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Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been and continues to be standard treatment in patients with coronary artery disease. The data for demographic and outcomes in Thailand are limited., Objective: To study data and characteristics relating to patients, the procedure, and outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention in the Thai population., Material and Method: The Thai Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Registry (TPCIR) was established in 2006, consisting of 27 hospitals in Thailand that perform the PCI procedure. All patients who underwent PCI between May 2006 and October 2006 in participating hospitals were asked to participate in this registry. Data was recorded in case record form and then entered into the web-based registry. Key variables include demographic data, risk factors, indications for PCI, outcomes, and complications., Results: Four thousand one hundred fifty six patients were enrolled; 69.2% were male. Average age of PCI patients was 62.7 years. Indications for PCI were ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (14%), Non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (37.3%), and stable coronary artery disease (48.7%). PCI was successfully performed in 92.5% of lesions or 89.6% of cases with in-hospital complications reported in 12% of cases., Conclusion: This was the first nationwide multi-center study of PCI in Thailand. The overall PCI procedure success rate was 92.5%.

Background: In patient with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF), over 90% of thrombus accumulation originates in the left atrial appendage (LAA). Warfarin significantly reduces risk of stroke. However, long-term anticoagulant therapy is associated with a significant risk of major bleeding, particularly in elderly. Transcatheter occlusion of left atrial appendage with Watchman device has proved to be non-inferior to warfarin in preventing stroke in non-valvular AF patients. No previous report of transcatheter occlusion of LAA was found in Thailand, Objective: To evaluate short-term results of left atrial appendage closure with the Watchman® device in patient with non-valvular AF performed at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH)., Material and Method: Between November 2012 and December 2014, 12 consecutives patients underwent percutaneous transcatheter left atrial appendage closure. Data included patient's characteristics, embolic risk factors, bleeding risk score, procedural finding, complications, in-hospital outcomes, and antithrombotic management were retrospectively reviewed, Results: Percutaneous LAA occlusion was successfully performed in all 12 patients. The mean age was 71.2 ± 8.1 years. The history of previous bleeding was seen in four patients (33%). All patients had good left ventricular systolic function. The mean CHADS2 score was 3.2 ± 1.3, the mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 4.8 ± 1.6 and the mean HAS-BLED score was 2.5 ± 0.9. The average LAA orifice diameter was 21.7 ± 3.4 mm, and the median implant size was 27.0 mm. The compression ratio was 15.2 ± 6.2%. Three patients (25%) were performed under general anesthesia, nine patients (75%) were performed with local anesthesia. The averageprocedure time was 61.2 ± 18.5 minutes. The average fluoroscopy time was 6.8 ± 3.3 minutes. There was no device embolization or pericardial effusion. There was no periprocedural cerebral event, assess site bleeding, or death during hospital admission. Mild peridevice leak was observed in three patients (25%), and all had disappeared on TEE performed at the 45-day follow-up. The median length of stay was two days., Conclusion: The result of the present study showed that percutaneous LAA occlusion with the Watchman device was feasible and safe. The successfulness of the procedures and periprocedural complications were similar to standard in literature.

Objective: The Cocoon PFO Occluder is a device for percutaneous closure of inter-atrial communications. Its self-centering characteristics make it attractive for closure of patent foramen ovales (PFOs) with or without atrial septal aneurysms. The goal of this study is to report the immediate and follow-up results of the first 14 patients in implanted with the Cocoon PFO Occluder., Material and Method: This is a retrospective report of immediate and short-term clinical and echocardiographic outcome of patients who underwent transcatheter closure of PFO because of paradoxical embolism. Procedural success was defined as successful deployment of the device and effective occlusion (no, or trivial, shunt after device placement). All patients had a transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) with saline contrast injection at baseline and clinical follow-up at 6 months., Results: Between September 2012 and March 2014, 14 patients had successfully undergone transcatheter closure of PFO using Cocoon device. During follow-up none of the patients had a recurrence of stroke after device closure. No residual shunt was observed in any patients at follow-up., Conclusion: Transcatheter closure of PFO with the Cocoon PFO device is safe and effective and can be used for preventing recurrent strokes in patients who present with cryptogenic stroke and PFO.

Background: Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a common congenital heart disease in adults. Amplatzer septal occluder is one of the most common devices used for transcatheter closure due to its high success rate and ease to implant. Cocoon atrial septal occluder is a new nitinol-based device, its shape resembles Amplatzer septal occluder but coated with platinum to prevent nickel release. Little is known about clinical outcomes of large ASD closure using Cocoon atrial septal occluder, Objective: To review our experience in closure of secundum ASD in adults by Cocoon septal occluder and to compare the clinical outcomes and results of the patients who had ASD closure with a device greater than or equal to 30 mm and less than 30 mm., Material and Method: Between November 2005 and October 2008, 63 consecutive patients underwent transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)--guided transcatheter closure of secundum ASD. The patients were divided into two groups (Groups' 1 and 2) according to device diameter that is greater than or equal to 30 mm (n = 31) and less than 30 mm (n = 32), respectively. Clinical outcomes, complications, and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) before hospital discharge, one to three months, and one-year were analyzed., Results: Device implantations were successful in 27 patients (87.1%) in group 1 and 31 patients (96.9%) in group 2 (p = 0.196). The maximum size of secundum ASD in group 1 determined by TTE, TEE, and balloon sizing diameter (BSD) were 22.6 +/- 5.0 mm (range 15-32), 28.1 +/- 4.8 mm (range 19-39), and 31 +/- 3.5 mm (range 23-38) respectively. The maximum size of secundum ASD in group 2 determined by TTE, TEE, and BSD were 19.7 +/- 4.4 mm (range 12-31), 20.4 +/- 3.4 mm (range 13-26), and 23.1 +/- 2.9 mm (range 15-30) respectively. The mean device size in groups 1 and 2 were 33.5 +/- 3.1 mm and 24.6 +/- 3.3 mm, respectively. Four patients (12.9%) in group 1 had unsuccessful implantations. All of them were in the first 15 cases of using large device and two of them had device embolization requiring surgical removal. One patient (3.1%) in group 2 had an unsuccessful implantation and had device embolization requiring surgical removal. The patients in both groups gradually improved in clinical symptoms with decreased RVsystolic pressure and decreased RV size with complete ASD closure at one year, Conclusion: Transcatheter closure of large secundum ASD by Cocoon septal occluder is feasible with hemodynamic benefit. However complication rates are higher with large ASD closure with device size greater than or equal to 30 mm especially during the early "learning curve" period. With experience, the complication rate declines and the success rate is no different from the group with smaller device size.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of original (Plavix) and generic (Apolets) clopidogrel 600 mg loading in patients planning to undergo coronary angiography., Material and Method: This is an experimental design, parallel, randomized-controlled study. Coronary artery disease patients planned for cardiac catheterization were recruited Patients were randomized to receive either original or generic clopidogrel 600 mg loading dose. Platelet aggregation induced by 5 micromol/L and 20 micromol/L adenosine diphosphate (ADP) was measured by light transmission aggregometry (LTA) at baseline and 6 hours after clopidogrel 600 mg administration., Results: Forty-nine patients were enrolled, 24 patients received original clopidogrel, and 25 patients received generic clopidogrel. After six hours of loading, there was significantly reduction in platelet aggregation induced by adenosine 5 micromol/L from 41.08 +/- 3.04% to 19.50 +/- 1.68% (p < 0.001) in original group compared to 36.76 +/- 2.66% to 21.32 +/- 2.60% (p < 0.001) in generic group. When induced by 20 micromol/L, the platelet aggregation was reduced from 58.50 +/- 2.09% to 32.25 +/- 2.30% (p < 0.001) in original group and from 61.12 +/- 2.54% to 30.04 +/- 3.14% (p < 0.001) in generic group. There was no significant difference between original and generic clopidogrel in reducing platelet aggregation induced by both adenosine 5 and 20 micromol/L. Groin hematoma was found in one case (4.2%) in the original clopidogrel group., Conclusion: Generic clopidogrel (Apolets) 600 mg loading dose is as effective as original clopidogrel (Plavix) in term of platelet aggregation inhibition.

