/PINK-Parkin dual signaling pathways on the formation of coronary heart disease showing blood stasis symptom pattern based on traditional Chinese medicine theory of“heart governing blood and vessels”

In this study,we aim to combine gene transfection techniques with the modeling methods previously employed by the research group to deeply investigate the corresponding theories of traditional Chinese medicine regarding“myocardial energy metabolism”and“aortic thrombosis”.Our goal is to elucidate the biological mechanism underlying the occurrence and development of coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome from the perspectives of“heart and vessels”and“Qi(in traditional Chinese medicine,it refers to the most fundamental and subtle substances that constitute the human body and maintain life activities.At the same time,it also has the meaning of physiological function.In terms of traditional Chinese medicine,Qi and different words are used together to express different meanings)and blood”.The research content is divided into four modules as follows:1.establishment of an animal model of coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome through fibrinogen overexpression.2.Investigation of the mitochondrial quality control system in coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome under fibrinogen overexpression.3.Study of platelet autophagy in coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome under fibrinogen overexpression.4.Examination of the relationship between the AMPK-mTOR pathway and metabolism in platelet autophagy of coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome under fibrinogen overexpression.Ninety-six Sprague Dawley rats will be randomly assigned to the following groups:control group,model group,fibrinogen group and adeno-associated virus group.All rats will undergo a 14-week model construction process,and modern molecular biology methods will be employed to evaluate the model and examine relevant research indicators.The obtained data will be analyzed according to a predefined statistical analysis plan.

The effectiveness and safety of the RESTORE R drug-eluting balloon versus a drug-eluting stent for small coronary vessel disease： study protocol for a multi-center, randomized, controlled trial

bjective Small coronary vessel disease （disease affecting coronary vessels with main branch diameters of 〈 2.75 mm） is a common and intractable problem in percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI）. This study was designed to test the theory that the effectiveness and safety of drug-eluting balloons for the treatment of de novo lesions in small coronary vessels are non-inferior to those of drug-eluting stents. Methods We designed a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial aiming to assess the effectiveness and safety of the RESTORE R （Cardionovum, Bonn, Germany） drug-eluting balloon （DEB） versus the RESOLUTE R （Medtronic, USA） drug-eluting stent （DES） in the treatment of small coronary vessel disease. This trial started in August 2016. A total of 230 patients with a reference vessel diameter （RVD） 〉 2.25 mm and 〈 2.75 mm were randomly assigned to treatment with a DEB or a DES at a 1：1 ratio. The study was also designed to enroll 30 patients with an RVD 〉 2.00 mm and 〈 2.25 mm in the tiny vessel cohort. Results The key baseline data include demographic characteristics, relative medical history, baseline angiographic values and baseline procedural characteristics. The primary endpoint is in-segment diameter stenosis at nine months after the index procedure. Secondary endpoints include acute success, all-cause death, myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization, target lesion revascularization and stent thrombosis. Conclusions The study will evaluate the clinical efficacy, angiographic outcomes, and safety of DEBs compared to DESs in the treatment of de novo coronary artery lesions in small vessels.

Nine-year clinical outcomes of drug-eluting stents vs. bare metal stents for large coronary vessel lesions

Objectives To evaluate the very long-term safety and effectiveness of drug-eluting stents （DES） compared to bare-metal stents （BMS） for patients with large coronary vessels. Methods From April 2004 to October 2006, 2407 consecutive patients undergoing de novo lesion percutaneous coronary intervention with reference vessel diameter greater than or equal to 3.5 mm at Fu Wai Hospital in Beijing, China, were prospectively enrolled into this study. We obtained 9-year clinical outcomes including death, myocardial infarction （MI）, thrombosis, target lesion revascularization （TLR）, target vessel revascularization （TVR）, and major adverse cardiac events （MACE, the composite of death, MI, and TVR）. We performed Cox＇s proportional-hazards models to assess relative risks of all the outcome measures after propensity match. Results After propensity scoring, 514 DES-treated patients were matched to 514 BMS-treated patients. The patients treated with BMS were associated with higher risk ofTLR （HR： 2.55, 95%CI： 1.520-4.277, P = 0.0004） and TVR （HR： 1.889, 95%CI： 1.185-3.011, P = 0.0075）, but the rates of death/MI and MACE were not statistically different. All Academic Research Consortium definition stent thrombosis at 9-year were comparable in the two groups. Conclusions During long-term follow-up through nine years, use of DES in patients with large coronary arteries was still associated with significant reductions in the risks of TLR and TVR.

