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Minerva cardioangiologica 08/2012; 60(4):445-8.
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ABSTRACT: Stroke is the third most common cause of death in North America and ever year approximately 700,000 new strokes are reported in the United States. Seventy-five percent of these occur in the distribution of the carotid arteries. Among strokes of a thromboembolic etiology, carotid occlusive disease is the most common cause. As many as 150,300 stroke-related fatalities are documented annually, with a total cost for the health-care system of approximately $ 18 billion per year. This review will focus on the different pathomorphologic aspects of carotid plaque, outlining the similarities and differences with the coronary plaque, with particular attention on how intravascular imaging may contribute to a better stratification of the patient treatment.
Minerva cardioangiologica 12/2011; 59(6):591-600.
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ABSTRACT: One quarter of patients with STEMI submitted to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) need repeated target vessel revascularization (TVR) because of stent restenosis or thrombosis. Introduction of DES has effectively reduced the incidence of these complications but the safety of this type of stent in the setting of AMI is limited due to the unpredictable risk of stent malapposition and vessel remodelling in the long term follow-up. Recently, treatment with drug eluting balloon (DEB) in association with bare metal stenting (BMS) has been reported to have an excellent efficacy and safety profile. However, little is known regarding the extent of stent coverage in BMS after DEB utilization.
Minerva cardioangiologica 02/2011; 59(1):109-12.
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ABSTRACT: Despite the impressive progress of percutaneous treatment modalities, restenosis remains the major Achilles heel of interventional cardiology. Approximately 25% of the general population treated for coronary diseases with a bare-metal stent and about 10% of patients treated with a drug-eluting stent develop an overgrowth of vascular tissue and renarrowing inside the stent, or in-stent restenosis. These rates are even greater in diabetics and patients at higher risk of restenosis both for clinical presentation (patients in dialysis, low ejection fraction) or anatomical characteristics (ostial, bifurcation, long lesions). Non-stent based local drug delivery and particularly the use of paclitaxel eluting balloon (PEB) could be one promising strategy to reduce restenosis. This review will briefly explore the different characteristics of PEB devices currently present in the market and summarize the results obtained both in animal models and clinical practice, giving an indication of the potential field of application of this new technology.
Minerva cardioangiologica 10/2009; 57(5):597-609.