Background: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) appears to be the preferred reperf usion methodfor patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This method was introduced in our hospital before the year 2000. In Thailand, data showing long experience results in patients with STEMI who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention remain limited., Objective: To demonstrate 11-yr experience of primary percutaneous coronary intervention at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital., Material and Method: This retrospective descriptive single-center study analyses clinical characteristics, angiographic features and in-hospital outcomes of 772 patients with STEMI who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention between 2000 and 2010., Results: Seven hundred seventy two consecutive patients with STEMI were enrolled in the study. Three-fourth of the patients were male. Mean age was 60.13 years (range 28 to 96 years) and 12.6% were older than 75 years old. Forty-eight percent of patients were referred from hospital without cardiac catheterization facilities. Of these patients 94.4% underwent primary PCI and rescue PCI was done in 5.6% of patients. There were 27% ofpatients with left ventricular ejection fraction less than 40%, 21% of patients with Killip's class IV and 12% suffered cardiac arrest prior to angiography. Median door-to-balloon time in referred and non-referred patients was 28 and 104.5 minutes, respectively. Ninety-two percent of referred patients and 36% of non-referred patients, door to balloon time were within 90 minutes. About half ofthe patients had multi-vessels disease at that time of diagnosis. The overall angiographic success rate was 96%. Platelet glycoprotein llb/lla inhibitors were used in two-third ofpatients and stent placement in 82%. Post procedural thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TII) 3 flow was documented in 87%. Intra-aortic balloon pump was used in 15% and thrombus aspiration device in 47%. During hospital stay, in-hospital mortality was 8.5% and 80% of those cases died from cardiac cause. One-third of patients died if they had Killip's class IV at presentation compared with 1.6% in patients with Killip's class I-III. In-hospital major adverse cardiovascular event was 10.4%., Conclusion: During 11 years of primary PCI experience in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, the angiographic success rate was high with acceptable in-hospital mortality and major adverse cardiac event. This strategy of treatment should be the treatment of choice for patients with STEMI in experienced PCI capable center with 24 hours/7 days availability.

Background: The Thai Registry of Acute Coronary Syndrome (TRACS) registry was conducted five years after the first Thai Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) registry., Objective: To describe demographics, management practices, and in-hospital outcomes of current Thai ACS patients and to seek for any significant changes in this registry from the earlier first Thai ACS registry., Material and Method: The TRACS is a multi-centers, prospective, nation-wide registration with 39 participating medical centers. Web-based data entry was used and the data were centrally managed and analyzed., Results: Between October 007 and December 2008, 2,007 patients were enrolled. Fifty-five percent had ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), 33% had non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and 12% had unstable angina (UA). Overall prevalence of diabetes was 50.7%. The STEMI group was younger predominantly male, with less diabetes than NSTEMI. At presentation, lower percent of cardiogenic shock (7.9%) and cardiac arrest (2.8%) were noted. Sixty seven percent of the STEMI received reperfusion therapy. Thrombolysis was given in 42.6% and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was performed in 24.7% of all STEMl patients. Median door-to-needle and door-to-balloon time were 65 and 127 minutes. The median time-to-treatment was 285 min in the thrombolysis group and 324 min in the primary PCI group. Regarding NSTE-ACS, coronary angiography was performed in 38.4% and about one-fourth received revascularization either by PCI or bypass surgery during index admission. In-hospital mortality was 5.3% for STEMI, 5.1% for NSTEMI, and 1.7% for UA. When following the patients up to 12 months, the mortality was 14.1%, 25.0%, and 13.8% respectively., Conclusion: The TRACS registry showed differences in demographic, management practices and in-hospital outcomes of the Thai ACS patients. Although mortality rate in this registry decreased significantly as compared to the first Thai ACS registry, the results had to be interpreted with caution because of the difference in characteristics and severity of the enrolled patients. At 12-month follow-up, the mortality rate was significantly higher in NSTEMI than STEMI or UA patients. Practice management should be considered particularly for the invasive strategy for these groups of patients.