Value of the 6 minute walk test in predicting multi vessel coronary arterial disease

The 6 minute walk test (6MWT) is well established in the clinical assessment of heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and COPD. Its value as a submaximal stress test in the risk stratification of chronic stable ischaemic syndromes is as yet not validated. 95 patients undergoing coronary angiography for assessment of chronic stable angina performed the 6MWT according to a modified protocol. The gamma correlation test indicated a moderately significant relationship between ECG changes plus symptoms at the end of the 6MWT and multi vessel coronary arterial disease. The T wave changes showed no significant correlation. Hence the 6MWT is a useful tool in the risk stratification of stable ischaemic syndromes which can be safely performed in a general ward prior to hospital discharge. It would be a useful preliminary test before planning a programme of cardiac rehabilitation.

Correlation of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio to severity of coronary artery disease and in-hospital clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome: A prospective observational study

Objective:To explore correlation of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)to severity of coronary artery disease(CAD)and in-hospital clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome(ACS).Methods:In this prospective and observational study,we recruited 500 patients with ACS.For all the eligible patients,demographic details were collected,and laboratory parameters were evaluated.The CAD severity was evaluated in terms of the number of involved vessels.The NLR was calculated based on neutrophils and lymphocytes and the correlation of various risk factors and severity and outcome of CAD was performed.Results:77.2%of Patients was male,and 52%of the patients aged between 55-70 years.Based on the type of ACS,396 out of 500 patients had ST-elevation myocardial infarction.An ascending trend in the white blood cell levels and NLR value was noted as the severity of the ACS increased and the highest white blood cell levels and NLR was noted among classⅣpatients.The mean NLR value among the non-survivors were higher compared to the survivors(9.52±5.72 vs.4.76±2.36;P<0.01).Receiver operating curve showed that the cut-off NLR value was 5.76 with a sensitivity of 75.0%and a specificity of 77.3%.Conclusions:The NLR can be used as an independent prognostic marker in ACS.An elevated NLR value serves as a reliable predictor for short-term complications,notably in-hospital mortality.

Variation of blood vessels in the cranial-cervical legion

The blood vessels in the head and neck have several main roots for supplying blood to the brain and returning of blood to the heart. It was well known that each artery and vein in the head and neck has its variation. The variation of the vessels some times gives rise to unexpectable findings, which are not described in the textbook. In this study we like to show the morphological variations observed at routine autopsy cases and some forensic pathological findings caused by those variations.

Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Triple-Vessel Angioplasty for Symptomatic Coronary Artery Disease

Current treatment strategies for multi-vessel coronary artery disease include either coronary artery bypass surgery or percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting. The present study evaluates the morbidity and mortality among coronary artery disease patients undergoing triple-vessel angioplasty. This prospective record based descriptive study was carried out in Medical College, Pariyaram, Kannur, Kerala;a tertiary care cardiac centre in South India. Fifty consecutive patients who underwent angioplasty of one or more lesions in each of the three major coronary arteries from May 2010 to July 2012 were included in the study. The study describes the clinical profile of the patients and a moderate term clinical follow-up to reassess the symptoms, functional status and left ventricular function by history, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and treadmill test. Mortality and morbidity were considered as end-points of the study. Event-free survival rate was 94% at a mean follow-up of 20 months. Overall 98% continued success was obtained with triple-vessel angioplasty. Triple-vessel angioplasty is a safe and effective therapy as an alternative to surgical revascularization in selected patients with triple-vessel coronary artery disease.

Occlusion with a Vascular Plug of a Congenital Circumflex Coronary Artery—Right Ventricle Fistula with Coronary Steal Phenomenon

Background: Coronary fistulas are abnormal communications with a worldwide prevalence of 0.002% in the general population. Aim: The aim of this study is to present a case of a congenital coronary artery fistula presented with coronary steal and describe this phenomenon. Methods: A systematic search was conducted to explore the relationship between the coronary steal phenomenon and coronary artery diseases using the PubMed database. Case Presentation: A seven-month-old female patient, was admitted to the hospital presenting diaphoresis on feeding and failure to thrive. Physical examination denotes continuous murmur in the fourth intercostal space left parasternal border (IV/VI) crescendo-decrescendo, wide and permanent unfolding of S2 (S1-A2-P2). An echocardiogram shows enlargement of right cavities, dilatation of the left coronary artery, circumflex artery connected to the right ventricle, and pulmonary artery systolic pressure of 45 mmHg. Tomography angiography demonstrated dilatation of the circumflex artery and a tortuous trajectory towards the posterior wall of the right ventricle, suggesting a coronary fistula. Results: The findings were corroborated by catheterization and a vascular plug (Amplatzer AVP II) was successfully placed. During follow-up complete obliteration was observed, with adequate weight gain and no associated symptoms. Conclusion: This case illustrates a distinctive clinical manifestation of congenital coronary artery fistula associated with the coronary steal phenomenon, establishing a new paradigm for the early diagnosis and management of this condition in the pediatric population.

