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Background: The aim of this study was to determine if stent length is by itself a risk factor for intimal proliferation and restenosis. Long lesions represent an independent risk factor for restenosis after coronary stent implantation. A longer stented segment might result in a higher probability of restenosis., Methods: Twenty-two 7-month-old male farm pigs underwent implantation of two steel stents, one short (8 mm length) and one long (16 mm length), in the right coronary artery. The pigs were sacrificed 28 days after stent implantation and histomorphometric analysis of the coronary arteries was performed for neointimal area proliferation and area stenosis evaluation., Results: Seventeen short stents and 19 long stents were finally implanted. There were no differences in neointimal proliferation (1.84 +/- 0.64 mm2 vs. 1.81 +/- 0.94 mm2, p = 0.84), area stenosis (40 +/- 9% vs. 41 +/- 19%, p = 0.86) and lumen area (2.96 +/- 1.30 mm2 vs. 2.51 +/- +/- 1.18 mm2, p = 0.21) between the short stent group and the long stent group, respectively., Conclusions: These data suggest that stent length by itself does not influence restenosis extent in the porcine model.

Objective: Attempts to demonstrate preconditioning during repeated angioplasty balloon inflations (BIs) have not been universally successful. The main obstacle is that the first BI is unreliable, due to the variable degrees of occlusion by the deflated balloon. In the present study, we examined whether ST segment elevation decreases and evaluated its relation to collateral recruitment during repeated angioplasty BIs in the pig., Methods and Results: Twenty male pigs, 7 months old, under general anesthesia, underwent 3 repeated BIs of 120 s, with a 5-min interval between them, in the left anterior descending artery or the right coronary artery. A pressure wave wire was used for the measurement of coronary wedge pressure and to obtain the intracoronary ST segment elevation. Intracoronary ST segment elevation was 1.97 +/- 0.76 mV during the 1st BI, 2.09 +/- 0.82 mV during the 2nd BI and 1.84 +/- 0.82 mV during the 3rd BI (p = n.s.). Coronary wedge pressure was 12 +/- 6, 18 +/- 18 and 20 +/- 20 mm Hg (p < 0.05 vs. 1st BI) during the 3 BIs, respectively., Conclusion: Repeated BIs do not diminish ST segment elevation in the pig model, even though coronary collateral recruitment is promoted., ((c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Aim: To explore the factors that may influence the radiation dose imparted to the patient in PCI, and investigate whether the use of the latest digital X-ray system based on FP detector technology can have an impact on dose., Materials and Method: Demographic and clinical data such as number of lesions treated, number of stents placed, grade of tortuosity, and stage of occlusion, as well as use of double wire and double balloon technique, ostial stenting or bifurcation stenting, and presence of major complications were recorded, together with radiation parameters., Results: The factors that increased patient radiation dose were (1) patient gender, as men exhibited higher doses than women; (2) complex lesion; (3) increasing number of stents; (4) position of stent; (5) grade of tortuosity; and (6) stage of occlusion. The FP digital system appeared to be settled in a lower-dose rate for fluoroscopy (a factor of 6) and higher for dose per frame in cine (a factor of 3) in comparison with the image intensifier (II) system. There was a marked reduction of DAP when the FP technology was introduced., Conclusion: More extensive studies should be performed in the future so as to further investigate the influence of the FP detector in IC.