Background: Stem cell transplantation is a potential treatment to improve left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, the outcomes still are controversial., Objective: To determine the 6-month LVEF of the patients who underwent intra-coronary bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMC) transplantation in patients with STEMI compared with controlled subjects., Material and Method: After successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in STEMI patients who had LVEF was less than 50% were randomized to intra-coronary BMC transplantation or control. Bone marrow aspiration of 100 cc was performed in the morning. After cellprocessing for three hours, the suspension of BMC about 10 cc were infused to infracted area using standard PCI technique. Balloon occlusion for three minutes was performed during cell infusion. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine LVEF scar volume and LV volume before and six-month follow-up., Results: Between September 2006 and July 2008, 23patients (11 in BMC group and 12 in control group) were enrolled. Mean BMC count before transplant was 420 x 10(6) cell with 96% viability. At six-month follow-up, New York Heart Association function class significantly improved in both groups (2.3 +/- 0.6 to 1.2 +/- 0. 4 for BMC and 2.3 +/- 0.7 to 1.3 +/- 0.5 for control group) but no difference was seen between groups. However, scar volume, wall motion score index, and LVEF did not show improvement after six months in both groups (33.7 +/- 7.7 to 33.5 +/- 7.6 for BMC and 31.1 +/- 7.1 to 32.6 +/- 8.3 for control group). No complication was observed during the procedure., Conclusion: BMC transplantation intra-coronary in patients with STEMI in KCMH was feasible and safe but LVEF improvement could not be demonstrated.

Background: Stem cell transplantation is a potential treatment to improve left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However technique and mode of transplantation, type of cells, number of cells, and when to transplant are still unknown., Objective: To determine the feasibility and safety of bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMC) intra-coronary transplantation and 6-months results in patients with STEMI., Material and Method: After successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in STEMI patients who did not have flow re-established within 12 hours and poor LVEF (less than 50%) by echocardiography were enrolled Bone marrow aspiration of 100 cc was performed in the morning. After cell processing for 3 hours, the suspension of BMC about 10 cc were infused to infarcted area using standard PCI technique. Balloon occlusion for 3 minutes was performed during cell infusion. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine LVEF scar volume and LV volume before and 6 months after transplantation., Results: Five patients were enrolled between May and August 2006. Duration of STEMI before transplantation ranged from 18 days to 14 years. Total amount of BMC ranged from 67 x 10(6) to 335 x 10(6). Number of CD 34 and CD 133+ cells were approximation to be 0.7 x 10(6) to 7.7 x 10(6) and 0.01 x 10(6) to 3.04 x 10(6). LVEF was increased from 36.4 at baseline to 43.3 at 6-month. NT pro-BNP level was decreased from 1105 ng/ml at baseline to 288 pg/ml at 6-month. No complications such as chest pain, no re-flow phenomenon, ventricular arrhythmia, or hypotension was detected during the procedure., Conclusion: Intra-coronary BMC transplantation in patients with STEMI in our center is feasible and safe. LVEF was slightly improved; however, a randomized controlled study is needed.

Background: Left Main Coronary Artery (LMCA) disease is now uniformly treated with coronary artery by pass grafting (CABG). However some patients with LMCA disease did not receive CABG because of high operative risks as well as those who refused CABG Recent studies demonstrated the feasibility of stenting for LM stenosis, although data remain limited., Objective: To evaluate in-hospital and mid-term outcomes of using bare metal stent (BMS) and drug eluting stent (DES) in protected and unprotected left main coronary artery disease at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital., Material and Method: Retrospective, single-center study. The authors reviewed the outcomes of patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention on left main coronary artery lesions in our hospital from July 2000 to August 2007. In-hospital data and clinical follow-up outcomes were analyzed and determined as in-hospital and mid-term mortality, major adverse cardiac event (MACE)., Results: In eight years the authors reviewed 64 consecutive protected and unprotected LMCA patients who underwent PCI with stent placement. Altogether left main coronary artery stents were successfully deployed in all patients. DES usage was 64%. Bifurcation technique for distal left main coronary artery was executed in 32 patients (50%), included single stent in 62 (97%), two stents in 2(3%). Final kissing ballon inflation was done in 14 (21.9%). In-hospital mortality was 4.7% (three patients), two patients died from cardiac origin. The total in-hospital major adverse cardiac event (MACE) was 4.7%. Clinical follow-up of 6 months was completed in 100% of patients. Fifty percent of patients had angiographic follow-up and in-stent restenosis rate was 9.7%. No further death was noted and MACE at 6 months was 9.4%. Moreover, overall mean and median follow-up period were 31 +/- 25 months (range, 6-93 months) and 26 months respectively., Conclusion: Stent Implantation was technically feasible and safely applied for the treatment ofprotected and unprotected left main coronary artery lesions in patients, with acceptable in-hospital and mid-term outcomes. More randomized and controlled clinical trials are needed to confirm the long-term effects of stents for LMCA disease.

Background: Early primary coronary interventions (PCI) in acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is associated with improved outcome and mortality rate but delayed reperfusion especially after 6 hours is still doubtful in terms of clinical benefits because most myocardial muscle are infarcted after 6 hours of onset of chest pain., Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the mortality rate of patients treated with PCI within 6 hours of symptom onset to those treated between 6 to 24 hours after the onset of STEMI., Material and Method: The present study included consecutive patients from the data of the Fast Track Registry of King Chulalongkorn Hospital from June 1, 1999 to October 31, 2003 to compare the thirty-day mortality of patients treated with early or delayed PCI (0-6 hours vs. 6-24 hours after symptom of chest pain) for STEMI., Results: Two hundred and sixteen patients who underwent PCI were enrolled. Male gender (82% vs. 64.9%, p = 0.03) and history of smoking (72.1% vs. 50%, p = 0.04) were predominant in the early treatment group (ETG) vs. the delayed treatment group (DTG). Mean age (60.5% vs. 61.03%, p = 0.11), diabetes (31.4% vs. 29.7%, p = 0.82), hypertension (64.0% vs. 54.1%, p = 0.20), dyslipidemia (58.1% vs. 60.8%, p = 0.73), and ejection fraction < 40% (22.8% vs. 32.0%, p = 0.625) were similar in both groups. There were no differences in angiographic finding and hospital management. Door to balloon and total delay time were 124.13 +/- 143.27 min and 407.94 +/- 268.183 min, respectively. The thirty-day mortality (9.01% vs. 12.76%, p = 0.379) and I year mortality (12.4% vs. 16 9%, p = 0.532) were not significantly determined by Log rank test in both groups. As for cardiogenic shock, ETG tended to have a lower thirty-day mortality than DTG but no statistically significant difference (12.5% vs. 50.0%, p = 0.0809)., Conclusion: The delayed PCI up to 24 hours in STEMI does not increase short-term mortality at thirty days; therefore, it may still have benefit in STEMI patients. However it tended to have higher short-term mortality than early PCI especially in cardiogenic shock but showed no statistical significance.