Challenging situation of coronary artery anomaly associated with ischemia and/or risk of sudden death

Coronary artery anomaly is known as one of the causes of angina pectoris and sudden death and is an important clinical entity that cannot be overlooked.The incidence of coronary artery anomalies is as low as 1%-2%of the general population,even when the various types are combined.Coronary anomalies are practically challenging when the left and right coronary ostium are not found around their normal positions during coronary angiography with a catheter.If there is atherosclerotic stenosis of the coronary artery with an anomaly and percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)is required,the suitability of the guiding catheter at the entrance and the adequate back up force of the guiding catheter are issues.The level of PCI risk itself should also be considered on a caseby-case basis.In this case,emission computed tomography in the R-1 subtype single coronary artery proved that ischemia occurred in an area where the coronary artery was not visible to the naked eye.Meticulous follow-up would be crucial,because sudden death may occur in single coronary arteries.To prevent atherosclerosis with full efforts is also important,as the authors indicated admirably.

Topological distance-constrained feature descriptor learning model for vessel matching in coronary angiographies

Background Feature matching technology is vital to establish the association between virtual and real objects in virtual reality and augmented reality systems.Specifically,it provides them with the ability to match a dynamic scene.Many image matching methods,of which most are deep learning-based,have been proposed over the past few decades.However,vessel fracture,stenosis,artifacts,high background noise,and uneven vessel gray-scale make vessel matching in coronary angiography extremely difficult.Traditional matching methods perform poorly in this regard.Methods In this study,a topological distance-constrained feature descriptor learning model is proposed.This model regards the topology of the vasculature as the connection relationship of the centerline.The topological distance combines the geodesic distance between the input patches and constrains the descriptor network by maximizing the feature difference between connected and unconnected patches to obtain more useful potential feature relationships.Results Matching patches of different sequences of angiographic images are generated for the experiments.The matching accuracy and stability of the proposed method is superior to those of the existing models.Conclusions The proposed method solves the problem of matching coronary angiographies by generating a topological distance-constrained feature descriptor.

Clinical Value of the Quantitative Flow Ratio to Predict Long-term Target Vessel Failure in Patients with In-stent Restenosis after Drug-coated Balloon Angioplasty

Objective The study sought to investigate the clinical predictive value of quantitative flow ratio(QFR)for the long-term target vessel failure(TVF)outcome in patients with in-stent restenosis(ISR)by using drug-coated balloon(DCB)treatment after a long-term follow-up.Methods This was a retrospective study.A total of 186 patients who underwent DCB angioplasty for ISR in two hospitals from March 2014 to September 2019 were enrolled.The QFR of the entire target vessel was measured offline.The primary endpoint was TVF,including target vessel-cardiac death(TV-CD),target vessel-myocardial infarction(TV-MI),and clinically driven-target vessel revascularization(CD-TVR).Results The follow-up time was 3.09±1.53 years,and 50 patients had TVF.The QFR immediately after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)was significantly lower in the TVF group than in the no-TVF group.Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that the QFR immediately after PCI was an excellent predictor for TVF after the long-term follow-up[hazard ratio(HR):5.15×10−5(6.13×10−8−0.043);P<0.01].Receiver-operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis demonstrated that the optimal cut-off value of the QFR immediately after PCI for predicting the long-term TVF was 0.925(area under the curve:0.886,95%confidence interval:0.834–0.938;sensitivity:83.40%,specificity:88.00;P<0.01).In addition,QFR≤0.925 post-PCI was strongly correlated with the TVF,including TV-MI and CD-TVR(P<0.01).Conclusion The QFR immediately after PCI showed a high predictive value of TVF after a long-term follow-up in ISR patients who underwent DCB angioplasty.A lower QFR immediately after PCI was associated with a worse TVF outcome.

Intracoronary thrombolysis combined with drug balloon angioplasty in a young ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patient:A case report

BACKGROUND The combination of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI)and gastric ulcers poses a challenge to primary percutaneous coronary intervention(PPCI),particularly for young patients.The role of drug-coated balloons(DCBs)in the treatment of de novo coronary artery lesions in large vessels remains unclear,especially for patients with STEMI.Our strategy is to implement drug balloon angioplasty following the intracoronary administration of low-dose prourokinase and adequate pre-expansion.CASE SUMMARY A 54-year-old male patient presented to the emergency department due to chest pain on June 24,2019.Within the first 3 minutes of the initial assessment in the emergency room,the electrocardiogram(ECG)showed significant changes.There was atrial fibrillation with ST-segment elevation.Subsequently,atrial fibrillation terminated spontaneously and reverted to sinus rhythm.Soon after,the patient experienced syncope.The ECG revealed torsades de pointes ventricular tachycardia.A few seconds later,it returned to sinus rhythm.High-sensitivity tropon in I was normal.The diagnosis was acute STEMI.Emergency coronary angiography revealed subtotal occlusion with thrombus formation in the proximal segment of the left anterior descending artery.Considering the patient's age and history of peptic ulcer disease,after the intracoronary injection of prourokinase,percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and cutting balloon angioplasty were conducted for thorough preconditioning,and paclitaxel drug-eluting balloon angioplasty was performed without any stents,achieving favorable outcomes.CONCLUSION A PPCI without stents may be a viable treatment strategy for select patients with STEMI,and further research is warranted.