Background: Clinical predictors of high-risk STEMI patients may guide physicians to the type of treatment, as high-risk patients need more aggressive treatment than low-risk patients. There was no previous registry of STEMI patients in Thailand., Objective: To determine the clinical predictors of in-hospital mortality in STEMI patients from the Thai ACS MATERIAL AND METHOD: A multi-center prospective nationwide Thai Acute Coronary Syndrome Registry (TACSR) was done between August 1, 2002 and October 31, 2005. The STEMI patients were registered to Thai ACS web site. Clinical and demographic characteristics, coronary risk factors, presenting symptoms, in-hospital treatments, reperfusion procedures and the patients' outcomes were recorded and analyzed., Results: 3,836 STEMI patients were studied. The mean age was 62.2 +/- 12.8 years and 68% of the patients were male. The mortality rate of Thai STEMI patients was 17% (86.8% from cardiac causes) and the main cause of death was pumping failure (61.3%). The patients with older age > or = 75 years, patients with diabetes, shock, and cardiac arrhythmias had a higher mortality (29.4, 21.2, 43.4 and 37.24% respectively), while patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (primary PCI) had a lower mortality rate (12.66%). Patients who received treatment with ASA, beta-blocker ACE inhibitor/ARB and statin had lower in-hospital mortality., Conclusion: The clinical predictors of high in-hospital mortality in STEMI patients from the TACSR were older age > or = 75 years, diabetes, shock, and cardiac arrhythmias. The treatments that can decrease the mortality were primary PCI, ASA, beta-blocker, ACE inhibitor/ARB and statin.

Background: To establish a national registration of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) registry in Thailand by networking health service institutions to determine the demographic, management practices, and in-hospital outcomes of patients with ACS., Material and Method: The Thai ACS registry is a multi-center prospective project of nationwide registration in Thailand. Institutions were invited to participate in the registry through members of the Heart Association of Thailand. A series of workshops were organized to ensure standardization and quality control of the data and conduct of the present study. Web-based double data entry was used and the data were centrally managed and analyzed., Results: The enrollment of the patients started in August 2002. After three years, records of 9,373 patients were collected from 17 hospitals. The patients were classified as ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) (40.9.%), non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) (37.9%) and unstable angina (UA) (21.2%). The STEMI group was younger predominantly male, with a fewer number of diabetes than NSTEMI or UA. About half of the STEMI patients (52.6%) received reperfusion therapy. Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was performed in 22.2% of STEMI. The median door to needle and door to balloon time were 85.0 and 122 minutes respectively. The median times to treatment were 240 minutes in the thrombolysis group and 359 minutes in the primary PCI group. Nearly half of NSTEMI and UA went to coronary angiography and about one-fourth of them received revascularization either PCI or coronary artery bypass grafting in the same admission. The total mortality rate was high in STEMI (17.0%) followed by NSTEMI (13.1%) and UA (3.0%)., Conclusion: Thai ACS registry provides a detail of demographic, management practices, and in-hospital outcomes of patients with ACS. Time from onset to admission, door to needle time and door to balloon time were considered as suboptimal. Overall, in-hospital mortality is higher than reports from Western countries. The raising awareness among the general population about urgency of seeking medical attention for chest pain and concerted effect to improve in-hospital time delay is warranted. These data may have an impact on our health care system and alert the government to adopt an appropriate policy to solve these problems.

Background: Renal insufficiency in the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is associated with poor cardiac outcome. In Asian populations, there are no data available for these associations., Material and Method: Data was from the Thai ACS registry, only a new case of ACS. Clinical characteristics, treatment strategies, in-hospital mortality and 1-year mortality were compared for patients with normal or mild renal dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR]> 60 ml/minute/1.73 m2, n = 809 [44.5%]), moderate renal dysfunction (eGFR 30-60 ml/minute/1.73 m2, n = 706 [38.9%]), and severe renal dysfunction (eGFR < 30 ml/minute/1.73 m2, n = 301 [16.6%])., Results: Of the 1,816patients with mean follow-up 10.8 months, the mean age was 65 years, and 59.2 percent of the groups were male. Patients with severe renal dysfunction were significantly older, less likely to be male (45.2%, p < 0.001) and had a greater prevalence of diabetes (63.1%, p < 0.001) and hypertension (85.4%, p < 0.001). In-hospital and 1-year mortality were 13.5% and 22.5% respectively. According to discharge diagnosis, unadjusted hazard ratios for overall in-hospital mortality was statistically significant only in ST elevation MI subgroup, hazard ratio was 2.73 (95% CI, 1.72 to 4.34) and 6.27 (95% CI, 3.78 to 10.4) for moderate and severe renal dysfunction group, respectively. The risk of death for all types of ACS at 1-year follow up increased when eGFR decreased below 60 ml/minute/1.73 m2, the adjusted hazard ratio was 1.66 (95% CI,1.22 to 2.23) and 1.91 (95% CI, 1.34 to 2.72) for moderate and severe renal dysfunction group, respectively., Conclusion: From Thai ACS registry, renal dysfunction at presentation is an independent predictor for the overall 1-year mortality and appeared to associate with an increase in hospital mortality in the subsets with STEMI

Objective: To describe differences in in-hospital morbidity and mortality, presenting characteristics and management practices of diabetic and non-diabetic patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction using data from Thai ACS registry., Material and Method: Thai ACS registry is a multi-center prospective project of nationwide registration in Thailand., Results: The present study consisted of 3,548 patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction from 17 hospitals in about a 3-year period. About 50% of the patients with diabetes were more often female, with a greater prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidemia. The diabetic group was at an increased risk for congestive heart failure (adjusted odds ratio 1.84) but not increased risk for cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac mortality, and in-hospital mortality., Conclusion: There was a very high prevalence of diabetes in non-ST elevation myocardial infarction from ThaiACS registry. These patients were at increased risk for congestive heart failure as index of hospitalization but were not at increased risk for in-hospital mortality when compared with patients without diabetes.

Objective: To assess the accuracy for detection of coronary stenoses in chronic stable angina patients., Material and Method: Twenty-four chronic stable angina patients, referred for conventional coronary angiography by the indication of positive stress tests or clinical highly suspicion of coronary artery disease were enrolled. MDCT coronary angiography (MDCTCA) and conventional coronary angiography (144 coronary vessels) were performed within one month. Accuracy of MDCTCA for predicting significant coronary artery stenoses was analyzed., Results: Five patients were excluded due to the total Agaston calcium score more than 500. Therefore, 114 vessels or 209 segments from 19 patients (9 males and 10 females) were available for analysis, and 186 segments were assessable (89%). Of all assessable segments, 13 from 20 significant lesions (65%) and 158 from 167 normal or non-significant lesions (95%) were correctly detected by MDCTCA. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values to detect significant coronary artery stenoses in terms of vessel are 82%, 96%, 79%, and 97% respectively., Conclusion: Coronary CT angiography provides accurate assessment of coronary luminal artery narrowing and shows the ability to exclude significant coronary artery stenoses in patients with chronic stable angina.

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of measurement for left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by ECG-gated multi-detector CT (MDCT) comparing with biplane cine left ventriculography that is current gold standard., Material and Method: The authors reviewed the data from 15 patients who were referred for coronary CT angiography for clinical indications and underwent cardiac catheterization within 14 days. Coronary CTA studies were performed on MDCT Somatom Sensation 16, Siemens, Germany, Slice thickness 1 mm, Slice collimation 0. 75 mm, and Pitch 0. 3. L VEF were measured with MDCTby Simpson s method and compared with values measured by biplane area length method from cardiac catheterization. The L VEF from both techniques were compared using intraclass correlation power analysis (SPSS analysis software)., Results: The study population consisted with six men and nine women with a mean age of 54+/-10 years. The LVEF measured from MDCT and cine ventriculography were 54.7 +/-10% and 56. 3+/-10%, respectively. LVEF measured with MDCT by interpreter I and interpreter 2 was significantly correlated with L VEF measured with biplane cine ventriculography (ICC= 0.99 and 0.98, respectively). The interobserver reliability was excellent with ICC = 0.9., Conclusion: LVEF measurement with MDCT during coronary CT angiography can be performed easily, very accurately, and compare well with measures taken from biplane cine left ventriculography.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is now a favorable treatment for acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, in non-official hours (non-OH), this modality of treatment has a questionable outcome because of the treatment delay., Objective: To compare the outcomes of PCI during official hours (OH) with non-OH in acute STEMI patients., Material and Method: A prospective consecutive registry of PCI in acute ST-elevation MI patients at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from May 1999 to December 2003 were analyzed. Kaplan Meier survival analysis was used to determine the in-hospital mortality. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the prognostic factors for in-hospital mortality., Results: Two hundred and fifty six consecutive patients (OH-107, non-OH-149) who underwent PCI for acute STEMI were enrolled. Their mean age (61.9 +/- 12.2 vs 60.6 +/- 12.8 y, p = ns), male gender (73.8% vs 73.2%, p = ns), history of diabetes (30.2% vs 33.8%, p = ns), severity of the patients (percent of patients in Killip IV--22.4 vs 21.5, p = ns), ejection fraction (48.7 +/- 15.1 vs 45.9 +/- 14.7, p = ns), cardiopulmonary resuscitation prior PCI (15.0% vs 14.2%, p = ns), anterior MI (55.1% vs 51.0%, p = ns) were similar in both groups. Hypertension was slightly less common (39.6% vs 52.7%, p = 0.04) but smoking was more common (62.6% vs 49.0%, p = 0.03) in OH group. Door to balloon time and decision to balloon time were significantly shorter in the OH group than the non-OH group (67.9 +/- 47 vs 119.6 +/- 83 min, p < 0.001 and 60.8 +/- 35 vs 98.3 min, p < 0.001). However, the total delayed time was not statistically significantly different (402 +/- 316 vs 424 +/- 215, p = 0.55). Angiographic success rate was achieved in 98.1% for the OH group and 94.7% in the non-OH group (p = ns). In-hospital mortality rate was 10.3% and 10.7% respectively., Conclusion: The door to balloon time for PCI in acute STEMI patients in the non-OH group was longer than the OH group; however, the total delayed time was not different. The in-hospital mortality rate was similar.

Background: Chula-clamp is a newly hydraulic vascular hemostatic device. The advantages of the device are convenience, reusability, and lessen patient discomfort and vascular complication. Furthermore, the device is assembled with a recycled balloon inflator and other locally made components, which make it less expensive than other commercially available hemostatic devices. The present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of Chula-clamp with standard manual compression., Material and Method: This is a prospective, quasi-randomized controlled clinical trial comparing effectiveness of Chula-clamp to conventional manual compression for attaining femoral artery hemostasis after coronary angiography (CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Effectiveness was determined by femoral vascular complications rate. The primary endpoint was severe femoral vascular complications (the formation of a groin hematoma, femoral artery thrombosis, pseudoaneurysm, and arteriovenous fistula)., Results: One hundred and forty patients scheduled for percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary angiogram in King Chulalongkorn Memorial hospital were enrolled (70 patients for each group). The baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. There was no serious vascular complication detected in either group. In addition, there was no statistical difference in minor complications at the access site between the two groups. [e.g., swelling (1.4% in standard manual compression group vs. 2.9% in Chula-clamp, p = 0.56) and ecchymosis (8.57% in both groups)]., Conclusion: Chula-clamp, a novel hydraulic vascular hemostatic device, is feasible, safe, and effective for femoral artery hemostasis (after CA G or PCI via femoral artery). Its effectiveness is not different from standard manual compression.

Objectives: To compare 3 types of Bull's eye normal reference maps; non-corrected, scatter corrected, and scatter with attenuation corrected Bull's eye in both genders., Material and Method: Sixty-seven normal healthy males and females volunteered for the present study. After screening tests to identify low post-test (exercise EKG) likelihood of coronary artery disease, 41 subjects (20 males and 21 females) had stress and rest myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (99mTc-sestamibi). The data were reconstructed by filtered back projection reconstruction in three ways as follows; (1) non-correction (NoC), (2) scatter elimination only (SC), (3) scatter elimination and attenuation correction (SC+AC). Three sets of reconstructed data of both stress and resting studies were added into 6 sets of Bull's eye. The data of each Bull's eve were normalized to 100% of the maximum count. Percentage of uptake in each area was compared by t-test statistics., Results: Stress and rest count distribution of NoC and SC sets were lowest at the inferior wall, followed by the septal wall, anterior wall, and lateral wall in both genders. In the SC+AC sets; septum and lateral walls showed more uptake than anterior and inferior walls. A significant difference of percentage uptake between stress and rest images at septum in NoC and SC images in male and in SC image in female was observed. No difference was seen in the SC+AC groups., Conclusion: There was similarity of count distribution between NoC and SC images. SC+AC caused more uniform image. However; some non-uniformity was observed. The use of sex-independent SC+AC bull's eye is possible. Stress study can be omitted for bull's eye collection of normal files.