Correlation between intracoronary thrombus components and coronary blood flow after percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction at different onset time

BACKGROUND Acute myocardial infarction(AMI)is a leading cause of mortality.Early reperfusion to restore blood flow is crucial to successful treatment.In the current reperfusion regimen,an increasing number of patients have benefited from direct percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).In order to understand whether there is a correlation between the components of coronary thrombosis and the absence of reflow or slow blood flow after coronary stent implantation in direct PCI,we collected data on direct PCI cases in our hospital between January 2016 and November 2018.AIM To investigate the correlation between intracoronary thrombus components and coronary blood flow after stent implantation in direct PCI in AMI.METHODS We enrolled 154 patients(85 male and 69 female,aged 36–81 years)with direct PCI who underwent thrombus catheter aspiration within<3,3–6 or 6–12 h of onset of AMI between January 2016 and November 2018.The thrombus was removed for pathological examination under a microscope.The patients of the three groups according to the onset time of AMI were further divided into those with a white or red thrombus.The thrombolysis in myocardial infarction(TIMI)blood flow after stent implantation was recorded based on digital subtraction angiography during PCI.The number of patients with no-reflow and slow blood flow in each group was counted.Statistical analysis was performed based on data such as onset time,TIMI blood flow.RESULTS There were significant differences in thrombus components between the patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(P<0.01).In the group with PCI<3 h after onset of AMI,there was no significant difference in the incidence of no-reflow and slow-flow between the white and red thrombus groups.In the groups with PCI 3-6 and 6-12 h after onset of AMI,there was a significant difference in the incidence of no-reflow and slow-flow between the white and red thrombus groups(P<0.01).There was a significant correlation between the onset time of AMI and the occurrences of no-reflow and slow blood flow during PCI(P<0.01).CONCLUSION In direct PCI,the onset time of AMI and color of coronary thrombus are often used to predict whether there will be no reflow or slow blood flow after stent implantation.

Coronary artery occlusion after arterial switch operation in an asymptomatic 15-year-old boy

A 15-year-old boy with transposition of the great arteries(TGA) and neonatal arterial switch operation(ASO) presented with complete occlusion of the left main coronary artery(LMCA). Intra-operatively, an intramural left coronary artery was identified. Therefore, since age 7 years he had a series of screening exercise stress tests. At 13 years old, he had 3 to 4 mm ST segment depression in the infero-lateral leads without symptoms. This progressed to 4.2 mm inferior ST segment depression at 15 years old with normal stress echocardiogram. Sestamibi myocardial perfusion scan and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was inconclusive. Therefore, a coronary angiogram was obtained which showed complete occlusion of the LMCA with ample collateralization from the right coronary artery system. This was later confirmed on a computed tomogram(CT) angiogram, obtained in preparation of coronary artery bypass grafting. The case illustrates the difficulty of detecting coronary artery stenosis and occlusion in young patients with rich collateralization. Coronary CT angiogram and conventional angiography were the best imaging modalities to detect coronary anomalies in this adolescent with surgically corrected TGA. Screening CT angiography may be warranted for TGA patients, particularly for those with known coronary anomalies.

Right coronary artery from the left sinus of valsalva:Multislice CT and transradial PCI

A 42-year-old-woman presented with de novo crescendo angina.Thallium-scintigraphy showed inferior ischemia.Coronary angiogram revealed a right coronary artery(RCA),originating from the left sinus of Valsalva with a severe proximal systolic compression.She underwent successful transradial percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation.Multislice-computed tomography(MSCT) is usually used to evaluate coronary artery anomalies and can effectively show the anomalous RCA and the inter-arterial trajectory between the aorta and pulmonary arteries.Anomalies of the origin of the coronary arteries are rare,but can produce specific clinicopathological entities that should be diagnosed with accuracy.This case report illustrates the role of MSCT in the detailed description of an abnormal coronary artery and the use of stenting for symptoms relief.

Successful extracorporeal life support in sudden cardiac arrest due to coronary anomaly

Extracorporeal life support(ECLS) has recently been reported to have a survival benefit in patients with cardiac arrest. It is now used widely as a lifesaving modality. Here, we describe a case of sudden cardiac arrest(SCA) in a young athlete with an anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left coronary sinus. Resuscitation was successful using ECLS before curative bypass surgery. We highlight the efficacy of ECLS for a patient with SCA caused by a rare, unexpected aetiology. In conclusion, ECLS was a lifesaving modality for SCA due to an anomalous coronary artery in this young patient.