Background: Stroke is currently a leading cause of physical disability and carries a high mortality rate. About 20% of ischemic stroke is caused by carotid artery stenosis. Carotid stenting is now another therapeutic modality for the treatment of extracranial carotid artery stenosis., Material and Method: All patients who underwent carotid stenting at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from March 2001 to December 2002 were analyzed. The case success was determined by residual angiographic stenosis of less than 30% without any major adverse cardiovascular events such as death, stroke or emergency re-intervention., Results: Carotid stenting was performed in 6 patients with 9 vessels disease. Their mean age was 71.8 years. Hypertension was the most common risk factor detected in all patients, followed by smoking (83.3%), dyslipidemia (83.3%) and diabetes (33.3%). One third of the patients had a prior history of stroke or transient ischemic attack and 16.6% occurred within 6 months. Five of six (83.3%) had severe coronary disease and required coronary artery bypass grafting after successful carotid stenting. The procedures were successful in all patients. The average percent of stenosis was reduced from 83.2% to 9.4%. The distal protection device was used in one-third of the cases. The average procedure time was 63.6 minutes and fluoroscopic time was 16.6 minutes. There was no evidence of stroke or death after the procedures. Only one (11.1%) developed hypotension and bradycardia that required intravenous fluid loading and inotropic support for 24 hours., Conclusion: Carotid stenting at our center is feasible and considered to be a safe procedure for the treatment of carotid artery stenosis. This procedure is another alternative treatment and may be superior to carotid endarterectomy, the standard treatment of carotid artery stenosis.

Background: Many reports have shown that female gender carries a worse prognosis when developing acute myocardial infarction (MI), whether or not reperfusion therapy is used. The primary percutaneous coronary intervention (1-PCI) is currently a preferable treatment for acute ST-elevation MI. However, the data concerning the difference between the outcomes in the treatment of the disease in men and women in Thailand is still insufficient., Material and Method: A prospective registry of acute ST-elevation MI patients who underwent 1-PCI at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from June 1999 to December 2002 were analyzed. Kaplan Meier survival analysis is used to determine the in-hospital mortality., Results: The consecutive 184 (F-52, M-131) patients who underwent 1-PCI were recruited. Female subjects were older (66.6 +/- 12 y versus 59.0 +/- 11.6 y, p < 0.01); they also had higher percentage of diabetes (45.1 versus 27.1, p < 0.01), but a fewer number of smoker (17.7 versus 66.2, p < 0.001). The percentage of patients who had cardiogenic shock tended to be higher in women (34.6 versus 19.9, p = 0.08); however, the number of anterior wall MI and ejection fraction were not different. The mean door to balloon time (109 +/- 95 versus 99 +/- 68 minutes) and pain to balloon time (454 +/- 271 versus 372 +/- 298 minutes) were not different in both groups. The angiographic success with TIMI 3 flow was achieved in 92.3% for females and 86.9% for the males. The in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in females (23.1 versus 6.1, p = 0.002). Univariate analyses demonstrated that the feminine gender, cardiogenic shock, smoking, ejection fraction less than 40, cardiac arrest prior PCI and angiographic were the predictors for in-hospital mortality. When using multivariate analyses by Cox proportional model, only cardiogenic shock, history of hypertension and angiographic success were the significant predictors. Women had 2.15 times of in-hospital mortality higher than males; however, the confidence interval cross-over 1 (0.74-6.42) and p value was 0.16., Conclusion: Females tend to have a poor prognosis when they develop acute ST-elevation MI which requires treatment with 1-PCI.

Background: Carotid stenosis is an independent possible complication of the central nervous system of patients after receiving a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). The risk increases when the patient has bilateral carotid stenosis even if asymptomatic., Case Report: A 76 year-old female was admitted because of unstable angina. The coronary angiography showed triple vessel disease and required CABG for revascularization. Her physical examination revealed bilateral carotid bruits. She did not have any history of neurological deficit. Carotid Doppler showed critical stenosis of bilateral carotid arteries. The carotid angiography demonstrated 70 per cent diameter stenosis of both internal carotid arteries just above the bifurcation of the external carotid artery. A 7 x 20 mm self-expandable Smart stent was implanted first in the right carotid artery with good angiographic result. Five days later, another 7 x 20 mm self-expandable Smart stent was implanted in the left carotid artery without residual stenosis. The patient did not have any cardiovascular complications. CABG was performed 2 weeks later with a good result. The patient was discharged 10 days after CABG., Conclusion: Bilateral carotid stenting is feasible and produces an acceptable outcome. This procedure is an alternative treatment for preventing stroke during CABG surgery.

Unlabelled: PTCA is one of the treatments for coronary heart disease. But in Thailand, there is no available data on the long-term outcomes of patients who have undergone this procedure. To determine initial and long-term outcomes of patients who underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), patients who underwent PTCA from January 1996 to December 1997 were enrolled. The initial results were received from the PTCA registry. The follow-up data were collected from medical records, phone calls and mail. Three hundred and forty patients (male 68.8%) were enrolled. Mean age was 61.8 +/- 10.1 years. Dyslipidemia was the most common risk factor (50.3%), followed by hypertension (44.4%), smoking (40%), and diabetes (33.8%). Indications for PTCA were chronic stable angina (47.9%), unstable angina (22.1%), acute myocardial infarction (4.3%) and post myocardial infarction angina (25.8%). Diseased vessels were left anterior descending (44.8%), right coronary artery (28.0%), left circumflex artery (25.5%), left main artery (0.9%) and saphenous vein grafts (0.8%). Initial case success rate was 93.5 per cent. Stent was implanted in 41.8 per cent of cases. In-hospital mortality rate was 1.2 per cent. Two patients (0.6%) developed Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI). Four patients (1.2%) required emergency bypass surgery (CABG). Major adverse cardiac events occurred in 6 patients (1.8%). Two hundred ninety one patients (85%) had complete follow-up data, mean follow-up time was 990 +/- 326 days. Twenty-one patients died (6.4%) but only 12 (3.5%) were cardiac in origin. Other cardiovascular events were non-fatal MI (1.2%), unstable angina (10.7%), congestive heart failure (4.6%), and chronic stable angina (41.1%). Target lesion revascularization by PTCA was done in 55 patients (16.9%) and CABG was performed in 22 patients (6.7%), Conclusion: PTCA can be performed with a high success rate and low in-hospital complications. Long-term outcomes are acceptable and comparable with Western data.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with cardiogenic shock carries a high mortality rate. Early revascularization shows better results than conservative medical treatment., Objective: To determine short and long term results of patients with cardiogenic shock from AMI who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Methods: Patients were identified from the PCI registry from 1993 to 1999. Follow-up data were collected from medical records and/or phone calls., Results: From 1993 to 1999, there were 1211 PCI procedures performed at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Seventeen of these cases (M9, F8) had cardiogenic shock. Mean age was 59 +/- 14 yrs. Fourteen patients had AMI. The other 3 cases developed shock more than 24 hours after AMI. Primary PCI was done in 11 cases. Thirteen patients (76.5%) needed intra-aortic balloon pump support. Average peak CPK and CK-MB were 5393 and 580 u/l, respectively. Five patients (29.4%) died in hospital, 3 of whom died on the first day due to pump failure. Twelve patients were followed for a mean duration of 412 days (range 12 - 1,464). One patient died 6 months after PTCA because of in-stent restenosis of the left main coronary artery., Conclusion: AMI with cardiogenic shock has a high mortality rate. However, in this group of patients who had early revascularization by PCI, mortality seemed to be lower than previously reported. If PCI is available, the procedure should be offered for this subset of AMI patients.

Diabetes is one of the controllable risk factors of coronary artery disease. Many reports have shown that diabetes is a poor prognostic indicator for coronary events and revascularization among patients who undergo PTCA or coronary artery bypass surgery. The present work, the first prospective study in Thailand, was conducted to compare the demographic data and initial outcomes of diabetic patients (DM) with those of non-diabetic ones (non-DM) who underwent percutaneous coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Data between January 1993 and December 1998 were prospectively collected after each procedure and before discharge. During the 6-year period, 812 patients (DM-280, non-DM-532) were enrolled. The DM group had significantly more female patients (45.4 vs 21.1%, p < 0.0001), older age (62.5 +/- 8.2 vs 60.5 +/- 10.8 y, p < 0.007), less smoking (21.8 vs 43.2%, p < 0.0001), more dyslipidemia (56.8 vs 41.9%, p < 0.0001) and a higher incidence of hypertension (51.8 vs 42.5%, p = 0.01). The left ventricular ejection fraction, indication for PTCA, size of attempted vessel, and number of diseased vessels were similar in both groups. The case success rate was 93.9 per cent in the DM group and 92.3 per cent in the non-DM group (P=NS). Two patients (0.7%) in the DM and three cases (0.6%) in the non-DM group died during hospitalization. Overall major adverse cardiac events were not different between both groups (1.4 vs 1.9%, P =NS). In conclusion, there were some demographic differences in DM compared with non-DM patients who undergo PTCA; but initial outcomes, major adverse cardiac events, and mortality rates were not significantly different.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) occurs frequently in severe rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) and has been reported to be a predictor of poor outcome after percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy (PTMC). Nevertheless, according to observations in our catheterization laboratory, patients with sinus rhythm (SR) seem to have a higher pulmonary artery pressure than AF., Purpose: To determine 1) the hemodynamic differences between MS patients with AF and SR before and after PTMC and 2) the success rate and difference in outcome between both groups., Method: A total of 145 patients who had undergone PTMC with the Inoue balloon technique in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital between 1993 and 1997 were enrolled. The data were presented as mean +/- SD. Student t-test was used to compare the difference in hemodynamic and outcome between the AF and SR groups., Results: Fifty-six patients (38.6%) were in the AF group. The AF patients were older (42.0 +/- 11.3 vs 32.4 +/- 8.7 yr., p < 0.0001), had a larger left atrium (49.2 +/- 6.1 vs 45.3 +/- 4.9 mm, p < 0.001) and a higher valvular calcification score (1.8 +/- 0.6 vs 1.5 +/- 0.6, p = 0.02) than the SR group. There was no significant difference between baseline heart rate and overall MV score index. The hemodynamic data showed that the SR group had higher systolic (59.9 +/- 26.0 vs 47.4 +/- 16.8 mmHg, p < 0.05), diastolic (28.1 +/- 12.8 vs 22.7 +/- 9.2 mmHg, p < 0.05) and mean (40.1 +/- 17.1 vs 32.7 +/- 11.8 mmHg, p < 0.05) pulmonary artery (PA) pressure than the AF group. After successful PTMC, the SR group exhibited a more favorable change in all PA pressures and the transmitral valvular gradient (10.0 +/- 6.5 vs 6.7 +/- 6.5 mmHg, p < 0.01) than the AF group. Procedural success rates were 98 per cent in the AF and 96 per cent in the SR group (p = ns). Transthoracic colour-flow echocardiographic imaging detected atrial septal defects in 18.2 per cent and 7.5 per cent (p = 0.08) of the AF and SR groups, respectively. There was no systemic embolization, peri-procedural death or emergency surgery in both groups., Conclusion: Patients with MS and AF were older, had a larger LA and lower pre-PTMC PA pressure than the patients who had MS and SR. In addition, patients with SR had a more favourable PA and LA pressure reduction than patients with AF.

Background: The detection of myocardial ischemia after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is important because 30-50 per cent of the patients will develop restenosis within 6 months. Symptoms of chest pain and exercise stress test (EST) have shown to be less sensitive for detection of ischemia than exercise Technetium-99m Sestamibi (Tc-99m MIBI). The purpose of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of chest pain, EST and Tc-99m MIBI with coronary angiography (CAG)., Method: Tc-99m MIBI with SPECT imaging was performed at months 1, 3 and 6 and CAG was repeated 6 months after successful PTCA. Earlier Tc-99m MIBI and CAG were performed in patients with recurrent angina pectoris or suspected restenosis., Results: Forty six patients (M 29, F 17) who had undergone successful angioplasty were prospectively enrolled. Their mean age was 61 +/- 19 yrs. Eighty eight lesions (LAD63%, LCX34%, RCA19%) were performed. Lesion characteristics were type A in 9 per cent, type in B 30 per cent and type C in 61 per cent. Fifty four per cent of PTCA were performed for single vessel disease and 46 per cent for multivessel disease. The mean duration of time between PTCA and follow-up CAG was 6.1 +/- 2.7 months. We detected restenosis from CAG in 58 per cent of the cases. The Tc-99m MIBI had higher sensitivity to detect restenosis than anginal pain (85.0% vs 39.4% p < 0.005) or EST (85.0% vs 63.6% p < 0.05) when compared with CAG. The overall accuracy of Tc-99m MIBI for the detection of restenosis was 80 per cent., Conclusion: Tc-99m MIBI with SPECT imaging constitutes a better means than symptoms or exercise test to detect restenosis after successful coronary angioplasty.

Objectives: This study was conducted to compare the safety and initial outcomes applying reused balloon (RB) catheters with those of attained new balloon (NB) catheters when performing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty., Background: Recently, PTCA procedures have been used increasingly for the treatment of patients with coronary heart disease. In the era of national economic constraint, reused balloon catheters will reduce the cost of expensive, imported coronary angioplasty devices. Hence, data concerning the safety and success rate of RB catheters compared with NB catheters are urgently required., Methods: Prospective comparative study between reused and new balloon catheters for coronary angioplasty. Data forms were completed after each procedure and before the patient was discharged after an 18-month period., Results: From July 1996 to December 1997, 221 cases (121-RB, 100-NB) were enrolled. Mean age, ejection fraction, diseased vessel and lesion characteristics were similar in both groups. The number of lesions was much higher performed in the RB than in the NB group (1.7 +/- 0.9 vs 1.4 +/- 0.8, p = 0.02). The RB group had more cases of acute myocardial infarction than the NB group (7.4% vs 1%, p = 0.003), however, the angiographic and case success rate were the same (99.5% vs 97.9% and 98.3% vs 97% respectively). Major adverse cardiac events in RB amounted to 1.7 per cent and for NB to 1.0 per cent (p = ns). The total amount of balloons used in RB was much higher than in the NB group (1.5 +/- 0.6 vs 1.1 +/- 0.3, p = <0.0001). There were neither infection nor positive blood cultures in either group., Conclusions: Reused balloon catheters can be safely used for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with a high success rate. The total cost of angioplasty can be reduced without a decline in efficacy.

The early use of thrombolytic agents is now the most important treatment in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The earlier reperfusion should result in a higher survival rate. To determine whether the faster infusion of streptokinase (SK) will produce earlier reperfusion, 40 patients were enrolled to the trial. Half of them received 1.5 mu. of SK in one hour while the others received 1.5 mu. in half an hour. The rapid infusion group tended to have earlier reperfusion but there was no statistically significant difference in the reperfusion time. Hypotension was observed in both groups but more in the conventional group and responded to intravenous fluid replacement. Bleeding complication was low in both groups. Four patients died, one from re-occlusion and developed severe bradycardia, the remainder had cardiogenic shock which did not respond to treatment. It can be concluded that SK infusion in half an hour is safe but the beneficial effect remains to be seen in a large scale study.

Unlabelled: From January 1993 to December 1996, 461 cases (743 lesions) of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) were performed at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Seventy eight per cent of the patients were male. Mean age was 61.1 +/- 9.6 yrs and mean ejection fraction was 0.59 +/- 0.18. The indications for PTCA were chronic stable angina (53%), post myocardial infarction (MI) angina (26.6%), unstable angina (17.4%) and acute MI (3%). Emergency PTCA was performed on 15 cases with 5 patients in cardiogenic shock. Fifty four per cent of the cases were performed in single vessel disease, 33 per cent in double vessel disease and 13 per cent in tripple vessel disease. The vessels dilated were the left anterior descending artery (44.2%), right coronary artery (27.8%), left circumflex artery (26.7%), left main (0.9%) and saphenous vein graft (0.4%). Mean balloon size was 2.48 mm. The overall success rate of PTCA, defined as residual diameter stenosis less than 50 per cent, was 91.5 per cent. In addition to PTCA, 123 stent implantations with mean stent size 2.98 mm and 15 rotational athrectomy were done in 114 cases. Complications of PTCA occurred in 32 cases (6.9%). Ten patients (2.2%) had abrupt closure, 1 of these needed emergency coronary bypass graft surgery (CABG). One patient (0.2%) had cerebral embolism with minor residual neurological deficit. One patient (0.2%) had toe gangrene which eventually needed amputation. One patient (0.2%) who presented with acute extensive anterior wall MI and failure of thrombolytic therapy died 8 hours after successful PTCA due to refractory cardiogenic shock. In the patients who also had stent implantation, there were 6 stent misplacements: 3 in the right femoral artery without any complication, 2 were misplacements in the coronary system and 1 dislodged in LM necessitating emergency CABG., Conclusion: PTCA is the coronary interventional procedure that can be performed with a high success rate and minimal complications.

Unlabelled: At King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from July 1994 to December 1996, 123 stents were implanted in 75 males and 25 females. Average age of the patients was 61.3 +/- 9.6 years. Fifty-five per cent of the cases were performed in stable angina, 26 per cent in post myocardial infarction angina. 17 per cent in unstable angina and 2 per cent in acute myocardial infarction. Seventy stents were implanted in the left anterior descending artery, 25 in the left circumflex artery, 27 in the right coronary artery and one stent in the left main. The indications for stent implantation were abrupt closure in thirteen sites, mild dissection in 58, suboptimal dilatation in 19, restenosis in 23 and de novo in 10. Mean size of the stents was 2.99 +/- 0.49 mm and mean inflation pressure was 11.9 atmosphere. Palmaz-Schatz stent was the most commonly used (53.6%) followed by AVE Microstent II (42.3%). There were 3 stents loss in the right femoral artery without any complications. Two stents were misplaced, one stent dislodged in the left main and needed emergency coronary bypass graft surgery. Two patients developed acute stent thrombosis and were successfully reopened with intracoronary urokinase. No patient had major bleeding complication, subacute thrombosis, acute myocardial infarction or death., Conclusion: Stent implantation can be performed rather safely with a high success rate and minimal complications.